Mi Vida Ocupada: My Busy Life!

My New Look ;)

Notice anything different (or shall I say NEW!!???)

 

 

I am pretty excited to start playing with my new toy! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to me!!
And a very happy New Year to all of you too :)

Calling all Bacon Lovers ~ Bacon Novelties

Do you love Bacon?  Mmm, I do!  And as I was looking for something tonight I came across some fun bacon stuff and thought I'd make a post out of it.....

Did you know you could sign up for a Bacon of the Month Club at The Pig Next Door?  They boast bacon made from "America's finest bacon artisans".  Starting at $99 for 6 months (aka 6 lbs) of bacon

If you would like some bacon-flavor without the actual bacon, try some Baconnaise

 

Bacon Salt

 

Chocolate Covered Bacon  Two of the tastiest, unhealthiest items you could ever pair....I bet it is wonderful!

Bacon Lollipop

Now all the yumminess aside, have you ever cut yourself? You could have your very own  Bacon Bandages!

 

Or you could be really fashionable with this Bacon Wallet

Bacon T-Shirt

 Now who wants some bacon!?

MN Timberwolves Library Dedication

This past Monday was a very special day at one of the schools I teach at.  Last spring our school was selected by the Timberwolves' Fastbreak Foundation to receive a library makeover.  Over the past few weeks several members of the Timberwolves office staff spent hours and hours at our school, painting the library and putting together the new shelving and then re-stocking the library books on the shelves.   The walls are the blue, green and white of the Timberwolves plus we got giant wall decals with the current Timberwolves players.  Everything looks amazing!

Monday was the big celebration, with the Timberwolves people (along with school district administration) coming out to help us celebrate.  A couple of the Timberwolves players were supposed to be there also but were running late from that morning's practice.  They finally showed up after it was over and signed a few autographs.  The organization has promised to bring the players back when they can come, but with the start of a brand-new season, it may be awhile before that happens, we'll see.

 

 

Crunch, the Timberwolves mascot was also along for the fun and even helped act out the book that was read aloud, The True Story of the Three Little Pigs. It was great!! 

 

After the celebration Crunch insisted he have his picture with me. Too bad I was in the middle of saying something when this photo was taken, I look like a big dorkis.

 

If you'd like to read the Timberwolves article about the project, read here.

Thank you Minnesota Timberwolves!!!!

Field Trip to Leben's Old Town Market

What started as just a simple trip to a local garden center turned out to be a wonderful discovery..... I had no idea Leben's Old Town Market was as cool as it is!  I have been back more than once this week already and have taken many, many photos.  Here is a quick tour of Old Town Market: To see more photos of hibiscus, hydragea, cactus, horses, tropical gardens check out my Daily Photo Blog! And I highly recommend that anyone in the area go on your own little trip to Old Town Market!

Snowball the Dancing Cockatoo!

I guess Snowball first made his internet debut in 2007, but I am just catching on to this now (thanks E!).  Snowball is a sulphur-crested cockatoo who loves to dance to music...and keeps a beat! Check him out, it is so cute and funny! Snowball dancing to the Backstreet Boys Snowball dancing to Stevie Nicks Snowball dancing to Another One Bites the Dust (Cracks me up!!!)

I hope you all enjoyed Snowball's dancing as much as I did!

Move Over, Facebook

My new love is Flickr.

Although I still think Facebook is one of the greatest inventions on the web, I am kind of bored with it. (Remember, I was trying to convince you all to sign up 3-07) Plus I can't ever access it from work.  Anyway, like I said, my new love is Flickr.  I have had an account there for a few years and have used it to browse for particular photos (remember my post about cool things you can do with Flickr?) but never really started exploring its full capabilities until recently.  I think the Groups feature is pretty awesome and I love that you can upload photos to a pool.  Great way to share common stuff!

I have been really into the photography thing since I started my Daily Photo Blog a few weeks ago (come check it out now if you haven't already!)  Even though I like to think I have always kept my eye open for a good photo opportunity, I am scouting out different possibilities for photos at times and in places where I might not otherwise have looked.  Its a lot of fun! I am even exploring the manual settings on my camera and trying to learn real photography settings.  My Canon G9 is not a SLR but it is still an awesome camera with many of the same features as a SLR. 

So that's my story for the evening.  If you want to add me as a contact on Flickr, I am sweetsauer.  I would love to add you too!

Feeling Fabulous

My birthday yesterday was really great!  I felt the love coming at me from all directions and when that happens, it is pretty hard not to enjoy it.  Thanks to everyone who sent wishes and warm fuzzies throughout the day.  It was especially a surprise to see so many people write on my wall on Facebook.  There may have been over a hundred wishes. Whoa!
I have been very busy at work with several things but was able to take a longer lunch to met up with my BFFs for lunch.  Sonja, Angelina, Leah and Kim treated me to a really awesome lunch at Bennett's (I will link to the review as soon as I can get to it).  I also got a beautiful bouquet of flowers from Sony.  It was awesome that Kimmy was feeling good enough to come meet us.... she id due to have her baby literall any day now.  I was hoping for a birthday surprise but this little guy is still a cookin'.  The girls all plead with me not to take any photos of them, but I told them they had to.
Angelina was willing to pose with me!
In the evening it started to snow a little and the temps dropped so the roads weren't in the best shape so rather than driving to Minneapolis to try something new, I decided to go to one of my old-time favorte places, the Lakeside Club.  I had a delicious steak and for dessert I got a chocolate fudge parfait.  Wow!
So yeah, I am feeling pretty fabulous at 32 :)

Toaster Oven = My Favorite Appliance!

Its been awhile since I blogged so I thought I'd pop in to profess my love for....... Toaster Ovens.  Yes, I said Toaster Ovens!  I know they've been around for at least 20 years and I still cannot believe that some households in America do not have one.  My family had one growing up and we used it all the time. I use the one at my house on a daily basis.  Now we just got one at work and I am so happy! They're the BEST!!  Especially for reheating foods that are meant to be CRISPY.  Nothing worse than soggy leftovers from the microwave.  Well there will be no more soggy leftover pizza (French Fries, sandwiches, etc) at work for me! LOL. 
Gotta love those Toaster Ovens! If you have never used one before, time to get on it ;)

Obama's Inauguration: So happy & proud to be an American!

Wow, what a cool moment in history!
I did a little photo documentation of Obama taking the Presidential Oath:


That crowd is unbelievable!

And I have to admit that I was moved to tears.  So happy, proud and hopeful today!! And quite a bit sentimental :)

God bless the United States of America.
Amen!

Addicted.

I was tagged by Ms. Samara to make a list of five things I am totally addicted to.  To some this is very easy, but when I think about my addictions, all I can think about is FOOD.  So let's look at some of the foods that I have a hard time saying No to ;)

1.  Sweets.  I do not eat candy, but I have a hard time passing up desserts! My favorites are carrot cake, cheesecake, German chocolate cake, chocolate chip cookies, and ice cream!!!

2.  Buffalo Chicken.  I love wings (and sandwiches) with a lot of buffalo sauce and bleu cheese on the side!

3.  Pizza.  I love it!  My favorite local places are Davannis, Cossettas and Wildwood Pizza.

4.  Mexican Food.  There are very few Mexican foods that I will pass up (menudo is one I can do without). I prefer Authentic Mex to Tex-Mex, but love them both.  Margaritas fall into this addiction as well :)

5. Sushi.  I will eat many different varieties but my favorites are spicy tuna roll and hamachi sashimi.

I am not going to tag anyone in particular, but please feel free to blog about your addictions....food or otherwise!

Another Fall Favorite!

A PUMPKIN PECAN MALT from Culver's!!!!!!!!
Yummy!! This is the first one of the season :)
Here is me stuffing my face.
ICE CREEEAAAAMMMMM!
LMAO!!



If you live in a community without a Culver's, I feel bad for you.  It is the only fast food I will eat!

AT&T JERKS!!!!!!!!

I'm soooooooo MAD right now!!!!
I had an extra-long lunch hour today so I decided to drive out to the nearest Apple store to buy my long awaited new iPhone 3G.  I spent a ton of time with the sales guy, get ready to check out and get my new phone rolling.....just to find out that according to AT&T I am not eligible for a phone upgrade because I bought a new phone in the past year. 
Last February my RAZR phone broke (piece of shit) so I bought the cheapest, junkiest phone that AT&T offered because I knew I was going to buy the 3G iPhone when it was released.  I explained all that to the AT&T sales guy at the time and never once did he tell me that if I bought a phone (whether it be a cheap piece of junk or not) I couldn't get the iPhone for at least a year.  Well, I could buy the phone but pay $500 for it instead of $300.  F that , I said!!!!
So now I have to wait until November or December before I can get the phone at the lower price.
Talk about total re-donk-u-lous!!!
I am about to call AT&T and tell 'em what I think about THAT!!!!!!!
And BEST Buy is still on my shit list too (because of the camera)!!!!

Can I ever get a stinkin break!!?????

Done, Done, Done!!!!!

After taking my final exam this morning, I have successfully completed all of the requirements for my graduate program.

It is now all a distant memory!!! That means no-more-bitching-about-school-ever-again.

Celebration is in order!

Sweetness!!

I finished my practicum today!!! That means four weeks of vacation for me until I go back to work :)

I also got my test results back today from my final Praxis test (Middle school language arts) and I passed!!!

I just have one more assignment and the final for my literature class.  Hoping that will all be taken care of in the next couple of weeks!!

Ahhhh, it feels great!!  This has been such a busy year for me with graduate school and work between two schools (three if you count this summer).  So glad its all behind me now!

Camera Trouble x 2

It has been a whirlwind this past week with my family in town.....lots of fun! Disk golf, bowling, BBQ, fishing and boating.  I have been depending on other people to either take pictures or let me use their cameras since mine broke again.  I hate not having my own! I have had too much going on to drop my camera off at Best Buy, but  I am pretty sure that it has broken enough times (per performance plan policy) that I will get a new camera instead of them fixing it.  I'll update about all of that when I can retrieve the photos from my cousin Dan.
Anyway, I went out to dinner tonight for a very interesting meeting with some of the Interactive Marketing people at General Mills (their treat!).  The restaurant was Wolfgang Puck's 20.21 (totally fabulous).  Because of the nature of the meeting, I invited my brother Jeff along.   Since I am without my camera, I made Jeff bring his out so that I could do a review for Twin Cities Restaurant Blog.  Dinner was amazing but somehow between leaving the table after dinner and the ride back to Jeff's, we managed to loose his awesome camera.  I am totally sick about it :(  We are hoping that the restaurant has it safe and unharmed (if it was indeed left there- Where else could it be if it isn't in the car??).  I'm praying Jeff gets it back.

On a sidenote: Have any of you checked out Bettycrocker.com lately? They have a bunch of yummy recipes....go check it out!!

PS I haven't made it to bed before 1am in the past week (while waking by 5:30am each morning).  I am dooggggg tired

The 60th was a hit!

Words almost can't explain the emotions of having everyone together to celebrate my Gram & Gramps 60th Anniversary.  My camera broke again but I was able to get some pictures from my dad and also from  my cousin Dan....

 

My Gram and Gramp with 7 of their children..... (Don't you hate it when there are a million papparazzi around so no one knows where to look??!!

My Gram and Gramp with 18 of their grandchildren (I am #1).....

Me with my Aunt/Godmother Patti

Cousins Dave, Andrea and Cassie....

Tyler, Segen, Brian and Bennett

Part of the Tucson crew... (Michael, Matt, Patti & Rudy)

My cousin Casey and his girlfriend...

Aunt Connie and cousin Genevieve

My mom and Annika....

We socialized for a couple of hours before dinner and then after a yummy dinner we had our "entertainment" portion of the program, with my brother Jeff as the MC.  He gave a great speech (I will replace this shaky, crappy-quality video with the hi-def version after I get it from my dad)

The speech is kind of a tearjerker toward the end and if that wasn't enough sentimentality, next came my 49-minute-long video which included the interview/slideshow that I worked on all of last week (and months before that, scanning photos!). Definitely a tear-jerker! Everyone loved it and they definitely appreciated that I made them all copies of the DVD to keep.
Other than being a very hot, muggy day, the party was a hit and I can't imagine not being there to spend the special day with all of my mom's side of the family :)

It's All Good!

I got my test scores back for the Praxis II and I passed!
(Remember when i thought i bombed it? I got a much better score than I thought I'd get)
Doing the Happy Dance because I don't have to retake it after-all!
Woot woot

God's Pharmacy.....

My friend Bradie sent me this info and I thought it was blog-worthy......

A sliced Carrot looks like the human eye The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye...and YES science now shows that carrots greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the eyes.


A Tomato has four chambers and is red. The heart is red and has four chambers. All of the research shows tomatoes are indeed pure heart and blood food.



Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows that grapes are also profound heart and blood vitalizing food.



A Walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds are on the nut just like the neo-cortex. We now know that walnuts help develop over 3 dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.



Kidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys.



Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don't have enough sodium in your diet the body pulls it from the bones, making them weak. These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.



Eggplant, Avocadoes and Pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female - they look j ust like these organs. Today's research shows that when a woman eats 1 avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight and prevents cervical cancers. And how profound is this? ... It takes exactly 9 months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemica l cons tituents of nutrition in each one of these foods (modern science has only studied and named about 141 of them).



Figs are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow. Figs increase the motility of male sperm and increase the numbers of sperm as well to overcome male sterility.



Sweet Potatoes look like the pancreas and actually balance the glycemic index of diabetics.



Olives assist the health and function of the ovaries



Grapefruits, Oranges, and other Citrus fruits look just like the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts.



Onions look like body cells. Today's research shows that onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes

Awesomely Generous.....

Its time for me to brag and tell you how awesome the students at one of my schools are.....
For the past five weeks I have coordinated a campaign at my school to collect "Pennies for Patients".  Pennies for Patients is a fundraising effort that many schools participate in for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.  The goal is to have students bring in coins and then we donate it to help kids with cancer. 

Our goal for the campaign this year was to raise $600.

Guess what?

We surpassed our goal and raised over $700!!!

As I was collecting the final week's worth of donations, I noticed that one 5th grade classroom had collected over $60 in ONE WEEK.  There was a $20 and a $10 bill included in this $$, so I made a comment to the teacher about it.  She told me that one boy spent the entire weekend working for his grandma, doing odds and ends around the house and was rewarded with a nice amount of $$.  He took his entire earnings and donated it. I almost cried from the generosity of his gift!!  These are incredibly poor kids, yet they are happy to give what little they have to help save the lives of kids with cancer.

Just thought I'd share :)

A Million Thanks (for making my day so special!)

I think yesterday was one of the best birthdays I have ever had, from the very moment I woke up.  A big part of what made it so special are ALL the people who remembered and sent me well wishes!!  I am seriously overwhelmed with gratitude :)  Its hard not to have a great day when so many people are thinking of you and letting you know it. The cards, e-mails, messages and phone calls came in faster than I could ever imagine.  Funny thing is, I never said a word about my birthday to anyone I work with, including my students.  It was like this wonderful secret I was keeping all day.
Another reason it was so great is that I have been in great spirits for the past couple of weeks leading up to my big day, very unlike the past two years on my birthday (two years ago I was attending a funeral out of town and then last year I was just getting over a miserable bout of influenza).
I had dinner at my favorite local Thai restaurant and even the owner bought me dinner!

Thanks for making me feel so special!
I am so incredibly lucky!
xoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxox

I just ordered...

I just ordered something that I have been talking about wanting A LOT lately :)

I am PIMP with excitement, I can hardly contain myself!

Can anyone guess what it is?!

Fish and more fish....

I don't talk too much about what I do at my job on this blog, but maybe I should share some of the reasons why I love my job as a gifted services specialist so much.  For the past several years now I offer monthly "special topic classes" every Friday throughout the year.  The classes are open to students who are not necessarily identified GT but have an interest in the class offered.  Every month I offer a new class and have new students. 

Did I mention that this month the special topic class that I am teaching to 3-6th graders is on Ojibwe culture? 

The Ojibwe (aka Chippewa) are the group of Native Americans who lived in the Great Lakes region (Northern MN, WI, MI, and Ontario, CA) prior to European settlement (I am saying this as diplomatically as I can because I have very strong feeling for what actually happened to all of our indigenous tribes).  Anyway, students have been learning a variety of things about Ojibwe culture and this Friday's class was all about how the Ojibwe moved to different camps each season, as they harvested maple sugar in the spring, fishing and hunting in the summer, wild ricing in the fall, hunting and trapping in the winter.  I have a wonderful book that I use to illustrate what a typical year looked like for the Ojibwe prior to the mid 1800's.  We discussed which foods that the Ojibwe found growing naturally in the region and then I had students try a variety of foods the Ojibwe would have eaten.  For this class I specifically brought foods for the kids to try: apples, pure maple syrup (which is nothing like Aunt Jemima!), cooked wild rice and smoked white fish.

   

I wasn't sure which students would try the fish, but to my absolute pleasure, every single student in both classes tried the fish and enjoyed it! Even students who had never had fish before in their lives tried it and liked it.  This fish was about 15 inches long and these kids ate every single piece of meat on this bad boy until there was nothing left but the bones! If you look at the picture closely, you will see that we are holding up the bare fish carcass.  These kids are great, they made me so proud!

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Now as far as the "more fish" part of this post's title, I had a field trip today for my graduate course in teaching science.  We got a behind-the-scenes tour of Underwater Adventures at the Mall of America and did a workshop on Project Wild throught the DNR.  I took some video footage of some of the animals at the aquarium and I will post a video as soon as I can make it in iMovie. 

Speaking of iMovie, I visited the Apple store at the MOA today after my workshop was complete and I am definitely going to buy the Macbrook Pro this upcoming week.  I cannot wait!  I have so much to learn about Macs but I know that once I get the hang of it, I am going to be so happy!

I want a Mac!

And I don't mean a Big Mac either!! LOL.

I am talking Mac as in Apple computer.  The Macbook Pro, to be exact.

I have hated Macs all my life, so what the heck spurred this sudden desire, you ask?

Well, iMovie, of course.  (I want to learn sooooo bad!) And the new Mac OS X Leopard operating system that debuts this week. Watch the video and you'll want one too!  OMG, and I thought the iPhone was cool....this blows everything I have seen yet away!!  I can easily access and network to my PC laptop.  Perfect :)

Only problem is, Macs are EXPENSIVE.  Like waaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyy more than a PC.  I can get a teacher discount of $200, but that is it.  I will also have to purchase a HD video camcorder (or why bother?).  Thats like a minimum of $3K.  Holy crap!!!

Not to mention my laptop is less than a year old and someone told me to buy a Mac last year when I was buying a new laptop but I didn't listen :(

Am I crazy? I don't even own an iPod (but I do use iTunes)

Who are my Mac people?????  Is it worth it???

Schoooooool's OUT-FOR-SUMMER!!!

Okay, I am so totally pumped for summer and all the free time in the world!  Its such a relief to not have to worry about a job anymore too :)

So for the last day of school today, we took all kids in grades 3-6 rollerskating.  Fun times!  This is a tradition of ours and we usually have the whole roller rink to ourselves, but this year there was one other school there as well.  Twice as many kids, twice as many accidents waiting to happen!  I love rollerblading and was out on the rink for nearly two hours....dripping sweat, its been hot-hot-hot here this week.  Said my final farewells to the kids I have worked with for three years (shed just a couple of tears)and then headed over to my afternoon school to finish up the day there.  I have been in the process of moving 8 million things from the school I am leaving to the school I am staying at.  I needed a place to put it for the summer until I can move into my new school.  This has been back-breaking, exhausting work.  Neither school has A/C and I am on the top floor at both schools, its way too hot!!!

Went home and chilled out (literally) in my freezing-cold A/C.  It took like two hours for my body to cool down!!  I ended up going out for a nice steak dinner with some friends. I might just celebrate the end of the year and my new job all week!!!

My new discovery: Paperbackswap.com

It was a beautiful, hot sunny weekend here.  We didn't do much this weekend, just took it easy, relaxed and went swimming over at his parents house for most of the weekend.  I love, love, love this kind of weather and sitting out, reading a good book.  I read The Pact by Jodi Picoult.  Very, very good.  I just love her books, the stories are so deep.  I am currently reading Beach Road by James Patterson.

Being that I have just three more days of work and then will spend the summer blissfully unemployed, reading to my heart's content, I have been thinking about all the books I'd like to read. 

Thankfully I just discovered http://www.paperbackswap.com/.  This site is so cool, anyone ever hear of it? It might be similar to http://www.bookcrossing.com/, but I think it is easier to use.  To start you just need to list 9 books you're willing to part with, and you get 3 credits for books you want to receive.  Each time you send out a book, you get a credit.  I started off by listing 27 books (I have about 200 more books to list on there) and I will already be mailing two of them out in the morning.  I am also expecting my first three books by the end of the week...just in time for my summer vacation to start :)  If anyone is interested, I highly recommend this site, it seems incredibly easy and safe. I'd love to be able to swap with people I know, too :) . Make sure to add me as a buddy and use my name as a referrer if you sign up...thanks!

Not much else is new, but I did order a bunch of Love, Elsie papers from www.amillionlittlethings.com .  These should also arrive just in time for my summer vacation :)

3 days to go!

New Facebook Features.....

Okay, if you haven't jumped on the Facebook bandwagon, I dare you to go do it NOW!!!!

They have added some new features within the past few days that are pretty sweet!

*iLike which allows you to keep track of which concerts you are attending and also alerts you of when your favorite artists are on tour (and also alerts you as to who else is attending that concert)

*Slideshows of your uploaded photo albums (from Rockyou)

*Widgets (choose from a variety of music, media, video, games, humor and clocks)

*Marketplace to buy/sell items (similar to e-bay, Craigslist)

*Event planning (similar to e-vite)

*Birthday reminders

*Groups to join for common interests

Its very easy to find friends who are already on Facebook, just type in your e-mail and the password and it will do it for you :)

Hope to see you there!

Check out Facebook!

I have a new obsession: Facebook.com 

For those of you who are not "in the know", Facebook is an online social-networking service.  It is similar to MySpace, but not nearly as flashy and MUCH more secure.  You cannot look at a person's profile unless you both confirm that you know each other or that you want to be "friends".  I love it because you can start your own "groups" and invite specific people to be a part of that group.  You can also upload pictures to these groups, its a nice way for many people to share them all in one spot. Each group has a message board as well.  I have recently reconnected with several of my cousins on both sides of the family, which I think is pretty cool!  I sent out an invitation to many of my friends, but so far there are only a  few who have taken the plunge, so I thought I would tell everyone about it here.  I am hoping that more friends from high school and college join so I can keep up with them a little better....even though I have this blog, I can't think of any of my real-life friends who blog (besides Michelle).  It isn't fair that ya'll know so much about me without it being reciprocated!  Ha ha. Okay...so everybody better go create a FREE membership  now!! LOL.  Once you sign up, do a search for me and then add me to your friends.  If I like you enough (kidding!), I will confirm it and we can start chatting :)

Vaccum Heaven!

I finally did what I have been meaning to do for over a year now.  I broke down and bought this new Vaccum. Its an upgrade from the purple animal vaccum that has been out for a few years.  The Dyson D17 Absolute.  WOW.  This thing is AMAZING!!!!!  (better be for what I spent on it!) My carpets haven't been this clean since the day they were installed. LOL.  So I spent almost all of Saturday vaccuming and cleaning house.  A thoroughly cleaned house is a great feeling! Too bad I have an aching back now from all this hard work!

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Thought I'd give you a visual of how much snow we have gotten in the past week with the two major snowstorms.  I live on a corner lot where the snow tends to get piled up....these pictures are a little deceiving because you can't tell how tall they really are, but I would say up to 7 feet at the highest point after the 2nd snowfall.  We did not have any snow on the ground before the first storm either! 

On Saturday night  I went out to dinner with Lanee & Rog.  We tried the Gasthaus Bavarian Hunter in rural Stillwater.  Pretty good! Have you ever had German food?  I have just a couple of times (although my main heritage is German, my family does not carry on any traditions or eat the foods).  I have written about it in my restaurant blog, but I do not plan on launching the site until I have a few more entries :)

 

This is going to be another busy week at work for me.  No plans with friends this week because I probably won't have time for anything fun.  I have like 300 report cards to write by conferences on Friday!

Oh, one last thing.....I wanted to say Adios to my friend Jessie who is leaving for Puerto Rico with her two kids tomorrow.  She will be there for the next 4 months while her husband is working on a business project.  How sweet is that?!  Have fun chica! I'll miss ya but I know we can still talk on the phone, e-mail, etc.  Better yet...maybe it'll work out so that I can come down and visit!

Prince Halftime Show....

My man rocked the half-time show!  How cool was his stage??!!

I Loved every minute of it! Loved the old school (Let's Go Crazy, Baby I'm a Star, Purple Rain) and the snipits of Jimi and The Foo.

Best part about the Superbowl!

**ETA  Video was removed from Youtube because of Copyright.  I will repost if it becomes available again!

$1.96 A Gallon!!!!??

The way gas prices were looking last spring, I never thought I would see gas get this low again.  Its awesome!  How long can we expect this to last, I wonder?

Wanted to share the layouts I started last weekend and finally finished up.  I got sick and tired of staring at them unfinished on the kitchen table after 4 days and did something about it :)  Scrapping has been a struggle lately...just not feeling it.  I bet that will change once all the new products from the upcoming CHA show come out next month (and right in time for my 30th birthday!)

And me and my Jenny.

So, I went to the ENT specialist yesterday.  I  found out after a CT scan that I have the largest sinuses the Dr. has ever seen (and this is the 2nd Doc who has told me this).  Weird, huh? Well anyway, there is no sign of infection in my sinuses or my ear.  I do have significant clicking in my jaw that he thinks might be causing the headaches and ear pain.  I will have to go to an oral surgeon and see what might be the next step. The ENT Dr. also sent me to get extensive allergy testing to find out why I have chronic nasal congestion, hopefully we will know what I am allergic to next week.  One other discovery at my visit yesterday is that I have a lump on my thyroid. I have to go to the hospital Friday afternoon to have a biopsy done.  I was a little nervous about this at first, but my dad sent me this article and I feel much more relieved afer reading it.  My mom told me that there is a history of thyroid problems in her family, so it could just be genetic.  Either way, there is no sense in dwelling on it until I know what is going on, but I wanted to document it here anyway.  Asking for extra good thoughts my way couldn't hurt either :)

Looking forward to the 3-day weekend, this week has been much longer than usual!!

Hope everyone has a good one :)

Coming to you Live....

From my brand-new kick-ass laptop!!!!

This is what I got HP dv6135nr Notebook.  It is totally amazing and on sale at a fabulous price! This machine is exclusive to Best Buy and this time I spent the extra money for the performance plan.  That way if anything happens to it in the next three years, it will be covered :)

Now I am just trying to reinstall the programs that I lost on my old machine.  Kind of a PITA, but I already know that I am going to be much happier so it is worth it!  I still need to find some kind of hard-drive reader so I can retrieve all of my files from the old laptop HD.  Has anyone ever needed to do that?  Lots of pics and docs that had not been backed up on my external drive that I need to get back. 

Here is a pic of the new and the old laptops, side by side.  The new one is so quiet and so much lighter! Good riddance to the old beast!

   

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So yeah, this week is almost like Christmas with the new laptop and new car hopefully by the end of the week.  For those of you who were asking, I am buying Bri & Mich's Lexus RX300.  They are upgrading to the bigger Lexus SUV and they are giving me a deal I couldn't pass up :)  Pics to follow after the deal is done!

Hometown Invasion Tour- I wish I had thought of this first!!!!!

Who has heard about the HownTown Invasion Tour??????   I highly suggest you click on the link, but to make a long story short, there is a recent college grad named Justin Sailor from MI, who decided that he was going to take a year off to travel before starting his career.  His goal was to visit all 50 states, staying with a host family at each stop to save money.  He has recently made his dream a reality and has a blog highlighting all of his stops.  I think this is such a cool, cool idea!! If only I had thought of it first!! LOL.  I actually heard about the story in my local newspaper after Justin made his way to White Bear Lake last week.  He even visited our new elemtary school in Hugo!    I plan to follow him as he makes his way around the country.  So far his route has been (MI, WI, IA, MN, SD, ND) He has a link on his blog where people can leave suggestions of places for him to visit, and he is also still looking for host families.  Check out his site!!!!! He is also an aspiring photographer has pics from each of his stops:)

Other stuff:

Spent most of the weekend scrappin and taking it easy. Had a nice time at Sarah's with Shannon, Gina and Gina's daughter Kayla on Saturday morning .  I love that a few of my friends like to scrap now too! They don't obsess about it like the rest of us do(LOL) but they have fun :)

Finished Lanee's book....I think I did 34 pages.  New world record for me!!  I had not planned to do that much, but Lanee kept handing me cute pics and I couldn't say no! LOL.  I plan to give them the album on Thursday at the Groom's dinner.  That way they will have it to set out at the wedding.  I will post a slideshow of the layouts sometime shortly after that!

Thinking about getting a referral to a ears, throat, nose doc.  I am sick of my sinus problems, think I need a specialist.  My left ear is all out of whack now too. 

Ordered some books from Amazon.  Thanks for the recommendations, Rolana and Ashley.  Can't wait to get new books, I have been in withdrawal!

Went to a kick-ass rock show the other night at the Rock Nightclub.  Got to see Ra, a really awesome band!  The stupid lights were in my eyes all night and the music was deafening, but it rocked.

This reminds me...Happy Birthday, Alexandra!!!  Birthday love to you soon! Muah!!!

Have a great week everyone!!

Donnie Darko & Davanni's

Today I am going to tell you about two of my "favorites".

First up......Donnie Darko.  Who has seen this movie with Jake Gyllenhaal? It is kind of strange, but is is one that really makes you think, makes you want to talk to others about it after you see it.  Is it about time-travel? Divine intervention? Second chances? Everyone seems to have their own opinion.  I have seen it probably 4-5 times now, as recently as last night.  They released a Director's Cut version last year and it adds a few things that make the movie even better and a little less confusing.  I recommend you rent this one with friends so that you can talk about it afterward!

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Second thing.....Davanni's pizza.  Specifically, Davanni's FROZEN pizza.  For those of you not from the Twin Cities, Davanni's is a local chain restaurant, famous for their "pizza and hot hoagies".  They make an absolutely delicious chicago-style deep-dish pizza.  Really good stuff, I tell ya! Well anyway, I just saw that they carry 5 varieties of frozen pizza at my local grocery store.  We bought one and had it for lunch yesterday......it tastes just like at the restaurant!!  It takes an hour to make the damn thing (25 minutes thawing at room temp and then 35 to min to bake it), but it is totally worth it!! I know everyone in my family should be pretty excited about this!

So there ya have it!

Have a nice weekend!

The best surprise!

I got the best surprise this morning....flower delivery!!!! This gorgeous and thoughtful arrangment was sent to me (along with some heavenly chocolates) from family in Chicago.  This totally made my morning. It was so unexpected!    How cute is it that it came in this giant margarita glass/vase? Thank you, Dana!! I love, love, love it!! And the chocolates are so yummy too!

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Thanks again to everyone for all the well wishes:)  It means a lot! I obviously don't have anything too exciting to update about at the moment, so I'll have to share a few boring pics of my gimpiness.  By Thursday a.m, I was REALLY getting sick of staring at my elevated leg on the sofa.  Keeping this baby iced though:) 

I have come to realize that I am a very impatient patient. I am not used to being waited on and I hate being dependent on others.  I usually would rather get up and get my own water than have someone else do it for me.  Isn't that pathetic? I couldn't be a princess if I tried. LOL. I had less pain on Thursday, so I was hobbling around the house quite a bit.... which wasn't too smart, because now my knee is hurting more again and I also have a big pain in the butt.  Seriously...my right cheek is aching from supporting so much weight as I gimp around!!!

I was finally able to shower this morning (I could not have stood one more day...my hair was like a grease slick.  Not kidding either!).  This meant I was finally able to unveal my knee....as ugly as it is, I was relieved to see that there was NOT a huge incision on the outside of my knee.  Just the 3 holes from the scopes.  Pretty scary looking though! I swear, if this leg wasn't attached to my body, I wouldn't believe that it is mine...so swollen and disfigured.... and you can't even see all the bruising along the outter part of my knee in this pic.

Now that I have shared that ugly beast,  I am going to spare you the pics of the inside of my knee!

Planning to stay inside all weekend and keeping it cool.  100' is too hot for me!

Happy Birthday Kara!

I wanted to wish a very happy birthday to my good friend Kara! We've had a lot of fun together throughout the years. Here is a collage I made for her....

Kara's fiancee recently surprised her with plans to go to Hawaii for her birthday, so that is where she is right now.  (For the second year in a row.)  Lucky girl! I travel vicariously through her :)  I can only dream of a honeymoon as long and luxurious as hers this upcoming September...two weeks in Italy and then two weeks in Fiji. Wow!

A few of us got together at Champps on Sunday to celebrate Kara's birthday before she left.  I have to say that Mary's little boy Chase looks like a little "man" now with that haircut (He is 16 months old).  He is so cute! Mandie looks fabulous and feeling great about being pregnant.  Her baby girl is due Labor Day weekend, the week before Kara's wedding.  She was supposed to be a bridesmaid but decided that her due date was just too close!

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In other news, the good ol' City of Hugo now has a grocery store about two miles from me! I have waited 5 years for this, people.  It is a big deal.  Festival Foods opened a few weeks ago so I went for a big trip on Sunday.  It is so nice in there! We went a little crazy and spent $250.  We haven't gone grocery shopping together in like 8-10 months! King Crab legs were just $8.88/lb.  Have you ever seen them that cheap? I bought 4 lbs!

Have a nice day...just 3 more days of work and then I get a week off before summer school starts!

Birthday Love :)

I wanted to give a big heartfelt {Thank you} to all of you who called, text'd me, Pm'd me, e-mailed me,  Im'd me, made a tag or card for my birthday, left a comment or just thought of me this weekend.  You all made my day so much brighter!! I am very behind in the blogs and 2P & SJ Galleries from being out of town all weekend, but I look forward to little surprises like the ones I have already seen by Susan and Sarah.  I especially LOVE the presentation of this gorgeous tag made by Yolanda (one of CK's 2006 Fresh Faces). You girls are awesome!

We never really celebrated my birthday on Saturday since we had so many other family obligations, but E did take me to the Chicago Auto Show at McCormick Place during the afternoon.  This place is ginormous! The auto show was pretty cool! We walked around for several hours and saw a ton of cars.I would love to drive (or at least take a ride) in one of these Ferrari's

Or this new Little Red Corvette! Vroom vroom!

Saturday night the whole family (20 of us in all) went out for a dinner at Lo Garden (Chinese).  After dinner we all went back to E's uncle's house where we had our own little Texas Hold "Em tourney. Would you believe that we only had one game because it lasted almost 2 1/2 hours...and the pot was only $30??!! I almost took it all....it went down to the wire, just me and E's other Uncle, both all-in.....his 3 of a kind beat my 2 pair. Effin A! But it sure was the most exciting $5 buy-in I ever played!

And now we are back in St Paul, safe & sound...it was a nice, dry daytime drive...quite the opposite from our drive in to Chicago last week. That trip was very snowy, slippery, dark and scary as hell. Today E took me to my favorite restaurant and then to the bookstore so I could pick out some books for myself as a birthday gift.  I got:

* Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister by Gregory Maquire

*How to Sleep with a Movie Star by Kristin Harmel

*Vanishing Acts by Jodi Picoult (I also want to read My Sister's Keeper)

*The Eight by Katherine Neville

*Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld

*100 Ghastly Little Ghost Stories

**The Effects of Light by Miranda Beverly-Whittemore

Now I plan to do a little scrappin' tonight as a belated birthday treat to myself :)

Sayonara!

Random stuff of the week.....

***Aliens of the Deep

The following pictures were taken in Mexico last week by Mike Miller, of Mound West Tonka, MN.  Apparently these deep sea creatures turned up on shore while he was there on vacation.  Mike is a friend of my friend Bradie. Scientists are studying them to try to classify these unknown fish.

I know this happened after the 2004 Tsunami also.  Makes me wonder what happened this time that caused them to wash ashore.  I always find it fascinating to think about what mysteries our oceans hold for us, which is probably why I enjoyed the Disney movie Aliens of The Deep so much! Excellent documentary, go rent it!

**State of the Union vs. Meet the Barkers

I watched about 30 minutes of President Bush's SOTUA and then it got kind of boring to me.  Flipped on a show called "Meet the Barkers" instead.  I have never seen it or heard of the Barker's before.  Anyone know who they are?? Are they celebrities or just random people getting in on the reality show kick??  I figured at least one of you TV junkies could answer this question for me!

**CHA previews for you scrappers

Monique at Scrap Etc. is at CHA right now and has done a fabulous job of uploading tons of pics to her store's weblog.  Go check it out if you'd like to see all the yummy new scrapbook stuff!  Some of it I absolutely LOVE, but I have to admit I don't love the new KI as much as I loved last year's stuff.  Too monochromatic for me, I guess.  It is still beautiful though. Go check out her pics and let me know what you think!  What are your favorite new paper lines??

***A new puppy for Mary

My friend Mary got this adorable little puppy for her birthday on Monday.  I think she said it is an American Bulldog.  Looks like a pittbull to me!  This is her daughter Taylor who will be 6 years old tomorrow! Aren't they cute!?

***Insurance Woes

How many of you truly understand your auto/home insurance policies and know the contents of them, as far as what is covered and what is not, in the event of an accident?  Do you know how much your deductible is? How about those of you who live in a townhome association? Did any of you know that you cannot be liable for yourself in the event that you cause damage to property you own with (lets just say) your own vehicle? Take it from me.....these are things I encourage you to know BEFORE an accident happens.  It is no fun to find out AFTER the fact that your townhome deductible is $5,000, and that any damage done to your own home caused by a car that you are on the auto insurance for is NOT covered.  It especially sucks when the so-called damage is estimated at just over $5,000 to fix and you have to come up with all of it yourself. I am not going to get into how/why I know this stuff now, but I do.  Makes for a very sad, sad situation.  One that costs so much that the trip you were "waiting to confirm" for Cancun is a distant thought.  If anyone wants to help ease my current depression, I am accepting financial donations!!

Brushes & Names

First of all, I would like to give a BIG shout-out to Ms. Teague for doing up this fabulous tutorial about how to use Photoshop brushes.  I finally figured it out!  Here is my first simple attempt:

This is a photo I took of one of my girlfriends who has just 7 weeks to go until her baby is born!  Since they chose not to know the sex of their baby, she has several thoughts on what to name the baby.

What you name your baby is very important, don't you agree? Here are some sites about names, etc that I found fun to check out!

History of Names

Baby Namer

Popular Baby Names

Baby Name Network

Funny Baby Names (Thanks Jennifer!)

Thats all I have time for right now....it is absolutely gorgeous for being January in Minnesota, so I am going to go out and enjoy it!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Thankful!

Gobble Gobble!
Today is the day when most American Citizens sit back, eat a huge turkey meal and think about what they are thankful for.  I like to think I show my thanks in my everyday life, but I rarely ever acknowledge it here.  So today I am going to join many of my blogging girls and make a list of what I am thankful for, in no particular order.

My darling E- For being so smart, for always thinking three steps ahead, for loving me and being so generous.  For being a music lover and a collector of many things. For being a good friend and for putting up with me for the past seven years :)

My brothers- I have two amazing younger brothers, Brian and Jeff. I am a very proud big sis....Jeffrey is super cute,  smart and witty...and he helps me with my computer problems.  Gonna be a millionare someday soon.  Love him to death!  Brian is also adorable in a serious kind-of way.  He became a father this past summer and it is amazing to see him with his baby girl.  He is incredibly smart, a leader, a hard worker and has built himself a wonderful life, including marrying Michelle.  Michelle is my beautiful little sister (in-law) who has become the most proud mama to Annika.  She makes my brother so happy...she is also his high school sweetheart, his #1 love.                             

My parents- the role models who taught me to be responsible, independent, open-minded and kind-hearted.  Raising me and my brothers within a strong marriage, being supportive, authoritative and putting $ aside for the important stuff like taking us on family vacations!

My Grandparents- For letting me come and stay with them in Scottsdale whenever I am am visiting AZ.  My Gram for being an awesome cook/baker and taking me shopping and my Gramps for always doing magic tricks with us when we were growing up.

My HUGE extended family- It is so much fun having a million aunts and uncles and cousins.  I love them all!  I wish I could see you all more often

My FRiendS-  I have too many to name them all, but my very bestest are Lanee, Sonja, Mary and Kim.  For being there for me for sooooo many years.  Jenny for being such a great listener and loving to do different kind of activities with me.  Shannon for being such a great friend/neighbor....I wouldn't have found my house if it weren't for you! Kara for being so much fun and showing me a good time just when I need it. Bradie for being my oldest friend in the world. Mandie for all the fun we used to get into...love telling old stories with you! My college roommates, Laura, Laura, Katie and Cora...for having so much fun with me while preparing for our futures.  Jen and Lori...for venting with me about that place we used to work! I could go on and on and on....

My blogging girls- .For giving me something fun or thoughtful to think about.  For enjoying the things I have to say and letting me know that you're there to listen.  For being my friends.

My Kitties- Phoenix, Pharaoh, Isis and Dusty.... for being so SMART, sweet and lovable.  Such unique personalities in each of them.  I adore them all like my babies

The roof over my head-  Owning a place that is big and inviting.  Having it filled with artwork and other things I love.

Bessie- For not nickel and diming me over the past 7 years.  For the fun road trips

Scrapbooking- For being a way to combine my thoughts, feelings, creativity with pictures of the people I care about.

Scrapjazz- For all the amazing ladies who answered my questions when I was just beginning to scrap.  For the fun message boards that allow me to waste some time whenever I have some to spare.  For being able to post my layouts and getting feedback about my work.  For the friends that I have made.

Books- For the stories, information and letting me escape.  For being my most favorite hobby of all time.

My education- For providing me with the skills I need to be a good teacher, but also for the general background knowledge that seemed so pointless at times. 

My Camera- For always being there when a Kodak moment arises.  For capturing a moments in time.

My Computer- For storing all my photos and music, for allowing me to connect to the WWW, for having programs that make my job and life easier.

My Career- Having a job that I love.....educating high ability/gifted students.  For challenging me to think "outside the box" in order to keep these smart kids on their toes!  For providing me with a decent salary.

I have many more things that I am thankful for, but it is now time to get the Thanksgiving Festivities underway!!

Holy Crap! 10,000+ Hits

I just looked at my site counter and saw that I now have over 10,000 hits to this site.  10,000 hits in a little over 6 months time.  Amazing!!!!!  Who knew that I would have that many people who are interested enough in Mi Vida Ocupada and what I have to say to keep coming back??  I feel honored.... Thank you so much!!! Thanks especially to my regular readers, friends, family, and others who have me linked on their sites.  I hope I continue to have things to share that will keep you coming back in the future.  I also hope some of you lurkers will break out of your shyness and show me a little love with a comment now and then.

Goodnight ya'll!!!!!

PB Loco: The best Peanut butter in the world!

I made a discovery out at the Mall of America on Saturday that just might change my life, if not the world....as long as you like peanut butter! There is a new company based here in the Twin Cities that makes blended, flavored peanut butter.  The store is called PB Loco and they make the best peanut butter you will ever have in your life!!! Move over Jiffy, Skippy, Peter Pan.....you've got NOTHING on PB Loco's White Chocolate Raspberry PB or the Jungle Banana PB. OMG!!!!  They had free samples at the store at MOA and one tiny spoonful and I had to buy a jar of each! They use real ingredients to get the best flavor combinations.  I couldn't believe that no one had thought of this before, it is so effin good!

The only PB Loco other than the one here at the Mall of America is in Scottsdale, AZ.  Don't worry, the great news is that you can buy it online!!!!!  Oh, I love the internet :)  Click the link above to see all the yummy flavors they offer. Order it and enjoy...you'll be thanking me!

Ooooh, just think how good it would be drizzled on vanilla or chocolate ice cream....heavenly!

Go Bananas!

I have always liked bananas, but lately I have been craving them like crazy! I wonder if this means I am low on potassium (and NO! I am definitely NOT pg).  I have had weird, specific cravings my entire life and right now it is bananas! (PS It also has nothing to do with Gwen Stefani's song!)

*Bananas alone or on cereal

*Banana ice cream

*Banana Bread

*Banana cream pie

I splurged and bought.....

The Canon Powershot SD500 camera.  I have been wanting a new, smaller, high resolution point-and-shoot camera for months now, and I had done some shopping around and decided this was the one I wanted.  I ended up buying it at Best Buy after looking at many other stores.  It is pretty tiny yet still has 7.1 megapixels!  I have just started to read the manual and haven't had a chance to take any pics yet, but I have tons going on this weekend so I'll be able to practice.

I am sooooo excited to start using it!! Gone are the days of being disappointed by the crappy pics my old camera takes!!

Be sure to check back for pics from this weekend!

No More Working Late!

I just realized that I do not have to work late tonight for the first time all year....After school program is over. Yay!!!!! This means I can leave work by 4pm instead of 6 like I am used to!! This means more time to cook and scrap. Just wish the weather was a little warmer and sunnier...instead it is 42 and pretty dreary!

Chipotle Rocks!

Chipotle, Chipotle, Chipotle!!! I just had to have it, so I went and got a yummy chicken burrito with black beans for lunch today!!! And they have the best guacamole too!