Mi Vida Ocupada: My Busy Life!

Frigid Sunrise

Some mornings I leave for work long before the sun makes his appearance, other days I can catch a spectacular sunrise over White Bear Lake while enroute.  Today was one of those days! (Thanks to a super-sweet loaner bag (Coach!) from a friend, I am able to conveniently carry my camera around in style- camera bag problem temporarily solved)

 

 

PS On an unrelated note..... www.sweetsauer.com will be moving to a new server and platform this weekend so make sure you subscribe using this feed otherwise you will not continue to receive my blog updates!

St Paul Riverfront.....

Last week some friends and I got a couple of rooms on the 17th floor of a nice hotel overlooking the Mississippi River and had ourselves a stay-cation.  Great views from the rooms which is great because it was freezing out!

Daytime:

Nighttime:

 

We ventured out a little and had dinner at American Burger Bar (which has awesome burgers!) and then looked at some nearby lights

 

The city is so pretty during the holidays!!

Mother Nature's November Warm-Up

This past Saturday was one of the most beautiful fall days we could ask for in MN! The sun and 65' temp were a welcome sight after the cold, rainy month of October that we had.  I had wanted to get out and plant my tulips in the perfect weather but decided to go on a hike and get some exercise instead.  It was a beautiful day out at Tamarack! Ahhh, to see blue skies and the sun again makes me happy :)

 

 

 

Now that the sun is setting so early, we were able to catch it as it started to sink into the horizon.  Thought it looked really cool as it set behind this water tower, causing a cool silhouette.

This warm up might be brief but it is welcome anyway :)

Something is wrong with this picture!!

A perfectly beautiful maple tree, covered in SNOW. (Taken 10-12-09)

 

I woke up on Saturday 10/10 to find snow covering the ground!! It melted by afternoon but that is the earliest October snowfall that I can remember.  Two days later on 10/12, there was more snow on the ground when I woke up and it continued to snow almost all day!

Has Winter has decided to come early this year??!! As much as I detest snow and cold weather, I hope we have a very snowy season this year so that our lakes can fill back up! It can wait until December to arrive though, it would be nice to enjoy the rest of Autumn first :)

Video of North Shore Trip

I absolutely LOVE animoto.com, they make it so easy to make cool videos!  Here is one I put together of the photos and video from our trip last weekend and I love how it turned out!

Fall Colors in Lutsen

The highlight of my trip to the North Shore was a day in the Lutsen Mountains.  On Saturday we took the gondola up to the top of the mountain just after it opened for the day.  The gondolas hold up to 4 people and are suspended from a series of cables; a one-way ride takes about ten minutes.  Neither of us had ridden one before and it was really cool!

 

There was a small river flowing through the valley

The colors got much more spectacular the higher we climbed and the further we went from Lake Superior.  It was awesome to see all the beautiful colors. Too bad the weather was overcast and damp, the colors just don't gleam the same.  Still pretty though!

 

 

Once we got to the top we stopped at the overlook to enjoy the beautiful view of the valley below us.  Breathtaking!! Just imagine it with blue skies on a sunny day.....

 

(Yes, my hair is getting ridiculously long.  I can't stand it)

 

Next we proceeded to go on a hiking adventure like neither of us had ever been on before! The first few miles were partially off-the-beaten-path.... I was climbing a dang mountain!! With a lot of loose rocks, soft soil and tree roots everywhere. I didn't take too many photos during the hike as I was being extra-careful with my brother's camera, but here are a few....

I was not feeling so adventurous at that point ( I was being a  big baby, actually) but things got better once we found the main trail again.  We came across the Spur Trail, which is part of the Superior Hiking Trail system.  We did not have a map with us (as we had not really prepared for a hike at that point in time in that particular area) but decided to continue our hike.  There were a lot of obstacles in our way, such as this cluster of trees that had been uprooted.  They had been growing on a solid layer of hard rock.  It's crazy that they were able to grow there for as long as they lived without the roots being able to anchor into the ground like they do in soil.

Some other photos from the hike

 

 

After 4-5 miles (about one mountain over from where we started) and not having a clue where we were headed, we turned back the way we came.  A few miles later we came across the first official sign (which we had somehow missed on the hike out so we must've been on a slightly different path).  Only 3 more miles to go, all of which was slightly different than the way we came.

 

About 8-9 miles after we started our hike ( holy moly was that tiring!), we finally made our way back to the top of the mountain where we could catch the gondola for a  ride back down the mountain to our car.

 

We saw some of the ski runs and chair lifts that they use in winter.  (Sidenote: Downhill skiing is something I have never done in my life, nor will I ever do.  I would hate to go out like Sonny and that is probably what would happen, knowing me.  Breaking my arm while sledding in third grade was quite enough for me, thank-you-very-much.)

 

We both loved Lutsen and look forward to going back again.  The fall is a beautiful time to go but I am sure it is beautiful in spring, summer and winter as well!

Trip to Lake Superior's North Shore

Last week I took a couple of vacation days for the first time in three years and spent a nice long weekend up at the North Shore.  I have been to Duluth many times over the years and my family used to camp up on the North Shore way back in the day, but to my recollection, I had never been any further than Little Marais.  (Here is a MN map for reference)

 

Here is a map of Lake Superior

 

The first night we stayed in Duluth at the Holiday Inn.  I had earned four free-night-stays during a promotion they had going this past summer when I stayed at the Holiday Inn in Austin, TX and decided to cash a few of them in for this trip.  It rained all day Thursday and we were off to a late start so we didn't get to Duluth until late in the evening.  Here is a view of Canal Park from our hotel room.

Early Friday morning we left rainy Duluth and started our drive northeast along the North Shore Scenic Drive.  The rain prevented us from stopping at many of the scenic overlooks, but we stopped at Split Rock Lighthouse for about .32 seconds until we realized you had to pay $8 admission.  Forget about it! 

It had stopped raining at Silver Bay so we stopped at a scenic overlook.  It was sooooo  crazy windy that day, like 40-50 mph.  The swells of the lake were 8-12', it was like being at the Ocean the waves were so big.  I have video footage that I will post sometime soon.

 

It was nearly impossible to catch a clear photo of the berries, it was so windy

We got back on the road and continued the drive to Grand Marais.  The weather got better the further we drove north along the lake.  We stopped at another scenic lookout  somewhere between Lutsen and Grand Marais.  It is so incredibly beautiful! Being at Lake Superior is almost like having the ocean in Minnesota, especially on windy days that bring big waves.

 

We had lunch at the Gun Flint Tavern (which has an awesome Cuban sandwich that I will be reviewing on the Twin Cities Restaurant Blog soon) and then sent some time walking around the town and browsing the shops.  

 

Cool little scene in the Grand Marais Harbor

Later in the afternoon we drove back south to our new hotel in Tofte and then out for a fancy late dinner at the Blue Fin Grille (which I will also be reviewing soon).  Took a couple photos on their beach as the waves kept crashing in.

 

The hotel we stayed at was overlooking the lake and our room was literally less than 20 ft from the waves that were crashing all night long.  I was so tired that I slept peacefully anyway.  We got up early the next day before heading the Lutsen Mountain, which I will be blogging about next!

State Fair Food Diaries ~ Round 2

Labor Day is always the last day of the 12-day Minnesota State Fair and like other years, I had to make it out there for a 2nd time to sample the treats we only get to eat once a year.  We met up with my brother Jeff sometime in mid afternoon and took the Park N Ride to the Fairgrounds. 

There were a LOT of people out at the Fair on Labor Day!

I made Jeff bring his camera along so that I could document more of our food buys which consisted of:

• Cheese Curds
• Philly Cheese Steak

• London Broil Sandwich
• Deep Fried Ravioli
• Deep Fried Snickers

• Reuben Pretzel (eeeewww.  I love Reubens and did not enjoy this at ALL)

• Deep Fried Sunfish with Lindon Berry Sauce and Walleye Cakes

We were out at the Fair about 4 hrs until we were pretty hot and stuffed and decided to call it a day.

It was another great year at the MN State Fair!

Early Fall Colors!

Back in August I started noticing that the trees had already started turning colors here.  Doesn't this seem too soon? I can't remember another year when they started changing so early! This maple tree next door to my parents' house is already at its peak.

My parents had us all up this past Sunday for boating and a barbeque.  This was the first time I had been up to their house all summer since Father's Day.  Of course I had to take some photos of my nieces and nephew before returning my dad's camera back to him.....

For as long as she has been around, Miss Bianca LOVES to wear sunglasses.  Little stinker knows she is adorable! (And doesn't her mama look beautiful in this pic too?)

Bennett was totally out of his element on the boat.  Unlike his usual busy self, he just sat there immobile, chilling on the boat!

This "I don't know what to do" look on his face is priceless!

Bennett DID help grandpa drive the boat for awhile

and so did Beebs

Me and Jeff

I was teasing Jeff about his baby "mustache" and made him pose for a close-up.  What a funny guy, this king of the Funny Video Search.  (Have you checked it out yet?) He is also "pretty much the only guy in the entire world who knows how to ______" (Only Jeff can fill in that blank with the special technological things he is able to do! LOL) PS Does teasing your baby brother ever get old????!!!

After a delicious meal of smoked turkey, twice baked potatoes, corn on the cob, salad and grandma's homemade apple pie, we took the girls down to the boat to do some fishing.

How cute are they?

Annika with one of her fish....

My grandparents were up for dinner as well and I guess I forgot to take pictures with them.  Hopefully I will see them again before they head home to AZ in a few weeks.

It was a great day at the lake, I hope everyone else enjoyed their weekend also!

Sunset at the Oasis ~ Austin, TX

I was told by several people that while I was in Austin, one of the things I needed to do was check out Lake Travis and The Oasis some night during the sunset.  The Oasis is a restaurant that sits high up on the cliffs overlooking Lake Travis, just west of Austin in the hill country.  I had been trying to check out the Oasis for over a week but the weather wasn't cooperating for a decent sunset.  Finally last Monday night I had a nice night to check it out, so I went out there by myself for dinner and to see the sunset.  Here are a few of the pics....

The decks at the Oasis are very impressive, seating 2,000 people.  I have a review of the Oasis on the Twin Cities Restaurant Blog if you'd like to know more!

 

 

Some sunset shots

 

 

 

 

Hopefully ya'll aren't sick of all my travel pictures yet because I only ahve about 16576157612357612 more to post!

The Natural Beauty of Austin....

On Saturday afternoon Betty and I braved the heat and took a very long walk through downtown Austin.  We started down by the Colorado River and worked our way north to the Capitol.  The nature down by the river was quite pretty......

 

 

 

 

 

 

Would you have guessed that the temperature was over 100' F and that Texas is experiencing the worst drought in 50 years?

It was a HOT one last week

Warning: Long post ahead!

To say last week was hot is an understatement.  Especially when its 90'+ and you go a week without A/C in your house.  The condenser blew and it needed to be replaced with a whole brand-new unit.  An expensive one (of course!), which we were not able to have installed immediately.  I am grateful to have great neighbors with cold houses who gave us refuge from the heat in the evenings up until bedtime.  There were way too many sleepless nights with having a bedroom on the third floor and afternoon sun beating down on it, making it at least 100'.  Fans didn't do anything but blow hot air around.  I was so dang miserable and exhausted from lack of sleep,  I swear living without a/c  is detrimental to my health!  The last few nights I slept in the basement, which helped some.   The good news is a new unit was installed Saturday and my house is cold again.  Yay! I will appreciate it forever and ever ;)

This past week was also the first week of summer school.  I am teaching 5th grade reading to my class and the other 5th grade class.  Its going great so far, my kids are all very well behaved and the room is nice and cool.  Summer school takes place in this building (taken on a rainy morning last week)

 

This is the view out of my classroom. I had been waiting for a clear day and the right lighting to get this photo all week!

 

Speaking of pictures, I bet you're wondering why your blog readers were filled with photo posts from me yesterday.  Well, I decided to import all of my posts from my Daily photo Blog into this Mi Vida Ocupada blog.  I just don't know if it makes sense to me to keep two different blogs when I post so many photos over here anyway.  I have a lot more traffic on this blog and sometimes it seems redundant to post my photos in both places.  Initially the point of the Daily Photo Blog was for me to challenge myself to take better photos more often and  I think I have proven to myself that I can do that.  Especially with all the interest in the Photo Hunt Challenges that I have been posting.  Photography has become my biggest passion in recent months, completely replacing scrapbooking (which I haven't done in a year now and have lost pretty much all desire).    I hope you all don't mind seeing more of my photography right here!

Now about the Photo Hunt:  On Tuesday, June 30th I will be putting up a new post with Mr. Linky so everyone who completed the Photo Hunt #2 can link to their entries.  I know summertime (and life in general) can sneak up on ya when you're busy, but I hope we have a good turnout of people who completed it.  I have just two more photos to take on my list, then I will be posting My Results.  FYI- I am in the process of creating a brand-new blog just for the Photo Hunts.  Stay tuned for more information and when it is ready, I will start redirecting all Photo Hunt related info to that site.

So much happened last week and it was just too dang hot for me to sit down and blog about any of it.  Biggest news of the week: Michael Jackson died.  I was a little shocked at first, but not really.  I guess I had a feeling he wasn't doing very good.  I loved MJ as a kid (didn't everyone?).  Thriller was my very first album and I loved, loved, loved every song.  He has had so many great hits over the years.  I never hated on him with all the drama in his adult life, although there is no doubt he had issues.  I don't know what is wrong with me that I didn't cry when I heard of his passing, I mean I cried when Crocodile Hunter was killed?! Anyway, thank goodness the music of Michael Jackson will live on.

Last but not least, I wanted to direct your attention to the Product Giveaway on the Twin Cities Restaurant Blog.  There are three things to choose from 1.  Lounge Shaker set 2. Bottle Holder  3. Salt & Pepper shakers.  Leave a comment on this post saying which product you like best and a winner will be randomly selected on July 7th.  Feel free to direct anyone in the USA to the site.  Blog about it, spread the word!

 

 

Holy Crappie!!

A few nights ago I tagged along with the guys as they went fishing out on White Bear Lake.  It seemed hot (although windy) before we got onto the lake but as soon as we were out there, the wind had really picked up and it got pretty darn cold.  Since I am not interested in actually fishing, I was just along for the ride while reading my book and snapping some pics.  Just before sunset my man caught the biggest dang crappie any of us has ever seen!!  For those of you who do not know, a crappie is a pan fish that is usually just slightly larger than a sunfish.  The one that he caught was just over 14". It was so big that when he first pulled it into the boat I thought it was a bass!  He had been fishing using a chatterbait which made it even more amazing since crappies usually prefer live bait.  This bad-boy is going to be proudly mounted (to be displayed where, I do not know)

 

I posted many of the photos over on my Daily Photo Blog if you'd like to check them out: Silhouette of a fisherman, sailboats, reflection over water, and the moon.  Here is one of the sunset over the lake....

 

Getting great photos and seeing a trophy fish being caught made the night an enjoyable one (despite the wind)

Out on the lake...Finally!

This past Sunday my parents had us all up for a day of boating and dinner.  This was the first time I had been out on the lake all year!  It was a very windy day so the boating portion was very short-lived, although we hung out at the dock/marina for a few hours to do a little fishing.  The community marina where my parents live is the hottest fishing spot on Lake Chisago.  Check out all of the anglers we could see very close to us:

This was our biggest catch of the day, a 3 lb large-mouth bass

My nieces did some fishing with their daddy (my brother Brian) and Grandpa

Grandpa and Bianca

Bianca and Brian

Annika and the fish she caught

 

Oh, and we saw a couple of loons out on the lake very close to the boat (wish you could see how red their eyes are but for some reason you can't tell in this photo)

 

My weekends are going to be very busy this summer, so I hope I have a chance to get back on the lake soon!

Mother's Day 2009

And I now resume to my normal blogging!!
(Thanks for hanging with me through the many posts of photos from the Photo Hunt!)

Mother's Day was a very nice day, honoring the wonderful women who raised us.  I started this wonderful day with my in-laws at a Japanese restaurant.  Yay for sushi! (I can't believe I did not take any pictures at the restaurant so I will have to just throw in this gorgeous photo of sushi from my archives :)

 

Later in the afternoon we went up to my parents' house for dinner and some fishing.

The lake is so relaxing!

 

The girls did a little fishing with Grandpa and Daddy.  (Annika is obsessed with nightcrawlers and thinks they're fun to play with.  Gross! Michelle has more pics of the kids on her blog)

Me and my momma

 

The Sauer girls

 

Michelle and Bennett

 

Brian, Michelle and the kids (Bianca, Bennett and Annika)

 

I hope all of you had a nice Mother's Day too!

A Hippity Hoppity Easter

It was a pretty nice day on Easter this year (in fact we've had about 7-8 days straight of sunny weather!).  Spent some time with the in-laws for a nice early dinner before heading over to my uncle's house later in the afternoon.  It was nice to see some of my cousins I haven't seen in awhile (and their kids!) and also my nieces and nephew. 
My dad and Annika

The kids had a blast playing on the giant trampoline. 

 

Bianca's hair was going wild with static electricity!!! Poor kid bonked her head last week and had to get a bunch of stitches.
 
One of my cousins has identical twin boys (4 years old).  DOUBLE TROUBLE, no doubt!

Just look at these little turkeys trying to get a nice family photo! lol

My cousin Nick turned 21 on Easter Day.  Ahh, to be young again!

Jeff and Amanda

Brian and Michelle

 

My mom and dad

Brian and Bennett

Some of my aunts, uncles and cousins

(Ooops-  no postable pics of me this year )

And that was our lovely 2009 Easter celebration  ;)

Spring Break = Two Sunny Days

After rain, a little bit of snow and just yucky weather in general this week, the sun came out on Thursday and Friday.  Thank you Mother Nature! It was only around 47' both days but to some in Minnesota, that means dropping the top of your convertible or wearing shorts! lol.  For me it meant a chance to get outside, enjoy the fresh air and get some exercise.  Oh, and to take pictures of course ;)
On both Thursday and Friday I went on long nature hikes through Bald Eagle-Otter Lake Regional Park Preserve (where Tamarack Nature Center is located) .  It felt great to get my body groovin even though I was huffin and puffin a little the first day!

The first day was a more difficult hike, with various terrain; marsh, prairie, and woods. You can see my pics from Thursday's hike here.

 

Friday didn't start off too nice but it got warmer and sunnier later in the afternoon.  The first half of the hike was the same as the previous day, but took a different route the 2nd half.  I love this little clearing in the woods, as seen from a magical little spot I found.  Pics from Friday's walk can be seen here.

Trying to make it Feel Like Spring.....

You dig the new banner?

I was desperately in need of a new look around here. 

Something more Spring-like.
Have I mentioned this week is my SPRING break?
The weather has been pretty yucky for at least a week straight now.  Not that I am surprised....  I am pretty sure this is the 3rd year in a row that it has seemed as un-spring like as possible over my week of vacation.  Boo!

Even though the weather is dreary, I decided to get as tropical as I could without paying a dime.   Como Park Conservatory is where I spent some time yesterday.  The Sunken Garden with the seasonal flower show is always my favorite.  My partner in crime and I  got several cool photos, including all of the tropical flowers that are pictured in the new banner and those seen on my Daily Photo blog.

Wild Turkey, anyone??

Saw this flock of Wild Turkeys roaming near my neighborhood yesterday...... I think they are thankful that they won't be sitting on someone's table in just two days!! LOL

Another of the old barn

PS I used the Totally Rad action "Technicolor Dream World" to brighten up this photo.

More Pretty Fall Colors......

I always keep my camera in my purse for random Kodak-Moments, so these are all random photos I took of Fall colors...usually involving me pulling over on the road somewhere!
 

These next few are in Mahtomedi, near White Bear Lake (Stupid powerlines ruin the peaceful effect. Gotta figure out how to get rid of those in PS)

 

This is Keller Lake on a sunny morning


And do you remember this photo I took of a barn last winter?
Here is a quick photo of it in Fall (I will attempt a better photo when I can- this was taken just after dawn on my way to work)

A Fall Nature Hike.....

Since I had the day off today and the weather was cooperating, I decided to go for a hike (2-3 miles) and take some photos at Tamarack Nature Center.  Some of the colors were still pretty, although I think they were better at the beginning of the week.

This is the lodge at the Nature Center

 
 

 

 

 

Got a little too close to this buck.... look how he stared right at me!

 

 

 

There is also this cool sculpture near the entrance to the park

It was nice to get out and enjoy the beautiful fall weather!

Sunday Dinner with the Fam (and my NEW senior pictures!)

My parents had us all up on Sunday night for one of our monthly dinners (and to recognize Michelle's birthday which is tomorrow!)

Can you believe Bennett is 7 months old already???

It was unseasonably warm that day (almost 80') and the colors on the trees were sooooo beautiful!!  I love this little bench overlooking the lake

Michelle and I were practicing taking photos (aka goofing around) and she took some casual portraits of me- Senior Picture Style!!!!  I thought about it and I have been out of school for so long, that I could've started at Kindergarten and made it all the way up to Senior Year for a second time by now!! LOL

 

Thanks, Michelle...these are great!

Disk Golfing....

One really great sport/hobby that has become quite popular in MN is Disk Golf.  I have gone along with the guys for YEARS as they went disk golfing (to be a caddy and get exercise!), but I was too scared to try it out for myself until this year.  I am not going to pretend that I am any good at it, but at least I am trying :)

My favorite course (the only one I've ever played! LOL) is at Lakewood Hills in WBL, behind the YMCA.  It is only a 14-hole course, but has both rolling hills and holes throughout the woods.  Like regular golf, there is a tee, but instead of aiming your disk at a "hole", there is a metal basket you need to get your disk into.  Since it was so pretty a few days ago when I played, I brought my camera along to sneak in a  few pics while we played.

 

Like I said, some of the holes are in the woods.....kind of looks like a setting for a Horror Movie.....would make a good place for a "Haunted Woods" Halloween event!

 

I love birch trees!

Does anyone else out there disk golf?????

Sunny Fall Day at the Apple Orchard!

I had been wanting to go to Pine Tree Apple Orchard all weekend, but since it was cold and rainy, I decided to wait for a sunnier day.  Lucky for me I didn't have to wait long, as the sun came out again on Monday!

 

Bought some of their famous apple donuts and apple turnovers and had a picnic down by the lake......

 

 

 

 

Now it will be just a couple of more weeks until the best apple is ready to harvest.....the Honeycrisp!!!!

Labor Day at the Lake....

Some photos from Sunday up at my parents' house.....

Michelle and Bianca

Patio/garden in the back of the house (overlooking the lake)

Salad that my Gram made with many bright and colorful fruits....

 

Air Conditioning....

I couldn't live in a place without it.
Seriously.
Its unbearable working all day in a hot, hot, stuffy classroom (100'+), I can't imagine going home to a place that isn't cool.

I'm not a princess but I sure love modern amenities like my central air!

Without it, its possible I would melt!

Funny thing is, I used to love the HOT.

How about you??

Stargazer Lilies

Growing along the back of our house.....


Don't you think they'd make a beautiful arrangement??!

Sunset over Lake Chisago...

Taken the other night while enjoying a gorgeous night on the lake.......

 

Aboard the Andiamo.....

On Saturday night we met up with a few of my cousins, aunts and uncles for a dinner cruise on The Andiamo Riverboat on the St Croix River.  It was pretty hot out!

These are my a couple of my cousins from Tucson, Dan and Michael...

The cruise included a buffet dinner (decent, but nothing special) and a jazz trio for entertainment.  Here is a pictoral run-down of the evening:

My aunts Connie (my mom's sister) and Chris....

Jazz trio playing "La Bamba"

 

Michael and Bennett (how cute is he in that hat?!)

 

Baby Bonks trying to be a papparazzi (like the rest of the fam!)

 

Me and Tyler

Watching the band....

 

The above picture cracks me up.....my dad is always recording something!! LOL  He is making good use of his new HDD camcorder!  Here he was recording the jazz band's original impromptu  song that they made up in honor of my grandparent's 60th anniversary.  Its called "Lenorby" because my grandparent's names are Lenore and Norby.  It was pretty cute! When I can get the footage from my dad I am going to upload it.

After the boat cruise was over, Brian and Michelle had most of the group back to their place where we enjoyed a fire (in their outdoor fireplace that is so totally cute!)  Later when there were just a few of us left, we rocked out on the Rockband game.  I haven't played a single video game in the past 20 years until last night and I enjoyed it! Even though I am the self-proclaimed worst-singer-in-the-world, I enjoyed the singing part the most!!!

4th of July Party at the Lake

What a beautiful 4th of July we had this year!
The weather was great and I got to see many of my aunts, uncles and cousins.  We have a lot of papparazzi in our family, so the amount of pictures I took were just a sampling....

 

Croquet anyone?? (Insert British accent!)

Here is Bennett (almost 4 mos.) with his 2nd cousin Grace (6 weeks)

 

Looking forward to seeing more of my family this weekend!

First Day on the Lake....

Sunday was a gorgeous day!!  Despite being extremely tired, I took up an offer to go boating on White Bear Lake with some friends.
This is the park where Lanee & Roger were married.  I thought these tulips were so pretty!


All of the sailboats out on the lake were also so pretty!

Me


The best part of Minnesota is definitely all the lakes! I love summer!!!!

Devastating Tornado hits Hugo

This major devastation happened earlier tonight just two miles directly north of my house.....




Check out this video of the aerial footage.  I was not at home when this happened, but E was and said it was pretty scary.  Our house got hit hard with hail and has quite a bit of damage, but nothing like these houses pictures above.  A two year old was killed in this storm and 20 people are still missing.  I will be out taking pictures tomorrow when it is light.

I appreciate the calls, e-mails and texts from everyone checking on us. Sorry I wasn't home all evening to let everyone know we are okay!

Daytrip to Duluth.....

I actually got to go somewhere for my spring break after all!  Lanee had to give her brother a ride up to Duluth yesterday, so e and I decided to tag along with her and make it a fun road trip!  The weather was sunny and nice, so we spent part of the afternoon down on the rocky beach of Lake Superior....
It was a great time!
So glad I got to go somewhere, even if it was just two hours away!

It hasn't stopped snowing all day, so I scrapped.

Its been snowing since I woke up this morning.
Other than a big trip to the grocery store, I pretty much scrapped and worked around the house all day :)
I also organized some of my scrap stuff.  I found a ton of embellishments from kits I've bought from noelmignon.com,  but I am just not good at using them on my layouts.  Gonna try to incorporate what I have into future layouts and give some to Michelle or a friend and see if they can use them.

I know today was my first day off for spring break, but I swear it feels like the week is already over.  Time goes way too fast and a week is hardly any time in the grand scheme of things, is it? So many things I want to accomplish this week (things to do and people to see) and I just won't have nearly enough hours......

Dear Spring,

Dear Spring,

Is this some kind of joke?  What exactly do you think you're doing when you send 4-6 inches of snow on the Monday of my SPRING break??
I was not fortunate enough to go South to spend time with your cousin (the real Spring)  this week, so I had hoped you would come through for me.
Every time I do think you are actually here to stay, you pull this disappearing act.
Can't you just be consistent, already????!!!!!
Is that too much to ask?
Please come back so we can play together this week.
(The warm version).

Kristi

Spring Snow.....

We got snow for St Patrick's Day.  Hard to believe it was sunny and over 50' a few days ago.  Thats good Ol' Minnesnowta for ya!

I took this photo on my way to work this morning, thought it was pretty cool!

ETA: I took this photo while sitting at the stoplight....I quick grabbed my camera, opened the passenger window, stuck my arm so out the window so that the camera was aiming toward the back of my truck.  It was the only shot I took...I can't believe it turned out as well as it did!

Have a lovely day :)

Sub-Zero Temps.

Wind chills that are -10 degrees below 0' F have been projected for the entire weekend.
Say what???
Can I get a Brrrr.  Brrrrr!!!!??????
I will have to break out my long, fur-lined Eskimo jacket that I used to wear during the harsh winters when I went to college in St Cloud, MN.  I have saved it for over 10 years, just for times like these.  I hope the dang thing still fits....doubt it!

People will likely be plugging in their cars and most people probably will not even leave their houses all weekend! (Smart idea)
I only have one reason to get out this weekend.....my sweet little niece Bianca is having her 1st birthday party tomorrow!! 

PS Please say a few prayers for my SIL Michelle and my (soon to be) nephew Bennett.  She is only 28 weeks along and now on bedrest after having timeable contractions a few nights ago.  We need Bennett to wait as long as possible before he makes his appearance, and as those of you who read Michelle' blog already know, she has her hands full with Annika and Bianca.  It is going to be very hard for her to maintain her normal routine with the girls while trying not to go into pre-term labor.  I hope to help her out as much as I possibly can :)

A White, White Chistmas......

There must have been several people "Dreaming of a White Christmas" this year because it has snowed here all weekend!
I would've taken some photos of the beautiful snow-capped trees yesterday if only I had my camera.  Oh well, my friend Ang took several.
I have had a terrible headache all weekend and I think I pulled a muscle in my back earlier today while wrapping a million presents!
Looking forward to Christmas Eve Fondue at my parents' house tomorrow :)

The past 21 hours have made me really CRABBY!!

I am not usually a "crabby" person, although if the cards are stacked against me, it doesn't take much.
And usually unfortunate things tend to happen to me in numbers.
We got several inches of snow yesterday afternoon.  This always slows the evening commute down some, but last night was REDONKULOUS.  I left work at approximately 3:22 to head downtown Mpls for a very important meeting I had on campus starting at 4pm, with a private meeting arranged after the big meeting.  I won't even begin to tell you how bad traffic was for me to travel the 15-20 miles or so to get there from work, but I did take a picture of my clock and elapsed time (E/T) when I finally pulled into the parking garage at St Thomas. Thank God the person I had the meeting with was waiting around for most of the night because of the horrible traffic....I was not the only one it took over 3 hours for.

I am so thankful it only took me 1 1/2 hours to get home after the meeting, only double what it normally takes.  I wouldn't have been able to handle another 3 hours in the car. 

I woke up extra early this morning, in a decent mood.  The sun is out, the snow had stopped, and I had an 8am appt. to get new tires on my car  I was promised I would be out of there in less than an hour, but unfortunately the previous owners of my vehicle never mentioned that there are locks on the wheels that need a key to be removed.  And with my luck, wouldn't you just know that the key was no where to be found anywhere in the car? Previous owners did not know where to find said key.  To make a LONG story short, the wheel shop did everything they could with the resources they had to remove the locks, but no such luck.  They had to run to Lexus to get the right tool, which fortunately Lexus had in stock.  Great, I'll be on my way soon, right?  But of course with me, when it rains, it pours.  The damn tire machine BROKE with my wheel stuck to it.  Took about an extra hour for someone to come out and fix the machine.  3 hours and a half-sick-day later, I was able to leave with my new tires.  Too bad it cost me an extra $100 because of the wheel-lock problem.  Grrrrrr.
I hope the rest of my day & night go better....I will be presenting my final lesson tonight in my health/science class. Only two more weeks of class after tonight.  Can't wait! Now I just need to get crack-a-lackin on my HUGE math project.

Wish me luck and a better night!

PS Happy birthday to Maria today!

1st day of Dec=1st Big Snowfall

7 inches of snow today!

Glad I went shopping early this morning before the major snow hit.  Being trapped inside my house all day isn't a big deal, its welcome!

Unusual Fall weather....

MN has had a ton of rain on/off for the past few weeks (with a lot of sunshine in between) and yesterday we set a record HIGH temp for the date.  87'.  Yikes! It is currently way too humid for my liking.  Now they are talking a chance of snow next week.  Our weather here can be so inconsistent!

The rain of the last few days pretty much destroyed all the gorgeous leaves before I had a chance to get out and take some pics, but I snapped this on my way to work one day last week....

I got this one yesterday while I was on my way to the Apple Orchard.  Too bad the pond is all scummy looking, you'd be able to see the trees' reflection so much better.  Oh well.

Speaking of apples, there is nothing better than a MN grown Honey Crisp Apple.  No Joke!  And how about some Halloween peanut M&M's?  These get me through my long homework sessions!

I also had a nice visit with Jere, Shannon, Mason and new baby Jonah yesterday.

Saturday night I also decided to pair my recent pics with the kit I ordered from Noel.  I wanted to get ready for scrapping, for whenever I get a chance again.  I have a LOT to catch up on and obviously not much time to do any of it!

Alright, I am off to do some shopping and then heading to a baby shower for Kara :)

Is it a full moon or what???!!!

Raise your hand if you can feel that its been a full moon this week.

Anyone?

Do you notice that things really do tend to get a tad bit crazier when the moon is at its fullest?

We teachers can always tell by how kids behave in school! No joke.

My cycles are also always N'sync with the full moon.

Doesn't help to be emotional when everyone else is kind of crazy too!

Took this picture of the moon early this am on my way to work

Happy season premiere of Grey's Anatomy tonight....I hope I get enough work done tonight to justify watching it :)

First weekend of Fall :)

The weather has finally cooled off, much to my relief.

After sleeping in for a few extra hours this morning, I sat around and did homework much of the day....I thought that my weekend class started today but its not until next Saturday :)

Took a drive through the country (rural Washington county) earlier in the evening.  Its one of my favorite things to do in the fall, looking at all the beautiful houses and scenery.  Wandered over by Pine Tree Apple Orchard, so stopped and bought some treats.  (Apple donuts, apple turnovers, apple cider).  My favorite apples will be ready in a few weeks, so I am waiting to buy actual apples then.

They also had these really pretty Indian corn cobs that I couldn't resist taking home with me.  They photograph pretty well :)

Opted to stay in tonight, make dinner and relax, rather than going out anywhere.  It was really nice!

Right now I am totally feeling like a homebody.  It feels weird to have to commit so much of my time to studying again, but I know it will be worth it :)

Labor Day wknd on the lake.....

I am quite busy today (it IS the first day of school, ya know!), but I figured I better update so that Kim and those of you who check this blog faithfully every day for new reading material have something to read!

It was a glorious, hot & sunny weekend in Lake country.

Sunday was spent out on White Bear Lake with Lanee & Roger...

Wow, I am HOT!!!! The humidity and wind obviously LOVE me! LMAO.  Sadly I have also lost the two pair of sunglasses I bought this year, so I am stuck with these ugly backup pair....

Monday (Labor Day) I went up to my parents place on Lake Chisago for dinner and some fishing...

Mmmmm, ribs!

Fish that were caught...

My sweet little nieces...

And a gorgeous sunset on the lake....

Goodbye, Summer.  It was fun while it lasted!!

Fair Time!

The end of August means it is State Fair Time!

I can't remember a year since I was a very little girl that I didn't go at least one time.  Some years (back when I was a teenager) I would even go to the Fair 5-6 times!  There is no way I would do that these days when admission is $11 for adults and $9 to park.  Sheesh!  For the past several years now, Erick and I will go with maybe a couple of friends for just a few hours with the sole purpose of EATING.  This is the place to go to get your fried-foods and food-on-a-stick fix.  Not to mention the cheese curds!  Most people here in MN wait all stinkin year long to go to the Fair to eat!

It seems that everyone I know was going to the Fair today, and since Erick decided last-minute to go fishing for the weekend, I had nothing else to do today but go to the Fair too!  I ended up going out there with my brother Brian, Michelle and the girls, with the intention of meeting Kim, Mary and the kids out there.  Kimmy was kind enough to give me an admission ticket for free last night (thank you!).  Our brother Jeff lives like 1/2 mile down the road from the Fairgrounds, so we parked at his house and had him drop us off across the street from the main gate.  Can't beat that kind of service :) 

Look at the Sauers at the Fair!  And I am happy to announce to all my blogging friends that next year at Fair time, Annika and Bianca will have a little brother (or sister?).  Yes, you read that correctly! Michelle   just announced that she and Brian are expecting baby #3 due April 10th, 2008.  How exciting is that??!!  Go give Michelle a shout-out, she needs more comments on her blog!

So, back to the Fair.  First we hit up the animal barns:

Besides horses, we saw goats, sheep and pigs.  Pee-yew!!  Those barns are kinda stinky.  Michelle and I decided that pigs are very weird looking creatures.  Aren't they, though??? Kinda creeped me out thinking about the fetal pig I had to disect in 10th grade biology.

Once we got our animal fix, we started to look for food.  Corn dogs, french fries, cheese curds, cookies. It took me forever to decide what to eat, but finally I decided on fried ravioli. Too bad I couldn't eat them all! My philosophy is that it is better to share your food, that way you can try many different things :) I will be much more serious about eating when I go back with Erick sometime next week!

 

We did end up meeting Kim, Mary and the kids at the Kiddie Land for a very short while, but they were planning to stay at the Fair for several more hours and I was ready to leave shortly thereafter with Brian and Michelle.  Before we met Jeff back at the gate, Annika went on a little ride (moving too fast so most of my pics were blurred).  She loved it!

And I must post a pic of Ms. Bianca smiling, because it is just so sweet!

It was a beautiful short (cheap!) visit to the Fair. Would you believe I only spent $11.50 total?

$5.50 for fried ravioli

$3.00 Dole Whip cone

$3.00 Corn dog

I look forward to going back again with my honey :)

Japanese Gardens at Como...

Wednesday seemed like a good day for an excursion, so I went off to Como Park Zoo & Conservatory for the afternoon.  I had wanted to check out the new Tropical Encounters exhibit to see the matamata turtle that was donated to the zoo about 7 years ago, but didn't have any luck. (I do know that he is still a resident at the zoo, just not sure where!)  One of my favorite parts about the zoo is the beautiful Japanese Gardens that are outside behind the Conservatory.  So lush!  When I have a house that has a yard I can actually landscape myself, a Japanese garden is a MUST!

This is the Sunken Garden in the Conservatory.  The flowers change every season (my favorite flower show is during spring) and many people get married here :)

Gotta love the local landmarks like this!

A Dip in the Lake.......

I went boating on Bald Eagle Lake Sunday afternoon with my neighbors and their in-laws.  It was a very hot, sunny afternoon and a great day for boating (very little breeze).  Pretty much the only way to cool off is to jump in the lake (which is about 85').  Would you believe that for the first time in YEARS I actually got into the lake???  Like the middle of the 1000 acre lake!  I hate swimming in lakes for a million reasons, but I did it and it wasn't too bad! We had little floating chairs (made from a foam noodle and netting) so I was able to keep my feet up while floating.  I am such a baby that I used a tow-rope to keep me from floating too far from the boat.  Here are us girls!

So it's Monday again..... just four weeks from today I will be going back to work :)

Today is also my friend Toni's Golden Birthday!!!!!!!  Happy Birthday Tone!

local signage.

Does anyone know what kind of plant is pictured here? I saw it earlier when I was out to lunch so I thought I'd take a little pic of it.(Turned out kind of cool).  Many of the suburbs around here have signs such as these as you enter the city limits.  Is it like that where any of you live also? Just curious...

I have all sorts of things to blog about, but I am kind of lazy at the moment. How about a couple of pictures?

A few recent ones of the kitties...

Phoenix and Isis snuggling in the desk chair (they're always snuggling, but this is the first time i've seen them in this spot!)

Phoenix sunbathing in front of the patio door, as he does every morning

I also wanted to give a shout-out to my SIL Michelle who just started a blog.  I made this cute little banner for it. 

Right now I am reading a book that intriques and scares the crap outta me all at the same time. Its called Decipher by Stel Pavlou  Its too complex of a story to describe, but you can read the reviews by clicking the link above.  I know its fiction but talk of the end of the world and these catastrophic events that might cause it seem like they could be very real. I also do not doubt that ancient civilations knew much more about these things than we do.  I do not normally read this type of book, but I can't find myself putting it down. Gotta get it finished in time for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows this Saturday!

Peace out, peoples.

Sunset on the Lake...

We spent all day Sunday at Bald Eagle Lake, picnicking and boating with our next-door neighbors and some of the neighbors across the street :)

Later in the evening everyone had left the park except for a few of us, so we took a cruise around the lake and the guys fished for a little while.  It doesn't get much better than seeing the sunset on the lake.  Don't these clouds look wicked?!

This is Poquito, Darrell & Denise's dog.  Doesn't he look like an Ewok?! He was cold, so he was huddling under this life jacket, with his head poking out of the arm hole! Cracked me up! LOL 

We got home really late and were hungry, so we all went to Jake's City Grille for drinks and appetizers.  This is my new favorite restaurant in my immediate area :) Check out the review I did of the restaurant a few weeks ago. They have this pretty fountain out front and Darrell made Denise sit for a picture.

 

I am so glad we have such cool neighbors that we have become friends with.....we see them almost every day :)