An Apache Marriage Blessing For Your Saturday Morning....

So I was making cards this week and came across this beautiful poem that turns out is a traditional Apache Marriage Blessing.  I have two wedding showers this month (both of which I'm unfortunately missing) but I am using this poem in both cards because it kind of captures the essence of each couple.  They are both very outdoorsy and active so an American Indian blessing seems kind of fitting for couples of nature :)

Now you will feel no rain, for each of you will be shelter for the other.
Now you will feel no cold, for each of you will be warmth for the other.
Now there will be no loneliness, for each of you will be a companion for the other.
Now you are two persons, but there is only one life before you.
May beauty surround you both in the journey ahead and through all the years. May happiness be your companion and your days together be good and long upon this earth.

If you are married, or with a special someone, I hope this blessing echoes your relationship.  Enjoy your Saturday!  We are off to an Easter Egg Hunt, an Easter Dinner and a Baptism!

Crazy Busy Beautiful Life

So these last few weeks have flown by and I have neglected my blog once again.  I'll hurry and catch you up so I can start fresh again tomorrow ;)

Halloween came and went - my hubby and I dressed up as Fred and Wilma Flintstone.  I don't have any fabulous pictures of us - plus he doesn't like his photo on my blog, but I'm sure we looked JUST like them ;)

Then we helped clean out the cabin and shut it down for the winter - that's always a sad, sad time of the year. But, I got some beautiful pictures (on my camera that I can't find) - it's even pretty when it's brown. 

The next few days I spent getting my newsletter ready for deer season.  Deer Season is a Holiday for my family (and many extended friends!) We have around 60 people that come up and stay at different cabins whether it be land they bought or on my Grandpa's land.  Then, we all get together for different meals throughout the week.  It's truly my favorite time of the year.  I write a newsletter that is going on 15 years....crazy to think I started it when I was 9!  So, I got that ready and packed and headed home for a 5 day weekend.  It was wonderful - but it was really nice to come home again too.  My hubby hunted at his family's house so I missed him while I was gone, it's always more fun when they can join you :) 

Now, I've been back since Monday and today's Wednesday and I'm working on getting back into my routine.  I didn't do so hot this morning because I slept in and it's already 10:30 and I should be doing something very productive.....I bought groceries yesterday and cut up all the produce right away so they are in handy little baggies to just grab and munch <3  Today I am going to throw some more chopped up veggies in the crockpot for a new stew for tonight's dinner.  Well, now you've caught up on my life.....more interesting things tomorrow - maybe. 

Moscato Wine!

It's no secret that I love wine, especially white "desserty" wine.  I follow many different blogs and one of them that I stumbled across, Life's a Happy Hour, featured my favorite flavor of wine, Moscato and I was intrigued by her review of Villa Alena Moscato Wine from Trader Joe's, so obviously, I had to try it - and I loved it!  We drank some after canning on Friday night and I have to share our pictures of our "food photography" experiments.

Oops, too fast!

Again, my hand is in the way, and it looks just plain weird to have the bottle right there.

There!  The grapes do the trick!  I think the wine glass could probably be moved off the cutting board, but we are amateurs, what do you want from us? ;)

Canning, Football, Friends, Fun!!

My weekend was filled with fun.  I'm exhausted!  Friday night, I canned dill pickles (read bout it here). Saturday morning I woke up at 5:10am and headed to the farmer's market for my produce to can some salsa!  Yum!!!  And it was so much fun - and lots of work.  I have a bunch of pictures, but they are on my friend's camera so you will have to wait to see them until tomorrow or something.  We canned ALL DAY!  Then Sunday we made raspberry rhubarb jelly and rhubarb muffins.  Sunday afternoon we headed to a friend's house for some Vikings football and even though we didn't win, it was still a wonderful time!  Our host made bbq ribs, corn muffins, cucumber salad - wow!  I ended the night reading a book - all in all, successful, fun filled weekend!!

And I made a new friend - and we are going to start a book club!  I can't wait!

I had a great day...until...

Hello blog followers,

I promised a post about mornings last night.  I didn't get to it this morning.  I did however, get up earlier, so that's a start!!  I had a great day.  I worked both jobs, I got to spend time with a great friend and we ventured to a farmer's market - but then, my day kind of turned around....stupid ATM ate my debit card!  ugh!  I mistyped my PIN ONE TIME!  Aren't they suppose to give you 3 tries?  Anyway, I called the bank - of course I got no answer and was cut off multiple times.  Needless to say it was kind of a crappy ordeal.  I treated myself to frozen yogurt to soothe my irritability.  It worked, for a little while.  Then I came home and complained to my hubby about it.  And he made me a personalized pizza to make me feel better....yes, pizza makes me feel better.  At least it was a pita pizza so it was a bit healthier - and turkey pepperoni...that helps.  Anyway, I'm in a slightly better mood.  At least I know where my card is.  I probably won't get that one back, but no one else has it and my money is safe.  So I will go to bed and start fresh tomorrow.

National Banana Split Day

Today, my friends, is

National Banana Split Day!! 

Now, I'm not sure where this originated, but in my family, it was my Grandma Bev that started this tradition.  She always had a calendar of National Holidays and Banana Split Day was always listed on it.  It is always on August 25th and it just so happened to be the perfect ending of summer before we started school the following week.  My siblings and myself are the only grandchildren of my mom's side, so Grandma always made sure we invited any 2nd, 3rd, 4th cousins...etc. and all our friends.  It became quite the tradition and very well known, locally!  My Grandma passed away from a 34 year battle with cancer last November, but no worries, her legend lives on in each of us - and this year, in National Banana Split Day!! My family is having a Free Will Donation National Banana Split Day Celebration at the city hall in our home town.  All proceeds will be donated to the COLEG fund at the Lancaster Public School.  How I wish I were home to help out with this wonderful tribute!  Grandma would be proud.  She worked at the school for most of her life and I know the COLEG fund would be her ideal place to donate the funds.  Even though I cannot be with my family today, we will be celebrating here.  I think I will stick with the traditional toppings and ice cream flavors, but tell me, what do YOU like on your ice cream?

To Market, to Market - to by a bunch of cucumbers!

The Minneapolis Farmer's Market has been quoted to be the largest in the midwest. Now, I don't know if that's true, but it sure is big!  I think there are 5 (very long) permanent red tents that make way for a large selection of locally grown (and some imported) fruits and veggies. Then there are more tents that are set up by the vendors themselves.    This past Sunday was my first official trip when the market was going on.  I have been to the location before, but only to park for the Twins' game since Target Field was so close!  Oops!  Honestly, I didn't see this sign there that day! My trip was awesome. Although I could have done without the heat, I came home with a bunch of cucumbers, tomatoes and strawberries.  I could have bought a ton more, but I didn't know exactly what I was going to do with everything. My friend Jessica Malone joined me - well, actually SHE drove ME.  The farmer's market is on my list of places to go again (at least a few more times) before they close up in late September.  And, of course, Jess and I have major plans to tackle some canning with all our produce, too.  I am enjoying the TC, but apartment living doesn't leave much room for a garden and I do love to can.  At least I have a ton of options from the Farmer's Market this year and they are all pretty affordable.

Dinner With Friends

Last evening we had the pleasure of having the hubby's high school friends over for supper.  The night before I spent prepping (which I loved!!) and prepared cucumber salad, potato salad, jello-vanilla strawberry pie (yummy!!), corn on the cob, and a chicken marinade.  It was one of my first experiences preparing a meal for 6+ people all alone.  I shouldn't say alone, though, one of the friends brought salsa, chips, mixed berries and some hamburger to contribute.  We had a great meal!  We started off the evening with a pool party while the hubby grilled.  Then enjoyed the meal on the picnic table.  After, we headed inside to some much needed AC and had dessert.  It was so wonderful to get the 'gang' all together again.  One couple is heading to Tennessee for schooling so it'll be while before we see them again.  Our other friends live just north of the TC so we are lucky we get to see them more often, but we always enjoy time we get to spend together. 


Light Strawberry Pie Recipe

1 graham cracker crust
1 package instant vanilla pudding (fat free, sugar free)
1 package strawberry jello (fat free, sugar free)
1 container of strawberries, cleaned and sliced
1 container fat free cool whip

Prepare vanilla pudding and jello as directed.  Mix vanilla pudding, jello and strawberries and pour into graham cracker crust.  Place in fridge until firm.  Top with fat free cool whip!

Makes 8 servings (decent size).

Weekend Re-Cap

I had the best weekend.  Friday evening the hubby and I went to Teresa's Mexican Restaurant in Mendota Heights.  I thought it was delicious.  I had tres Marias and the cheese sauce was awesome.  I also indulged in a daiquiri (which was so big I couldn't finish) and I thought it was delicious.  The hubby thought it was too syrupy though, so I guess it's really a hit or miss depending on your taste buds.  Then we went home and I slept  - and slept - and slept.  I think I fell asleep around 8pm and woke up around 4:30am Saturday morning.  It was much needed though and I wish I could go back to sleep right now.  There was a huge storm all Friday night/early Saturday morning and the skies did not look like they were going to clear up for my tubing adventure.  Instead, the girls and I headed to Rochester anyway, met up with my sister-in-law and went to a burger joint called Newts.  Again, delicious food!  I was quite spoiled this weekend because I got to indulge in a lot of delicious cuisine.  On our way back from Rochester we stopped at the Cannon River Winery in Cannon Falls, MN.  It just so happened to be their wine and art fair this weekend too!! Lucky us!  We paid $5 and got to try 3 different types of wine.  My favorite was Winter Ice - and then I looked at the price of the bottle $45!  I think I'll stick to my barefoot wine for now ;)  It was tasty and light too - the perfect dessert wine.  We hustled back so some of the girls could go to the HP-72 movie. Who knew that movies were going to be getting abbreviations like that.  To me, it seems like a listing of some sort of gene that I'd study in school ;).  The other girls and myself went to Jen's apartment and swam and gussied ourselves up for a night on the town at Toby Keith's I Love this Bar and Grill.  It was a fun night filled with lots of laughter and old stories :)  Sunday brought on another heat wave and a much needed trip to another local ice cream shop.  My friend Jess LOVES ice cream and so I do, so I know exactly who to call when I want an ice cream fix.  This time we ventured Izzy's Ice Cream Shop  in St. Paul.  It was delicious!  They even have black licorice ice cream, which is my mother-in-law's favorite, so I can't wait to bring her there.  They make their own waffle cones and they have what they call the "Izzy Scoop" which is a watermelon ball size scoop of ice cream (of your choice of flavor) on top of your regular scoop of ice cream that you already chose. It's like a sample of a new flavor ;)  Sunday afternoon we had friends come over for swimming and pizza and then at 8pm I had a softball game in St. Louis Park.  Overall, awesome weekend - hoping this week flies by because Saturday is a wedding in Rochester and Sunday I'm going to attempt to tube..again!  Wishing you a great week!

My Personal Commandments

There are so many things that excite me about Oprah Winfrey's website, especially under the "Spirit" section.  I find it a little ironic that I am now obsessing over an Oprah website when I was definitely that girl who rolled her eyes when she came home from school and found her mom or grandma watching Oprah.  Everyday...4pm...now it's Dr. Phil.  Still not loving that guy.  Anyway, most of the spirit sections are all about finding yourself, your passion, what you want out of life..etc.  And somewhere among the posts today I found a link to The Happiness Project.  I was hooked. How to make yourself Happy.  Don't we all want that?  Now, I  count myself lucky because I feel pretty happy in life anyway, but I know there is always room for improvement.  So, I read about it and I have to say, that today, I'm starting my personal life commandments (read more!).  I think it's going to be quite a fun project.  I have already picked a few of my favorites:

Dig Deep - my interpretation is that you can do anything you set your mind to, but it may take hard work, dedication and time.  Be patient, work hard and know that it will pay off.  Dig Deep, we have big hearts and we are stronger than we realize :)

Avoid Debt - no one likes money problems.  Live within your means.  I think my hubby and I do this pretty well, but I need to kick a few of my luxury habits like Caribou Coffee and, well, Caribou Coffee.  Once in a while is fine, but whenever I feel a little blue, feel like I deserve a reward, want something refreshing, feel like I need a shot of caffeine....I go there, and quite frankly that's ALL too often!  And, I need to stop going to the vending machines at work.  I still get healthy stuff like pretzels, veggie chips, what have you, but it's costing me money I don't need to spend. 

Stay In Touch - I feel like I do this alright, but I need to continue to work on it.  I spoke with my 13 year old brother for a good 40 minutes last night and that hasn't happened in a LONG time.  It was so fun to catch up about what's new in his life and listen to all his stories (of course they were all sport related)  and I loved every minute of it. 


Stay tuned for more as I come up with them. 

I have to recount my evening last night for you because I got to do 4 of my favorite things. 
1) Hang out with some great friends.  We bummed around different sections of the cities in search of a new ice tea mug for me (success!)
2) We went out to eat - I love, love going out to eat, especially with great friends.
3) We ate pizza!  One of my favorite foods, ever.  If you have never been, you must try Punch Pizza. It's a Neapolitan pizza joint that is only found in and around the TC.  It's awesome pizza! 
4) We went out for ice cream afterwards!  Yummm!! The place is on Grand Avenue and it's called Grand Ole Creamery.  It's an old school, homemade ice cream shop that has very unique flavors and they make their own waffle cones (complete with a malt ball in the bottom to stop the ice cream from coming out).  Highly recommended!! 

Counting down the minutes until my weekend begins. For now, I'll send you off with a hilarious video of the cutest little girl and also a tune that always brightens my day (which we need since it's RAINING in the TC)

Jessica's Daily Affirmations

Jake Owen's Barefoot Blue Jean Night - perfect addition to summer!! 

Toes In the Water

I love summer - most of the time...most of the heat I could do without! What I love are evenings filled with friends, family, bbqs...you get the idea.  So that's why I am super excited about my upcoming weekend because college friends are coming to town and we are going tubing and out to the bar for some much needed girl time and catching up :)  Can't wait! 


Now, onto my ne-blog-ect.  Basically, I haven't been writing because I don't know what to write about.  I felt stuck, lost..what have you.  Don't get me wrong, I love my life but not so much my current job, which has led me on a chase of what my true passion is.  I read a lot of blogs and one of my favorites is cassieland.me.  It's written by an acquaintance from H.S. and I'm so inspired by all her ideas.  Today she had a link about how to write a dream board.  It led me to Oprah Winfrey's website which led to an hour or so of reading all about pursuing what you love to do..etc. I think it gave me the boost of motivation I need to rejuvenate myself for studying and working towards some goals I have. So, thank you, Cassie, for inspiring me. 


My hubby is smack dab in the middle of a pediatric surgery rotation.  He loves it. He said the work is so incredible because you meet these tiny babies and their families who feel as if their baby is "broken" and can't live a very good life and he gets to help "fix" them.  Then they get to go back to the family and tell them how their little angel will live a full and healthy life and the feeling is just incredible. Of course, not every story has a fairytale ending, but so far his team has been lucky.  He definitely stays busy, though.  He gets up at 3:30am to be to work at 4:30 and comes home around 6, but Monday night he didn't get home until 11!  So it really varies.  I try to be helpful and have dinner ready, clothes done, clean house..etc.  I actually really enjoy helping like that.  Thanks to his parents we have a coffee maker that I can preset to have coffee ready for when he leaves in the morning.  I LOVE it.  I know he can make his own coffee, but I feel involved and helpful when I can have it ready for him the night before (and I don't have to get out of bed in the morning!)


I can't wait to share with you the inspiring ideas that I got from Oprah.com/spirit, but I want something to write about tomorrow ;)