This one's for Diana...

Getting ready for girls' weekend...

This weekend I'm going to Chicago for girls' weekend. I'm not sure if I've mentioned this, but I am really excited. I'm flying there on Friday with two of my friends and we're staying at another friend's apartment. We all went to high school together and have never done a trip like this before. The last time I went to visit Erin in Chicago (besides her wedding, which I don't really count since it was so busy) was freshman year of college. So I've never seen her apartment and I've never met her dog, Brady. Otis is going to be so jealous that I'll be hanging out with another dog.

Tonight I went at got my hair cut, so that I'll be looking my best when we're prowling around town. ;) My hair stylist ended the cut by saying, "Mission Accomplished." Haha. She's awesome.

It seems kind of pathetic to have Dave take a photo of my new haircut, just so I can post a picture of it on my blog. So I guess you'll have to wait in suspense until Monday, when I'm home and can post some photos of the trip.

Yes, I run. Sometimes...

One of my ideas when I started blogging was to write about running and training for my next big race (Twin Cities 10-miler on Oct. 7). However, as many of you know, I’m a big slacker when it comes down to actually going outside and running a few miles. So there really hasn’t been too much for me to write about…

But I actually did get an opportunity to run a 5-K race with some friends at work back in the beginning of August on a cold and rainy Saturday morning. It was the Shakopee Derby Days race. Despite the rain, the race was actually kind of fun. It was at Canterbury Downs and the race starts on the actual horse-race track. There was a trumpet player playing a horse race tune (is there an actual name for the horse race music they play??), and then you get to leave the starting gate just like a horse (not that I really want to be a horse, but it is a unique way to start a race).

To my surprise, I got an email this morning with some pictures of the race. Thought they’d be fun to share.

Can you find me in this one?

Oh, the places I'll go...

What can I say? I have nothing new or exciting to post. Today was a long day back at work. I'm ready for a vacation. Oh yes, I am going on vacation to Chicago on Friday for girls' weekend! Hurray!! But for now, I guess I'll daydream about all the exotic places I want to go where I've never been (because of course I want to go to all the places where I have family and friends!)

• Paris, France
• Anywhere in the Caribbean
• Australia
• Africa
• Los Angeles, CA
• Peru
• Chile
• Alaska
• Las Vegas, NV
• Jackson Hole, WY
• New Zealand
• Russia
• Italy
• Greece
• Ireland
• Scotland
• Indonesia
• Prince Edward Island, Canada

Got any ideas for me? I'm sure my geography-teaching/world-traveling sister has some good ideas!

Super Saturdays

I love Saturdays. I have a whole day with no obligations and I can do whatever I want. Well, being the responsible person that I am, I usually spend my day with no obligations doing the things that I've neglected during the week....cleaning, laundry, paying bills, grocery shopping, etc. But it's great because I feel like I get so much accomplished.

Today I woke up with really bad allergies, so I had to wait for the Claratin to kick in. Then I went running. Yes, I ran! Thought I'd get my blog done for the day and next I'm going to clean! Woo hoo. So exciting, huh? I talked to Dave this morning (he's working at the moment)...he didn't sleep too well, so my goal is to get done cleaning before he gets home...then the two of us can go to the grocery store, dry cleaners and then relax the rest of the afternoon and evening.

Live this moment

Today was my first day back at work after a great vacation. It was rough day...getting swept back into the craziness of work. I was pretty stressed out last night and today about everything that's been going on a work lately. So Tonya's post on her blog today helped remind me not to stress so much about the small stuff. Here's what she had to say:

The answer is to live the present moment. Live this minute to its very fullest. Regrets are in the past and won't change history and worries about the future will not add another minute to our lives. We need to appreciate the fact that, even with cancer, you have a life, here, now. Living each moment is the secret to wellness. Many people think that they will get back to living once they are physically better. But, now is the time. Live each moment to the fullest.

So tonight I'm pretty exhausted and I'm going to hop in to bed early and read my book....just relax for a little bit before my alarm goes off and I have another hectic work day. Tomorrow is Friday -- Hurray!!

Family vacation

We just got back from our soggy family vacation. Yes, soggy. Only in Minnesota, would you go camping in August and it would be in the 60's, overcast and raining for three days. It rained every day on our camping trip. Actually, the rain wasn't too bad. Dave and I were still able to get our campfires started. I guess I'd rather take the cool, wet weather than 90-some degrees and humid.

Good thing we actually rented a cabin, so I'm not sure if you'd call it camping. Our cabin is best described as a shed with windows. Basically, it had bunk beds and a counter top, with a mini-refrigerator and a microwave. But we had to build a campfire, which was right outside our front door, to make our meals. (Rachel -- I know you've been anticipating the part where I talk about the food we ate.) The first night, we roasted hot dogs. The second night, we grilled steaks. The third night, we made poor man's dinner (ground beef chunks, onions, green peppers, mushrooms and potatoes wrapped in aluminum foil and cooked on the fire). We roasted a lot of marshmallows too.

We spent a lot of time reading our books. We also went rollerblading on the Paul Bunyan Trail one day. We also rented a fishing boat, so I could catch my first fish. (I've only gone fishing one other time in my life, and I have never caught a fish). Well, it turns out the fish weren't biting this weekend. I'm 0-for-2 on catching fish. The only thing Dave caught was a little baby fish off the dock. He didn't catch anything on the boat either. Otis was a little hesitant about his first boat ride, but soon enjoyed the breeze in his face as Dave sped our boat around. (FYI...that was a joke. Our boat did not speed -- we possibly could have paddled faster.) All in all, our vacation was a good time.

Otis is his name and camping is his game.