"I have never met a man so ignorant that I couldn't learn something from him." ~Galileo Galilei

Friday, December 3, 2010

Snowy Days and Johnny Cash

I don't know why, but snowy days like today, make me want to listen to Johnny Cash while drinking hot coco. I really don't see how Johnny Cash and hot coco really mix together, but to me they make a great pair. So, here I am sitting in Common Roots, drinking hot coco, eating mack and cheese, and listening to Johnny Cash.

Thanksgiving

Hi y'all!

It's time for another update. Last week I was at Dan's Mom and Stepdad's place for Thanksgiving. They are currently living in lakemoore Illinois, and have beautiful home with a fabulous view out of every window. I had only been out there once before since I have been with Dan, so I had a few butterflies before we got there hoping that the weekend would go well. Once we got there those annoying little butterflies quickly flew away. The group consisted of Dan and myself, his mom and stepdad,Dan's sister Lisa and her Husband Jeremy, and then Their step brother JJ and his wife Mary with their four adorable children Mason, Ellie, Hayden, and Sabrina.

We did a road race on Thanksgiving morning, and I am still thinking about how fast Dan's stepdad is! I tried to keep up with him and Jeremy, but just couldn't do it. What speed demons! The race was in Long grove Illinois, and what a cute little town! I told mom and Heather, that if they could see it, they would move there in a heart beat. It reminded me a little of Harry Potter or something like that.

We went to a christmas tree farm to chop down our own tree on Friday, and what a blast it was! It was cold and windy, but the hot coco and doughnuts were delicious as my ears thawed out. I did not take a lot of pictures over the weekend ( I really didn't want to be labeled as "Dan's creepy girlfriend who takes a lot of photos), but I took a few when we were at the tree farm.






The masked man and his pointy ears:






This is Ellie, and she is simply adorable!




Our trip to the tree farm ended with Dan's stepdad forgetting that the tree was on the roof of the car, and driving it in into the garage, and almost destroying the tree. It was probably the funniest thing I have ever seen. I am still giggling about it a week later.

So there you have it. This was probably one of the best and most memorable Thanksgivings I have had thanks to Dan's wonderful family:)

Have a wonderful day everyone!

Friday, November 12, 2010

What's in your Fridge?

My family loves food! There was never a time growing up, when I looked in the fridge, and it was empty. Dad was always cooking up a storm in the kitchen. His great cooking was also popular amongst both Heather's friends and my friends, knowing that if they came over, he was sure to feed them something delightful.

Last night, after I got home from work, I opened the refrigerator door, leaned forward, and said, "I have nothing to eat!" This was of course a lie, I had plenty to eat. This also brought back a memory of yelling that same phrase to mom and dad just about everyday. We could hardly close the door to the fridge, yet I could NEVER find anything to put into my tiny belly. Also, I was reminded of this strange quark that I have: It doesn't matter who's house I am at, I WILL AT SOME POINT open up the refrigerator door and look to see what is inside. I can't help myself! And one might ponder whether or not I judge them based on the contents of their refrigerator? My answer: YES I DO!!! :P

This brings me to my question to anyone who might read this blog: WHAT'S IN YOUR REFRIGERATOR?

I encourage all you lovely people out there to take a picture of your freezer, your fridge, your cupboards, and post them on here, or even my facebook page if you prefer. I would love to peer into your refrigerators!

For those of you who are curious, here are some pictures of what my fridge looked like just the other day:





Before anyone judges me based on my cupboard, I would like to say after this picture was taken, I have reorganized, and it looks so much better...



For anyone who was wondering Trader Joes is the bomb! Get in your car, and pick some of this stuff up! It will totally rock your socks!

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Hurry Back Emily and Nick! I Need Details!!!

Well, the suspense is killing me. I know that Nick popped the question, but I have not been able to get ahold of of them. Dan connected me to their hotel via google voice, but it was 3 a.m. for them. Although, it is a happy time for them, i'm sure getting woken up in the wee hours of the morning is not something they would love.

I just got a video from the two of them from the Tate Modern:



I couldn't download the movie, but at least there is a picture... It was a very daunting task to do so

That rock looks like it is bigger than Emily:)

Congratulations Emily and Nick!!!

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

This blog is in need of an update!

ooh lala.. this was not intended to be in my post, but now that it just took place in front of me, I must share. The coffee barisa (or is it a baristo if it is a guy?), just got friendly with who appeared to be just a customer, but must be his cowboy boyfriend! How exciting!

Now onto what I was going to talk about, the update:

Boy did October fly by! Halloween was as entertaining as it usually is. On Halloween Eves Eve, Dan and I went to Emily's friend Alexa's house for a part with both Nick and Emily. Due to the fact that Dan is the farthest thing from a Chilean Minor both in looks and height, he had to resort to plan B. Here is a picture that I will cherish always, Dan getting in touch with his inner Martha Stewart.







The following day, I went to my friend Steph's house for another Halloween party. As usual her friends and family guarantee for a good time, but let's not forget about the most important party guest there, Mr. Scoot. Although he seems to be hated by all, he is everyones favorite four legged creature to tease, I think that secretly, deep down everyone loves him, and would shed tears of sorrow if he was no longer there. This dog is my hero. Standing not even one foot tall, he seems to be invincible! According to Steph, earlier in the day he got into some of her sisters pills, including her prenatal vitamins. I hope that He is not trying to tell us that he got a sex change and is now in fact a she, and is expecting... I am not sure the world is ready for little scoot Jr's quite yet...

On Halloween, I ended up going to my parents house, where I was greeted by a pirate, as shark, and a darn cute tiger.




This little shark was both cranky and very very tired... He was NOT going to let me take a picture of him, but thanks to my sneaky aunt skills, I got a side view:)



This little tiger know how to work the camera! ROAR!!!!



What I love most of all about Halloween, is watching my father. Every year he seems to grumble about having to walk to and from the door handing out candy to all the little gremlins, but every year, he gets so excited when he opens the door and sees all of the kids in their costumes. He yells out to my mom, "JULIE!!! We've got a little princess at our door step!", or "JULIE! There is no need to worry anymore, because Batman is here to save us!" And, as usual, my dad ALWAYS has to keep track of how many kids come to the door. This year was record breaking!

Emily and Nick are currently in Paris and London right now, and I am taking care of their four legged baby, Gasthof. Nick has been doing a great job at keeping all of us up to date with what they are doing on their trip. Even more importantly, He has been taking pictures of Emily enjoying the yummy food. As a foodie, I greatly appreciate this. Thank You Nicholas! P.S. A little birdie has informed me of an engagement that has taken place:) It's about time! If only my phone would work and I could actually talk to them myself:( DARN YOU SPRINT!!!

Last weekend Dan and took Gasthof for a run around lake calhoun in this heat wave that we are having in November. Dan has also proven to be just as sneaky as me, leaving me a little note in my freezer,,, And what is even more surprising, is that I didn't see it until a couple days later! HA! There you have it Dan, I am not ALWAYS eating;p. That same evening we went to Martin and Malisa's wedding at the new Twins stadium. I have never been to a wedding at a stadium before, and It turned out to be a blast! It was so cool being at the stadium when the stands were empty. Here are a few pictures from the evening:

They set up one of those photo booths, and boy was that fun... Note to self...





I thought this was a really cool idea that they had for their wedding. As they stood before everyone, Martin whipped out the camera, and took pictures of everyone sitting down. They used this to make a panoramic image of all of their guest who shared in the celebration of their happy day.



I love love loved the coasters that they handed out to all of their guest! Martin later told Dan and I that both he and Malisa hand made all of these! Awesome Idea!



And what's a wedding without a little dancing!



Congrat's Martin and Malisa!

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Green Rivers, Green Shirts..... Must Be St. Patty's Day!

I have not made a post in a little while, so here is my update.

The first part of my spring break I went to Chicago to visit Anisha, and I also met Dan's mom and stepdad who live in Lakemoore IL. It was a great weekend!

Here are some images from the weekend:














This past weekend Emily and I ran the Get Lucky 7K in Minneapolis for St. Patricks day. I was sick and still had the tendonitis in my foot, but made it to the end. Here are some images of the day:








Tuesday, February 23, 2010

I have realized that I have not been chasing my nephews around with a camera recently, so the other day i took care of them while my sister ran some errands, and documented the afternoon....

Andrew, the 4 year old, had some cleaning to get done....


"Julie, You have to be prepaired," he said...

This is Boomer, their cat with attitude... I think he is suffering with some sort of bipolarism... No really! One moment he is rubbing up next to you and the next he goes on the attack...


This is Chris, the 2 year old. Time to color!





The following were taken Valentines day weekend when I came over for brunch:





Some tulips that Jeff bought Heather for Valentines! They were beautiful!

Loading up the truck!


I love that little face!



Happy Valentines Day!