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Drink umbrellas are the best kind of umbrellas.

Originally uploaded by Pookareena

With sad hearts, we returned home from Kauai last weekend.

This year, we had a total of 10 travelers in our party including: AdamV, Dena, Chrissy, Justin, Rich & Joy (Justin’s parents), Brandon, Michael, AdamK and me. When we bought our Marriott timeshare in 2005, I imagined how fun it’d be to mingle different activities with a variety of friends/family…and now those thoughts have come to fruition!

Here are a few highlights:

We laid around in the hot sun a lot. It was warmer than usual in Kauai this year, so we took great advantage of the beaches and pools…and blended drinks.

AdamK, Dena and I hit up the Farmers Market. We found delightfully fresh fruit and veggies there which contributed to a couple of lovely meals. AdamK picked up some fish from the local market and made an amazing orange sauce to complement his work on the grill.

I nearly died. Okay, perhaps that’s a little overly dramatic…but yeah, I thought I would forever be stuck in the forests of the Napali Coast. Chrissy and I decided we needed to hike the Kalalau Trail, so we dragged AdamV, Dena, Justin, Michael and Brandon with us. It was a nightmarish combination of climbing boulders straight up into the sky, maneuvering slippery, unstable surfaces, avoiding hoards of fire ants…and once in awhile, there was a flat trail. It was the roughest hike I’ve ever attempted and one I won’t attempt again soon. We got to see Hanakapi’ai Beach, which was cool, but the hike back was brutal. Michael and Brandon took turns waiting for me to catch my breath (Michael & Justin even carried my heavy backpack!) while AdamV made sure I had water when needed - they were awesome. I was in shock for awhile after the 4-mile trek, and even the cold water on Ke’e Beach couldn’t completely shake me back into reality. I don’t like to admit defeat, but the thought that I could hike this aggressive trail in the shape I’m in was…dumb.

I enjoyed my very first helicopter ride. Six of us toured the island and got to see the most beautiful, untouched areas of Kauai. Amazingly tall waterfalls, rugged, tree-lined mountain peaks, hidden beaches…it was breathtaking. I’m still processing the photos, but the stunning images will never leave my mind.

We toured Waimea Canyon with AdamV and Dena. Waimea is always impressive and it was fun to show it off again. We tried to make it to the Kalalau Valley lookout in Kokee Park, but the fog was so dense we had to turn back. That evening, we ended up at the Waimea Brewing Company for dinner/beer and found the rest of the group already there! After eating, we all checked out the black sand beach on the property, but we were more impressed with the enormous trees in the area.

The entire group attended the Smith Family Luau. Adam & I both liked this luau far better than last year’s at Kilohana Plantation. The grounds were magnificent: Japanese gardens, ponds and ornate bridges, a huge variety of animals frolicking about, open air dining hall and lots more. They had an open bar (Kilohana didn’t) and the food…just ask me, I could rave about the food all day. It was the best pork I have ever eaten, hands down. The show after dinner was engaging and fun. They performed traditional dances from Hawaiian “cousins”, such as Samoa, Tahiti, New Zealand, etc.

It was a beautiful vacation, even if the Napali Coast won this round.

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Last year, I lost about 15 pounds after a lot of hard work in the gym. I had tons of stamina, was able to sleep 100x better, fit into more clothes…it was FAB. However, I cut way back on exercise in 2009. At the rate I was going, I simply could not sustain it long term. Plus, I didn’t pay close attention to my diet this year. It’s not that I paid no attention or went crazy with my food choices, I just didn’t monitor it like I had been in ‘08. Anyway, the long and short of it is that all the weight came back and I feel out-of-shape once again.

I think my trouble is finding balance in maintenance. When it comes to getting healthy, I’m all in. Once I achieve my goals, I try to get to a balanced place with my food intake and realistic exercise intervals. But this is where I fail. Don’t get me wrong, weight loss isn’t my primary goal. I really only should lose about 20-25 pounds from where I am now. My main objective is to not feel like crap! I want to run up a flight of stairs without feeling completely out of breath, or hike into the woods to take photos without feeling exhausted. I need to feel good physically to combat stress, period. Being a size 8 versus a size 12 is only a bonus.

So I guess I’m starting over. It’s always a challenge to get rid of the pounds, but my bigger challenge will be to keep up a good balance of diet and exercise. In 2008, I learned a lot about exercise: what I like, what I don’t, how not to hurt myself, how to combine cardio with weight-training and a lot more. I’m confident that I can find balance in the exercise department with a little work. I’m worried about my diet though. I love sugar&butter&cheese&carbs-ohmy! Not only that, but I’m a horrible cook. When it falls to me to “make a meal” for myself, I prepare whatever’s easy: popcorn, mac & cheese, cheese & crackers, etc. Adam has taken most of the responsibility for cooking (which is awesome because he’s so good at it!) but I need to have more of that role so that I’m prepared for times when I’m by myself. Maybe, at age 33, I can finally learn how to cook/prepare something healthy and tasty…without burning my meal, myself or my house. It’s a good thing we have insurance.

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October is normally a pretty good month. The weather’s still tolerable, the landscape gets more beautiful with the turning leaves, we normally take a vacation, my wedding anniversary arrives, Halloween is always great fun…it has a lot going for it. However, my brain decided to start October 1st at 3am. I’m stressed out, there’s no doubt about it. I’ve said it repeatedly, I know, but Kauai can’t come soon enough.

For the last week, I’ve been dealing with a cold. Yeah, I did end up catching a bug as I predicted - but not a flu-bug, just a cold. Last weekend was either a waste or a godsend, however you choose to look at it. I camped out in bed, coughing, sneezing and sleeping the entire time. I did almost nothing of value or interest, but maybe I just needed the sleep. Adam has outdone himself in the husbandry department: he bought me a get well card, made me chicken noodle soup (from scratch!) and pretty much waited on me hand and foot. And just yesterday, he brought me 2 lovely bouquets of flowers. He’s mighty-good.

Well, this afternoon should be interesting because ALL afternoons are interesting after a 3am rising. Do they still sell Vivarin?

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I’m starting to get the impression that I’m destined to catch one of the rampant office bugs flying around. Everyone is sick…or their kids are sick…or their pets are sick! Three out of 5 people I normally have lunch with have been or are sick, including my BFF.

I worked from home yesterday just to get away from the office, which was great. This morning I returned to work on a joint project with another sales rep only to find he was sick too - Ugh! I made him sit at the other end of the conference table from me, ‘cuz I’m mean.

As for preventative measures, I’ve been washing and sanitizing my hands like crazy. No Echinacea, Airborne, Zicam or any of that yet, but the writing’s on the wall. Really, I just want to avoid getting sick for Kauai, which is coming up soon. After that, go ahead - sneeze on me, cough on me, I’ll deal with it. Just not nooooooooow *whine*

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Originally uploaded by madaracs

Last week, Adam and I were lucky enough to meet one of our favorite bands: the Pet Shop Boys. We started off by mingling in the lobby of the State Theater with 30 other PSB fans, comparing which songs we love the most and who saw them where and when. Then, in an instant, Adam and I were summoned to meet Chris and Neil - we even dragged a fellow fan with us because he was nervous to go in alone. They shook our hands, signed our VIP passes and autographed Adam’s favorite CD. We exchanged a few niceties and moved on so they could greet more fans. What a fun experience! *gush*

We had plenty of time between the Meet & Greet and the actual show, so we bellied up to the bar at Capital Grille. That’s where we ran into a larger-than-life top Minnesota attorney who shall remain nameless. Where is this going? That’s exactly what we were wondering…this poor guy was inebriated and broken and anxious to talk to someone. Oh, he was jovial and funny as we compared favorite TV shows and such, but then he dropped a bomb: he apparently just left his wife, so recently that his kids don’t know about it. We chatted for a few moments longer, he insisted on buying our drinks and then he left. He reminded me of a sad clown, only he was wearing a $1,000 suit and was far less creepy…poor thing. Soon, we were ushered to our table in the dining room. I ordered the Oscar Filet (thanks, Skip!) and just about died because it was so delicious. It was a fabulous, decadent supper.

Our seats were truly in the first row, but there were Orchestra Pit seats wedged in front of us. At first I was bummed, but later, I was grateful because we had a better view than those who were basically on top of the stage. I was very impressed with the show itself. They played nearly everything I could have asked for! I danced and danced and screamed and yelled and enjoyed every last drop of that concert. Adam nabbed several excellent photos (as featured here!), but thankfully none show my antics.

Other mentionables: the sound was perfect, the dancers really got (and kept) the crowd going, the cubed sets were fun to watch and versatile enough to create new and interesting backdrops, Neil really played to the crowd and Chris even busted a move with the dancers on New York City Boy. Truly a highlight of 2009.

Originally published at Nuthin' but an H thang, Baybay.... You can comment here or there.

Published September 19 2009, Duluth News Tribune
After car accident, Duluth woman says, ‘It’s a miracle I’m alive’
Everything feels different for the Duluth’s Bonnie Dressen since a traumatic car accident in June put her in a coma. Her injuries were severe and perhaps should have taken her life. “It’s really a miracle that I’m alive,” she said. “Now I accept nothing as ordinary.”

By: Sarah Horner, Duluth News Tribune

Bonnie Dressen has always enjoyed kayaking, but now the experience of slipping her boat into Pequaywan Lake feels almost spiritual.

“I am doing it almost daily,” Dressen, 61, said. “It is the closest I am to God.”

Everything feels different for the Duluth woman since a traumatic car accident in June put her in a coma. Her injuries were severe and perhaps should have taken her life.

“It’s really a miracle that I’m alive,” she said. “Now I accept nothing as ordinary.”

The miracle, Dressen said, is that three random strangers equipped with just the right tools were there to help her. One was Jennifer Helland, a registered nurse in the Neurological Trauma Unit at St. Mary’s Medical Center who happened to be driving behind the car that hit Dressen. Another was Jeffrey Beck, the driver behind Dressen who knew that first responder A.J. Marshall was working at the nearby Lakewood One Stop and ran to get him.

“It was like everyone I needed was somehow right there,” Dressen said.

Despite having two young daughters in her car, Helland pulled over to help. When she noticed Dressen was having trouble breathing, the nurse realigned her airway. Then Marshall hooked her up to the oxygen supply he brought from the convenience store.

They waited 20 minutes for the ambulance to arrive.

“That would have been too long,” said Dressen, a nurse herself. “I really don’t think I would be alive today if Jennifer hadn’t opened up my airway; and if A.J.

hadn’t gotten that oxygen to my brain, I’d probably be brain-dead.”

Instead, Dressen made it to the hospital, where she remained in a coma for five days. The accident caused trauma to her head and created a blood clot and swelling in her brain. Her left eye was swollen shut and an ankle and rib were broken. She remained in the hospital for two weeks and underwent four surgeries.

When she was allowed to leave she suffered from walking amnesia and needed to attend daily rehabilitation.

It wasn’t until August that Dressen started feeling like herself again.

“It was a stinky thing for a long time, but it could have killed me if it weren’t for those people,” Dressen said. “I owe them thanks from the absolute bottom of my heart. I feel they saved my life. That was courage and empathy and goodness for them to do what they did.”

She got to thank Marshall with a hug Thursday afternoon.

“I love seeing her the way she is, so healthy and up and walking around,” said Marshall, a first responder with the Normanna Fire Department. “It’s pretty impressive that she’s healed so quickly.”

Marshall said he doesn’t think his efforts that day were heroic.

“I was just doing my job,” he said. “I was glad I was able to help someone out and make a friend out of the deal.”

Helland saw Dressen in the hospital immediately after the accident and later received a bouquet of roses from Dressen. She said it’s overwhelming to be credited with saving her life.

“Who knows what would have happened,” Helland said. “I am just glad that the other gentleman and I were there that day. I have heard that [Dressen] is a very vibrant gal, and I’m just glad she’s OK.”

Their modesty doesn’t change who they are to Dressen, though.

“They are heroes,” she said.

Dressen’s husband, Doug, agrees. When asked what it meant to have his wife healthy and home again after coming so close to losing her, he had trouble speaking.

“You don’t put that in words,” he said. “You make movies of that.”

Originally published at Nuthin' but an H thang, Baybay.... You can comment here or there.

This morning, Garet decided to try to get me out of bed to drop some food in his dish…at 5:30am. His method of choice is to jump up on my dresser and nudge the window blinds with his snout. He knows that the slight banging of the blinds against the window pane wakes me from my slumber, and this time was no different. I checked the clock and boy, was I mad. I have a spray bottle tucked behind my bedside table for just this occasion, and at 5:30 this morning, I began to fumble around for it. As soon as my hand felt the nozzle, I pulled it up from its hiding place, aimed in Garet’s general direction and shot with my thumb on the trigger. At that moment, a blast of cool water hit me right in the forehead…in my zeal for punishing the naughty kitty, I’d apparently had the spray bottle pointing at my face.

I heard Garet jump down from the dresser and run from the room.

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This is my favorite part of Gremlins.

On a weekly basis, I have to complete a report for my boss called a “DealTracker”. Every time someone mentions “DealTracker,” I am reminded of the Gremlins torturing mean ole Mrs. Deagle. Oh, I’m sure it has something to do with “deal” and “Deagle”…and the fact that I simply don’t enjoy filling out reports.

My brand of humor is SO not appreciated.

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In the last few weeks, we’ve had a lot of expensive shenanigans going on. First, our water heater began a slow leak - from the top of the unit! Plus, it’s only about 8 years old, so I’m not sure what’s up with that. Then, we ended up with an unplanned purchase at the State Fair: an 8-person hot tub from CalSpa. I’m not complaining…but the timing of our decision impulse purchase wasn’t the best. Finally, our 2 year old washing machine has gone kaput. If I wash one more load in it, I’m certain the guts of the machine will fly out the back and water will drool all over the floor. We have a new one coming tomorrow.

The moral? I need to go sell something, like now.

Originally published at Nuthin' but an H thang, Baybay.... You can comment here or there.

**create your own personalized map of the USA**

Next spring, I’m hoping to travel to Mississippi with my Daddio. It’d be nice to meet (or re-meet, since I could have met some at a young age) a few of my relatives on his side of the family and see where he grew up. Other states I have a hankering to see for the first time are: Maine, Oregon and South Carolina. Plus, there are some states that I’ve visited but would like to return to so that I can experience new places within them: California (Redwood National Park, Napa, San Francisco, Yosemite), Arizona (Grand Canyon, Red Rock Canyon), Massachusetts (Boston, I’ve only been there on business and Adam wants to show me around), Hawaii (everywhere), Wyoming (Yellowstone National Park), Florida (Tampa Bay Bucs stadium, Key West).

As for the greater map of the world, my travel experience is limited. Sure, I’ve been to Canada and Mexico plenty…and I got to see a tiny bit of Amsterdam and a lot of Italy in 2007. But I’m dying to see: Paris, London, Hong Kong, Beijing (The Great Wall), Cairo (Pyramids), Tokyo, St. Lucia, Prague, Rio de Janeiro, Greece, Angkor Wat (Cambodia), Taj Mahal-New Delhi-Nepal and lots more. In retrospect, I should have started this list at a younger age…

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This afternoon, I talked with my Auntie Bon a bit. It always startles me to hear her clear and happy voice after what she went through just a couple of short months ago.

The last two months have escaped me. There’s been so much going on this summer but I haven’t had the energy to blog about it (clearly) and I’ve been revisiting my summer days through photos alone. I think this is one of the more heavily scheduled summers I remember. The majority of those events have been great fun, but I’m sad to see my favorite time of year coming to a close…as usual.

I also hope the end of the summer season means a return to blogging. A weird side effect of Facebook/Twitter is that I’ve been satisfying my urges to blog in the form of “status updates” or worse, “tweets.” It’s like taking a bite rather than having a meal. When I look back at this blog, I want to be able to remember what I was up to, what I was thinking, what I was complaining about, etc. Revisiting those things with “status updates” is less satisfying, but I admit, I enjoy seeing the comments from my FB friends & fam. Anyway, you should see more blog entries soon.

For now, I need sleep or else.

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My sisters and I kept combing Facebook just to hear something new all day yesterday. Em and Aunt Cindy posted several times and it helps to have those little details when you can’t be there in person. I keep trying to picture my Auntie Bon sedated in her hospital room but I can’t. I can’t imagine her in any other way than how she is normally. When you first see her, she has a way of making you feel like she’s been waiting to see you for years even if she saw you last week. In my mind, I hear her laughing - her signature cackle. You can say one small sentimental thing to her and tears will spring right to her eyes. Whenever someone in our family has some major injury or ailment, not only is she there in an instant, but she’s the one we go to for counsel (she’s a trained nurse). This is how I picture her, not immobile, not in a hospital bed.

And all we can do is wait. I know she needs this time to heal…but I’m so impatient and angry that this happened to her.

I keep going back to Devon’s bridal shower a couple weekends ago. It was so nice to spend some time with her not only at the shower, but afterward. After all the hard work she (and the other aunties) put into the shower, she wanted to reward herself with a margarita. In true form, she coerced my mom and me to go along with her plans and we ended up at the Liffey on West 7th Street. None of us had been on their rooftop patio before and the weather was perfect for such a spot. One problem: they had margaritas, but no blender. In her mind, Auntie Bon had pictured a perfectly blended margarita in her hand on this patio and teased and tortured the staff about not having a blender there. She had all of us -staff and fellow patrons- laughing at her “plight”. I talked her and my mom into a Ginger & Jameson, and she was finally appeased. I remember sitting there thinking this is such a great day. The photo in the previous post is of that moment.

So, it’s with a very heavy heart that I wait and hope.

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Originally uploaded by Pookareena

My Uncle Tom called me tonight to let me know that my Auntie Bon had been in a severe car accident in Duluth. We don’t know a ton about what happened, other than that someone cut her off and made her veer off the road into a pole. The pole was hit with such force that the impact broke it in half. She was brought to St. Mary’s in short order with a major head injury. The doctors performed surgery to ease her brain swell. They induced a coma and are keeping an eye on the swelling and a clot in her frontal lobe.

My mom (her sister) is on a trip and I wasn’t able to reach her. I left a voicemail on her cell phone, even though I know she doesn’t normally pick them up when she’s overseas. I guess my sister called Delta to relay a message as well.

I’m grateful to know that my Aunt Cindy is there with her tonight. It’s really my only source of comfort right now if there is one. Emmy seems to be hanging in there and she’s being strong for her dad. I talked with Uncle Doug briefly…we mostly just cried together over the phone as he could barely get words out. I called my sisters and my dad. My Aunt Jan called to say a prayer. I cried myself to sleep and got a few hours even.

And now we wait.

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Accidents happen:(

Originally uploaded by Pookareena

On Saturday afternoon, I begged Adam to take me to Ikea. I’ve been wanting to replace our china hutch forever and saw something that might work on a previous visit there with my sister. Of course, I needed Adam’s truck if I had any hope of carting a large item home.

We were detoured southbound onto Penn Avenue in Richfield because 35W was closed near 62. Our topic of discussion in the car was fate versus chance, which turned out to be pretty ironic. We were in the right lane on Penn, the left lane was somewhat backed up with cars waiting to make a left turn at the light. In an instant, a car came darting toward us from the left. Adam tried to avoid the impact by turning further to the right where there was a driveway entrance to a parking lot, but to no avail. The guy hit our front driver’s side wheel, which took the brunt of the impact. We were jostled and I was flung into the passenger side window.

Apparently, the dude who hit us was in the northbound lane waiting for the backed up line of cars in the left lane to clear so that he could make a left turn into that parking lot. The left lane didn’t clear, but a car held back so as to give him room to turn in front of them. Of course, he didn’t wait for the right lane to also clear - or he just didn’t see us.

Adam could barely get his door to open. He asked if I was okay and then got out to survey the damage and talk to the other guy. I was a little shaken and slowly took my seatbelt off and began to get out of the car. Another man came up to the car and handed me his business card - he indicated that his family saw the whole accident and would serve as witnesses.

Then I heard some yelling. The dude who hit us was yelling “I just got this car!” and accused Adam of causing the accident. Adam was trying to explain why it wasn’t his fault and it was starting to get heated. The witness in who gave me his card went over to intervene - he yelled at the guy who hit us, saying that he was a witness and that he would testify against him. So then the dude who hit us got into his car and began to try to leave the scene. My husband stood in front of the guy’s car to prevent him from doing so. At this point, I was about to grab Adam by the ear and drag him to the parking lot.

Thank god the police showed up. They calmed everyone down and began to assess the dude who hit us. There was clearly something a little off about him and they began questioning him about his medications. He told them he is treated regularly for bipolar disease and depression and began to cry. I felt so bad for him! He didn’t know how to deal with an accident, that much was clear. They explained to him what he did wrong and you could tell he was really worried about “getting in trouble.” He came over to us, explained his illnesses and begged us not to sue him. I explained “That’s why we have insurance, and they’ll take care of everything - it’ll be okay.” He apologized again and again and told us a couple more times about his illnesses.

The police were great. They arranged for a tow truck, they gave the dude who hit us a ride home and took down all the details of the accident. Matt was nice enough to pick us up and drive us home.

We never did make it to Ikea, since we were left with only my car and the GTO. However, we did go to Target and ended up with some new folding patio chairs - which really improved our spirits. We grilled, had a fire, toasted marshmallows and enjoyed some Jameson & Gingers. Aside from a few scratches, bruises and seatbelt burns, we were just fine. And for that, we were so grateful.

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Originally uploaded by Pookareena

If this alert were real, monkeys would fly down from the sky and bite you on the ankles… ooonly kidding. Sorta.

I’m trying to find an easier way to stick photos into my posts. When I went to my current version of WordPress, they removed the cute little buttons that made posting photos simple and flexible (the new Upload/Insert button kinda bites). So, Adam wrote me a teensy bit of code which I have to copy, paste and edit with each entry to get my photos to post. Even when I do that, I’m not completely happy with how they post in relation to the text. Once I get a photo added to an entry, the WordPress tools for controlling the space around the photo are not very easy to use (at least not for a simpleton like me). There’s a lot of trial and error depending on how the text falls around the photo. DISCLAIMER: I completely concede that this is probably my fault because I’m not talented in formatting, and my lack of technical skillz are likely a cause of my pain.

Regardless, I may have a different method to try. I just setup my blog with Flickr and posted the photo you see at the right. Using the BlogThis feature on an individual photo in my Flickr account, a little box flips open, asks me for a title and some text and wah-lah: the result is basically what you’re looking at now. It’s a limited interface, so I have to login to my admin account at WordPress to actually add tags and text formatting. Which is fine. The other thing is that I like to switch up where I post photos in an entry - sometimes I’m feeling left, sometimes right - you never know. Flickr seems to offer a standard template for posting. Given, it’s a template you can customize, but it’s still a template. I need to dig further into options for my ever-changing whims. I realize this function won’t completely fix my text spacing issue, but I think the first attempt looks, well, good enough. The main thing is that it’s much easier and quicker than messing with the HTML.

I’m a pretty regular poster to Flickr, so I’m hoping the side effect of this is that I’m inspired to blog more in conjunction with my photos. Wouldn’t that be nice?

Originally published at Nuthin' but an H thang, Baybay.... You can comment here or there.

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

Originally published at Nuthin' but an H thang, Baybay.... You can comment here or there.

For the last few weeks, I’ve been travel-happy.

It started with a quick trip to Salt Lake City, where I visited a client and then a prospective client with the help of one of our major account dudes (support-side!). Salt Lake was gorgeous! I couldn’t keep my eyes off the snow-capped mountains on both sides of me. We drove to Park City for a delicious Mexican dinner and toured the deserted lodges, which seemed to anxiously wait for hoards of skiers/snowboarders. My client was a wonderful host, taking us to 2 fantastic lunch spots during our stay. I can very easily see myself taking a Utah vacation, which is something that would’ve never crossed my mind before this trip.

I returned home from Salt Lake late one Thursday night, only to head to the airport early the next morning to board a plane for DC. Adam was in DC for what seemed like forever and he was happy to have me interrupt his work schedule for a bit of weekend fun. He reserved a nice suite for us at the Marriott and a fantastic steak dinner at Fleming’s.

On Saturday, we started our day at Dunkin’ Donuts. I insisted we eat there because we haven’t had them in Minnesota for like 15 years. After I scarfed down a couple donuts, we headed off to the National Mall and prepared to do a lot of walking. Most people I know toured the National Mall as a kid. I guess my school(s) missed that part, because it was never an option for us. In a way, I’m glad to have seen the monuments/memorials as an adult. The Vietnam Memorial was the one I was most interested in…it was profoundly sad to see all of the names in that mirrored granite. We also saw Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, the new WWII memorial, the White House and many others. In total, I think we walked nearly 6 hours. Upon returning to the hotel, we devoured a cheese, olive and bread tray and promptly napped in our room. Eventually, we ventured out for some crab cakes and dessert at J. Gilbert’s. I’d hoped to get back down to the National Mall to take some night shots after, but it was raining. I sadly got on another plane the next morning and left my Sweet Thang in DC.

Just a couple days later, I once again headed to the airport: this time, for LA. I’d crunched on Monday and Tuesday to prepare for this business trip and I think it was time well spent. My boss joined me on Wednesday for meetings but headed to northern California that evening. I didn’t get home until after midnight on Friday. As you could guess, I slept like crazy. The jet lag was finally setting in and I combatted it all weekend.

I’m planning more biz trips for June, but for now, it’s good to be home.

Originally published at Nuthin' but an H thang, Baybay.... You can comment here or there.

When I was in my late teens/early twenties, I had what is known as a Black Thumb. I killed every plant I owned. My grandma would laugh and say something like “Wow, I didn’t think it would die quite that fast” a month or so after giving me one of her plants. Still, I would attempt to water them appropriately and try to gauge what kind of light intensity they preferred…and they would promptly die. There was one exception: a very agreeable Pothos. I still have this plant after what, 11 or 12 years? It amazes me to this day.

As I got older, my thumb became more grayish-green. I somehow got my plants to comply with a regular watering schedule. Admittedly, I also became better at checking them for the signs of death and prevented it with a sunnier or shadier spot in the house. I now have 5 household plants that are alive and well! Believe it or not, I’ve even gotten pretty good at planting flowers in my yard over the past several years. For this former Black Thumb, it’s always a big sense of accomplishment when something I plant sustains itself!

So why am I running off at the keyboard about this? Well, see, I decided a couple years ago to make an attempt at growing a raspberry garden. I’m a huge fan of raspberries and it pains me to spend $3.99-$5.99 for a tiny container of them at Byerly’s. Plus, I’d like to freeze some for consumption during those cold, cold winters when they can’t be found.

In the fall of 2006, we had our backyard ripped apart to clear the way for new landscaping. The only thing I saved was 3 raspberry plants. I transplanted them at the west side of the garage, which has worked out really well. They are growing, spreading and even producing some berries. The area I’ve dedicated to raspberries is around 4 feet wide by 10-12 feet long and is only about 45% occupied. This year, my plan was to buy some plants to fill the entire space.

At my old house (the one I had before I moved in with Adam), the west side of my yard contained a massive thicket of black raspberry plants. I literally used to get home from work, head outside and pick berries all summer - it was such a pleasure. That winter, I’d frozen several bags of berries that were used when my grandma taught my mom and me how to make jam.

This brings me back to filling my raspberry garden…I checked Bachman’s to see if they had black raspberry plants to no avail. I looked online and called another local nursery but I couldn’t seem to find any of the black raspberry variety. Just when I was thinking I was out of luck, I scored some Bristol Black Raspberry plants at Southview Garden Center in West St. Paul. Each year around Mother’s Day, I head over there to buy my mom a gift certificate. This year, I was whining to the clerk about not finding any black raspberries when she dragged me out into the yard to a table with a dozen gorgeous little plants. I happily bought half of her stock.

Last weekend, I remarked to Adam that I never imagined (during my Black Thumb days) I’d be able to grow a raspberry garden by myself. It’s a dream come true.

Originally published at Nuthin' but an H thang, Baybay.... You can comment here or there.

Last week was ridiculous.

On Monday, I had training/meetings with the 2 other dudes on my team, who had flown in from Chicago and Toronto. Training always makes for a long day, so by the time we reached Barrio on Nicollet for supper, I was tired. And I noticed that my throat was sore. I crashed hard when I got home that night and woke up before the crack of dawn with a fever and a throat afire. There was no question: I was sick. Consequently, I missed our Day 2 of training and slept most of the day on Tuesday. My fever didn’t break until after noon or one and my throat was killing me. The triage nurse at my clinic suggested that I only come in if I couldn’t rid myself of the fever…apparently the clinic was amass with sick people, and I didn’t feel like picking up someone else’s illness in addition to mine.

On Wednesday, I felt remarkably better. My throat was still bugging me but it was manageable with DayQuil and throat drops. I had to hustle to catch up on all the emails I missed from the previous 2 days and was sort of the day from hell. Thursday and Friday weren’t much different, if not busier. I don’t know if I ever needed a weekend this much!

The weekend was beautiful. On Saturday, we drove down to Lakeville to bust the GTO out of storage. It took us 2 hours of tinkering to figure out that the reason the Goat wouldn’t start was because the coil wire was grounded under the dash…oops. The good news is that she’s running strong after sitting all winter. We even drove her to Minnehaha to hang out at the park on Sunday afternoon. Since we were in the ‘hood, we dropped in on Rob ‘n Ray and Deb ‘n Terre to say hello and of course, show off the Goat.

On Sunday morning, Adam and I started cleaning and prepping my raspberry garden and moved some plants around. In total, we transplanted something like 8 sedum and 6 or 7 hastas. It felt so good to be out in the fresh air, digging in the dirt again. My throat was still kinda scratchy, but I just ignored it and enjoyed the weekend. Unfortunately, Adam started coming down with a sore throat too and had a miserable day yesterday.

No matter what my sister says, I do not have the swine flu. Adam does though.

Originally published at Nuthin' but an H thang, Baybay.... You can comment here or there.

Funny story from our sunny Scottsdale vacation:

It’s Wednesday, around 11am. Adam and I have been in and out of the hot tub and pool all morning, enjoying the 75 degrees and the impressive mountain scenery around us. We’re laying near the edge of the hot tub, soaking up the sun and doing absolutely nothing (glorious, wonderful nothing). The bar has just opened, and the smarmy young-20’s server makes his rounds. He’s a tall, lanky sort wearing a ball cap and large sunglasses.

Honestly, I’m slightly irritable when he approaches because 1. I feel pudgy and white in my swimsuit and I don’t want to encounter anyone (except Adam, lucky guy) and 2. since he’s sporting sunglasses, I can’t see his eyes and I’m 200% sure he’s thinking, “Jackpot! This one looks like she’s gonna eat!” Did I mention I was irrational on this day?

Adam suggested I order a beer and some nachos, and then asked for an iced tea for himself (wimp!). Our server apologized and said the pool bar had a terrible selection of beer. I believe he put it this way: “We have nothing good…our list includes Amz-dell, Corona…” Adam chuckled and noted: “She likes both of those.”

Now feeling defeated, I entered my order: “I’ll take an AmSTEL, please.” Smarmy Sunglasses went to fetch our drinks. I looked at my husband to ask, “What the hell is Amz-dell?” and we couldn’t help but giggle.

The drinks were welcome and the nachos were fabulously appointed with 3 decadent sauces. After some time, our server came around again to check on us: “Can I bring you another Amz-dell?” At this point, I could no longer control my urge to tease poor Smarmy: “What did you call it?”

His response: “Amz-dell?”
Me: “You mean ‘AmSTEL‘?” (Now who’s being smarmy?)
Him: “Oh, is that what it’s called?”
Me: “Yeah, AmSTEL.”
Him: “Amz-dell?”
Me: “No, AmSTEL.”
Him: “Oh, AMSTEL!”
Me: “Right! And I’ll even order another one if you use the correct name!”
Him: “Okay! AMSTEL! Sounds good!”

For those of you who know (and love) me, you know that this is similar to the Cah-row-rah-roh Bur-rog incident and that I meant no harm. Really, it’s only because I’m so big-hearted that I had to do it…I mean, I didn’t want him talking to confused patrons about “Amz-dell” for years to come. (Well, let’s just say I left a big tip to make up for being a pain in his rear.)