A Blog About Sarah

Tree Carnage

2012-01-16T09:51:00.001-08:00

It feels like I am light years behind in keeping my stories here up to date. My mantra for 2011 was to not use my computer after work hours unless I absolutely had to. A byproduct of that mantra was very few posts throughout the year. But never fear, I am here and still plugging along living a full and exciting life!

Here's an old story:

It was less than a week before Christmas, when I awoke to what sounded like Dustin SLAMMING his car keys on the kitchen counter. I peeked open my eyes and didn't see any lights on in the house and figured it was just part of my dream (which was about work and the noise I thought I heard didn't quite fit the storyline). I tried shutting my eyes and falling back asleep but couldn't get the sound out of my head. After much coaxing in my head, I finally got up and agreed with myself that an early start to the day wouldn't be such a bad idea. Usually I lumber into the bathroom first and start my getting ready process but something told me to go out in the kitchen and grab a glass of water. WHOA! I screamed when I saw the tree carnage below -

At last, the noise made sense! The tree had toppled over! I couldn't quite process the why or the how of the tree taking a plunge. It had been up and decorated for over four weeks at this point, and we had made plenty enough movement (even dance parties) over that timespan to have knocked the tree over at least a dozen times. But it never even budged. That is, not until this day. There was absolutely no movement inside the house for a good six hours the night the tree tipped. Why? Why?

Fortunately, the water spilled out of the tree basin and onto the linoleum side of the floor and soaked two presents that were wrapped inside cardboard boxes. A bunch of sentimental ornaments broke and balls shattered. The ironic part of the story here is that I told Dustin after this Christmas I was going to throw away the old Wal-Mart glass balls that I bought 10+ years ago that were fading pretty bad. Of all the ornaments - these cheapy, crappy balls did not break! So I decided they would live another year on my tree just for showing their powers.

I was home alone when the tree plunged and cleaned up the mess alone, in my pajamas. The hilarity of the situation didn't kick in until after I looked up to the sky and said "why, God, why?" I think deep down this was God's way of saying - slow down and smell the roses, woman, and laugh a little. I ended up laughing a lot and all day. I was still a little creeped out about it, but didn't let myself lose any holiday spirit over it.

Every year I try to out compete the lifespan of the previous year's Christmas tree. This year, no way Jose. I took that tree down immediately after Christmas. The spooky tree had to go! Now it lays in the backyard, waiting for a spring bonfire death.

A Day at Como

2012-01-14T19:26:00.000-08:00

A day inside warm and toasty Marjorie McNeely Conservatory and some white stuff fell from the sky.

Cowles Conservatory | Purple

2011-12-05T19:49:00.000-08:00

Pictures of People

2011-12-03T00:29:00.000-08:00

My eyes are burning and my ears are tingling. I have been editing photos for the past 6 hours. I call that dedication to the art of photography! I took my first step in portrait photography a couple of weeks ago. I was sweaty, paranoid, and freaking out with anxiety. I haven't dabbled much in taking photos of people, let alone people that I knew. Unbelievable, I know, but it is true.

If I bring my camera to a party or a gathering of people, I tend to take photos of the inanimate objects. It is just easier and more natural for me. Here I am taking a stab at what I always said I would never do. It was painful -- both taking the photos and editing the photos. The shoot was done entirely indoors and I did not use flash. I made a rookie mistake and left my UV filter on the camera lens and ended up with mega reflections from the Christmas tree lights. If I see another reflection, I am going to claw my eyeballs out!

All said and done, I could do this again. But never again indoors. Children tend to get weird, angsty, and bouncy when they are confined to one room for an extended period of time. That makes for a very anxious Sarah! Children don't listen to me, I don't think I have quite developed a "parent" voice or an octave that I successfully yell at and be heard.

Aside from this all being an intense learning lesson for me, I force fed myself Adobe Lightroom 3 for all of my editing. After 6 hours of use, I can safely say that I really like it and can't believe I didn't buy it sooner! It is AMAZING! I won't get into details but will say it has changed my life.

Until next time, I leave you with one of my favorite models:

Mystery Cave | Forestville State Park

2011-11-10T16:00:00.002-08:00

The feature tourist destination of our FallAbout 2011 trip was the Mystery Cave at the Forestville State Park near Preston, MN. I have only familiarized myself with the underground mines of Minnesota, never really taken into consideration that there could be or actually are real naturally occurring caves in this great state! I had to go see the Mystery Cave. We took the hour long tour and went with a small group through the limestone cave. Limestone is a soft rock that is very porous, partially soluble, and can change shape and shift within a relatively short period of time. I loved seeing how the cave we walked through was relatively new (carved out from the Root River within the past century and a half or so). The cave was not too chilly, probably in the high 40s and comparable in temperature to the outdoor current temperature at the time. We didn't have to take an elevator to get to the heart of the cave(like you do at mines). We just walked in through a pressure and temperature regulated entrance and then into the main area of the cave.

The cave was well lit and not overly creepy. We did get to see a few bats whiz by our heads, but they were as harmless as the rock we were walking on. The photo below is of a hibernating bat in the cave - reportedly one of the rarest breeds of bats we ever see in Minnesota.

We weren't allowed to touch the rock with our fingers, the oils from our skin degrades the rock and prevents water from touching any area of the rock that has been contacted. I wanted to lick the rock! It all looked like chocolate to me! I felt like I was in some crazy Charlie and the Chocolate Factory novel.

There were fossils in the cave - one of a giant sea squid (from back when all of Minnesota used to be covered in water) and a 5 foot fossil of another sea beast that I can't recall at the moment.

What looks like a brown liquid pouring down the rock is actually rock!

A shot of the ceiling with little stalactites -

Doesn't this look like a chocolate fountain? It is rock! But I wouldn't mind licking it to set myself straight!

The tour guide told us stories about the olden days when the cave was privately owned and then sold in the late 1980s for just under a million dollars to the state. Can you imagine owning your very own cave? A new dream to aspire toward...

My Birchbark Love Affair

2011-11-10T15:20:00.000-08:00

I love everything about birch trees -- the green leaves on white bark; the way the leaves sound when they blow in the wind; the bright yellow color of the leaves in the fall; the versatile use of the birchbark; the texture and feel of the birch peeling off the trees; the elegance and leanness of the tree; and really anything else you can dream up about birch trees.

There are so few birch trees in the Twin Cities and surrounding area that I usually go on an obsessive photo spree every time I am up North visiting my parents. There is a long stretch of birch tree plantations close to my parents' home that I gawk and photo all seasons of the year.

The photo above is of the three birch trees that I treasure most - in my backyard. They are my golden trees; trees that I never thought I would be fortunate enough to have! They are growing and thriving directly on our property line and someday could risk losing their lives if the land behind ours is developed. I hope that day never comes (for the trees' sake and for my selfish needs).

In the meantime, I will continue photographing my trees. All year round.

The People of Las Vegas | Fall 2011

2011-11-05T10:36:00.001-07:00

We hit up Vegas for a short getaway last month over MEA weekend. It was 85 and sunny everyday. We laid poolside, swam, connected with friends from my hometown who ironically were at the same hotel at the same time as us, meandered the strip, and most importantly - got our fill of people sights. People watching in Vegas just gets better and better!

Give me your money to "turn me on" -

A very scary and dirty looking Chewbacca -

I wouldn't let my kids near this Elmo -

Taco from Dick's Bar in Excalibur doing his impression of the water show at Bellagio -

A big winner at the casino -

Bachelorette Style -

A very sexy burlesque dancer -

Root River | Preston

2011-10-22T18:46:00.000-07:00

We went on our annual FallAbout trip a little too late for peak color this year. According to the MN DNR website, there were two spots in the state that were still at the 75-100% turning point. So we headed down to southernmost Minnesota, in hopes of bright sights. Mostly saw just sticks and stones but we enjoyed ourselves any ways and had a good time!

Como Zoo | Fall

2011-10-22T18:00:00.000-07:00

My dad and his wife Amy cruised up to Minnesota for a fall getaway last week. We toured around the area, doing touristy type things and eventually landed at the Como Zoo. I have never been to the zoo in the fall and thought the placement of these wild, African animals and flamigos placed in the Minnesota fall landscape was a bit bizarre and beautiful!

Mushrooms and More Mushrooms

2011-10-20T13:00:00.000-07:00

More mushroom foray fun! Getting real serious about mushrooms...

Identifying all of the foray findings. Below are two alike looking mushrooms. Can you guess which hand is holding the poisonous mushroom?

MMS Member | Fall Foray

2011-10-19T18:05:00.000-07:00

I am a proud new member of the Minnesota Mycological Society. I never knew how much fun fungi could be!

VJKK2 and I joined the MMS group earlier this month on a fall foray in Isanti. We were a little uncertain about the location ("no facilities and off the road") but eventually fell into a groove and chatted it up with the mushroom aficionados and leaders of the societ. It was the absolute most perfect and beautiful fall morning to be scavenging for mushrooms!

Photography Class | Minneapolis

2011-09-21T17:14:00.001-07:00

Last week I had the luxury of taking a full day off from work and attending a photography workshop in downtown Minneapolis. I went into the workshop a little skeptical that I was too advanced for what was going to be lectured, thinking I had enough education and experience under my belt to teach the class myself. I surprised myself and walked away with a ton of new knowledge - mostly how to use my camera.

The workshop consisted of a four hour sit and listen lecture and then a 2.5 hour safari outdoors. A vast majority of the class participants consisted of beginners with very fancy cameras. Other than the handful of people with basic point and shoot cameras, I am pretty certain I had one of the oldest Canon Rebels. The class did not teach us that the camera is everything and all that matters, it taught us that if we can use our camera - we have the power. I walked away content and confident that I can use my camera 100% manually and produce pictures that require almost no post processing.

Below are pictures straight from my camera, shot entirely in manual mode -

The Great Minnesota Get Together

2011-09-06T19:03:00.001-07:00

Just another year of glutton, people watching, weight gain, and draining the checking account. Year in and year out, most everything stays the same except for some fancy new and bizarre food on a stick that will either take off like a space shuttle or fizzle into the fairground porta-potties.

What's more to love than a pile 'o pigglets? Maybe puppies, just maybe.

Sunnies in a boat. So delish that I was inspired to have a neighborhood fish fry at my house the next night! It was a weekend full of deep fried fish love.

A very upset goat with the deepest, manliest baaaah I have ever heard in my life. And some pretty big manparts, to boot!

The people are always entertaining. You just never know what thoughts are going through their heads.

A booth chock full of hot sauce. It was spicy, mouth watering adventure.

Some crazy, awesome seed art in the Horticulture Building. Ivy's got this one right!

Baby got back! Yummy, yummy, heavenly ham.

And one last palate cleanser -- a rainbow next to our house. It never rained a drop, just appeared out of nowhere. Just another blessing on a blessed weekend.

All in all a 100% entertaining and enjoyable weekend!

Lutsen Mountain | North Shore

2011-08-14T18:00:00.000-07:00

We took the gondolas up to the Summit Chateau at Lutsen Mountains in Lutsen. I could swallow the view with my eyes the rest of my life. Oh, Lake Superior!

On the Lutsen Gondolas | North Shore

2011-08-14T08:54:00.000-07:00

Silver Bay | North Shore

2011-08-14T08:18:00.001-07:00

Standing at the Silver Bay Marina on the North Shore looking eastward.

The skies were a titch bit ominous looking after the nasty thunderstorm we just drove through. Peaceful and eerie, yet beautiful.

Temperance River | North Shore

2011-08-10T20:19:00.001-07:00

There are so many rivers along the North Shore that feed into Lake Superior. They all start to look the same after awhile but each and every river has her own personality. Temperance River is a mighty, mighty powerful river. The photo above was taken after a couple mile hike in from Lake Superior past all of the gorges, rock crevices, and raging waterfalls then up to this quiet and serene place. It was so beautiful, I can't even describe it with the most accurate adjectives!

Anker Lane Church

2011-07-31T20:51:00.000-07:00

Pizza on the Farm | A to Z Farm

2011-07-31T08:26:00.000-07:00

A photographic diary of my trip with Vanessa to A to Z Farm in Stockholm, WI for pizza on the farm this week:

Waiting in line to order pizza.

Hardcore pizza on the farm customers. A candelabra to spice up the ambiance.

Our trip was complete after seeing this bull peeing.

So many people! You can sit anywhere on the cushy grass around the farm property. We sat in the sun with a whole 'nother large group of people.

The menu. Delicious. Pure heaven on a crust.

The brick oven that the pizzas are baked in. Note that it was in the lower 90's that day. HOT job!

Girls Day | Stillwater

2011-07-30T15:00:00.000-07:00

View of Stillwater from North overlooking St. Croix River

A whole week of PTO to myself, with not much planned turned out to be a great week. I think I am going to take a week off like this at least once a year. I got so much done and was able to unwind completely (well mostly).

VJK2 and I spent Tuesday doing a girls day together. We meandered up and down the main drag of Stillwater window shopping and in store shopping.

We drove up to Square Lake in the afternoon and had a beach picnic lunch, dipped in the water, and hung out a few hours under the summer sun.

We then hit the road to Stockholm, WI for some good old fashioned organic, homegrown pizza on the farm at A to Z Farm. We hit a crazy, busy time or this place is no longer the best kept secret. We had 150 minutes to wait for our pizza (it was already 6:30 pm when we put in our order). I didn't budget for that much spare time and only brought one bottle of wine. We managed to eat almost all of the rest of our snack food and drink all of our drinks while waiting. The farm is gorgeous and we spent good quality time people watching. People really get into their dinners on the farm! I saw candelabras, full size tables and chairs with linens, appetizers, card games, yard games, the whole nine yards! It was quite a delightful evening hanging out on the farm. We got our pizza just after 9:30 and scarfed it down. Half of the pizza was called "Italian Garden" loaded with beets and kale and the other half of the pizza was "Sweet and Hot Peppers" loaded with a variety of peppers. It was so FREAKING good!!!

More Pizza on the Farm photos in a separate blog post next!

We headed back to the big city of Minneapolis at about 10:00 pm and prayed so hard we wouldn't run out of gas in the middle of nowhere. I was so caught up in chatting on our way from Stillwater to Stockholm that I completely spaced out checking the gas situation. We were on E for the longest time and knowing we had another 20 miles to go before we had a slight chance of seeing a gas station that might have pay at the pump. We literally rolled into the gas station on fumes and fortunately could pay at the pump. Phew! Crisis diverted.

Another fantastic vacation week evening added to the books! We did learn that "pizza on the farm" is a spreading trend and have a few more farms to check out in the future.

An Epic Day | July 23rd

2011-07-29T19:08:00.000-07:00

Saturday, July 23rd started out as a typical Saturday for me. Sleep in, roll out of bed around noon, throw on a sundress, and fluff up my hair. I went to lunch at the Chinese restaurant down the road from our house with my MIL and GIL to celebrate "just cause - ladies only lunch" and my MIL's birthday.

I was planning on going to U2 with a friend that night, which in and of itself is pretty epic. At lunch with my MIL and GIL I got a text that my friend was in the hospital and wouldn't be able to go to U2. I was both sad and worried - for her and for the soon to be unused concert tickets. I kept tabs on her throughout the day and waited to hear when she would get a room at the hospital before heading down to see her. I connected with VJK2 and she happily obliged my request for her attendance at the U2 concert.

I got ready for the evening - sundress with spaghetti straps, flip flops, and a zip up hoodie. It was a hot day and there was no need for extra coverage at all. I was skeptical that the "severe thunderstorms" were going to hit and didn't think there would be any problems with attending an outdoor concert on a hot, summer evening in Minneapolis.

I headed out down the road to get the concert tix and head to HCMC for a quick pre-concert visit. I was only 2 miles from home and I spotted a strange Sheriff truck that I had never seen before. No big deal, I wasn't speeding or doing anything and he turned the opposite direction. Whoa, not even 30 seconds later there he was in my rearview mirror with his lights on. Shit. I couldn't figure out why he was pulling me over. I just put my new tabs on my plates so it wasn't that. Hmmm... I rolled my window all of the way down to greet the officer. He didn't even ask me if I knew why he pulled me over. No formalities, nothing. He reached into my car (not saying a word at all while he was doing this) and rolled my window up and slammed his tint screener on the window. Crap. Crap. Crap. Exactly six years to the week I went on a road trip to Tennessee with my mom and had a buddy of my cousin's put super illegal dark tint on my windows for $100. Helluva deal but I knew the second I crossed state lines into Minnesota that summer of 2005 that I would get a ticket. I couldn't believe that after 6 whole years I finally got a ticket for my 50% tint! The officer rambled on and on about how dangerous tint is and blah blah. I asked if it was a fix-it ticket and he said "no, you pay the fine and if you don't take the tint off - I will pull you over every day for the rest of your life." Ok, thanks. Ha! I took the $125 motor vehicle violation fine and moseyed on back down the road. Not cool to get a fine, but still was in shock that I "finally" got a fine after all of these years of anxiety!

I got the concert tickets, visited my amiga in the hospital to make sure she wasn't going to die and gave her buckets of moral support and then headed out to get VJK2. I was going to park at my old work office building in Dinkytown and tell them that I had to work that night and to please take my pre-paid parking tickets. I was not about to pay $25.00 event parking. HS that was a lot of money! I looked over and saw the daytime parking attendant, who is usually so stoic and silent I always thought he was pissed or constipated. He ran over to me and told the parking attendant that he knew me and asked me to "follow him". I ended up parking on the side of the building and he didn't want any money at all. I about passed out from shock. Seriously an epic moment. The 2nd epic moment of the day and the 3rd overall shocker.

We walked 4 blocks to TCF Bank Stadium with very few people around us. A group of guys walked beside us and I looked over and thought "that's Joe Nathan!" I told VJK2 and she had no clue. I recognized the gray hairs in his beard (and of course his overall hotness) and started saying repeatedly like I had OCD or turrets "that's Joe Nathan, that's Joe Nathan!" He crossed the street and kept looking over at me as I was saying it. I really was hoping he would come back to me, rather than just keep staring at me but he never did. Dammit, I missed a photo opportunity. Just another shade showing of my celebrity shyness/retarded actions. My phone wouldn't cooperate with me - I kept trying to call Dustin to see if the Twins game was over. Seemed too soon for the Twins to be roaming the streets since the game was on the tv when I was at HCMC. I finally got ahold of him and confirmed the game was over and yes, that had to of been Joe. We walked by a shuttle bus of middle aged people and a woman came tearing out of the bus SCREAMING "Joe Nathan just walked by!!!" Aha, I knew it! Epic moment #3.

After trying a variety of gates at the stadium, we finally got in and decided to get some cheese curds pre-show. They had jalapeno cheese curds there! Awesome idea and delicious overall. They were just regular cheese curds with sliced jalapeno fried under the batter with the cheese. We had floor tickets for the show and had pretty good sight of the stage. Did I mention yet how hot Bono is and all of the other U2 guys?!? A show filled with pure eye candy!

The show started just after 9:00 pm and the rain started at about 10:00. It wasn't just a light rain, it was a TORRENTIAL downpour and it lasted for over an hour. Lightning and thunder so loud you could hear it over the music. It was intense and EPIC!! The temperature dropped about 15 degrees and it got cold - with just a sundress and flip flops. Epic moment #4.

See the rain?! It was CRAZY!! I don't think I have ever voluntarily stood outside in the pouring down rain for more than a couple minutes, let alone a couple of hours!

I found a video on YouTube that shows the awesome rainfall:

All of the local tv news stations and newspapers said they would stop the show if it started lightning. I am pretty sure the first flashes of lights that night were from the Aquatennial fireworks but then after that there were real, very real lightning flashes. We were standing on metal grates on top of the football field, surrounded by metal and a big giant stage with a metal rod sticking up into the sky. Probably increased our chances of getting struck by lightning a gazillion exponential! VJK2 and I were shaking and soaking wet to our cores and headed out at midnight. We cranked the heat so high in my car and cruised through the Minneapolis streets, both breathing a sigh of content. It was an amazing show. Amazing.

I made it home safely with no more epic events. The day will go forever go down as one of the most epic days I have ever lived. I am so blessed.

Memory Lane | Ladysmith

2011-07-20T20:00:00.000-07:00

Yes, yes, I know. I have been absent, again. This time for very good reason. Summer.

Last weekend I had "Girls Weekend" in Wisconsin with a group of gal friends from my 2 year college days at ARCC. We visited the Rusk County Historical Society Museum as part of our tour de la Wisconsin. The artifacts dated back to the late 1800s and early 1900s. To my shock and awe there were SO MANY items that reminded me of my childhood. It was incredible. I couldn't explain myself very clearly to my friends because they grew up in different parts of the country but I knew, in my heart, that I was not making my memories up about the things I saw.

Pictured below is a shot of one of the items at the museum that made me almost fall over. I completely forgot about my beloved stamp set! I treasured my stamps so dearly - I almost had to because they were so ancient and housed in a very old box. Unbelievable.

Anyone else have stamps like this or do they truly date back to the early 1900s?

I also had old fashioned scrapbooks and the same exact stickers like pictured below. They even had the same texture and feel. Seeing these gave me the strongest deja vu I have felt in a long time. So weird. Who knew the middle of nowhere Wisconsin would incite deeply repressed memories?!

Reflecting back on the weekend, it was a nice and relaxing get away!

Side note: I have unplanned vacation all of next week and hope to get some catching up done on blogging. I promise to do at least 2 posts. Promise!

May Recap

2011-06-13T15:19:00.000-07:00

I am incredibly behind in completing anything that I have started along the lines of hobbies the past two months. Case in point - I just downloaded pictures from my Nikon Coolpix from the beginning of May. BAD, SARAH!

I am going to quickly and photographically recap my May here. May walked right into our lives without much warmth and a very stunted Spring.

Then this glorious moment --- Osama bin Laden=DEAD

Kicked off the month with a run up North to my mom's for Mother's Day weekend and a discovery of racing gas at Super America. It was a beautifully warm weekend, almost made me think spring really was here. It ended up just being a joke though. A cruel joke by Mother Nature.
My cactus from Arizona was so confused by this lack of spring it re-blossomed. And is still flowering today, June 13th!

I ran my first 5k of the season and beat my "personal road running record". The last leg of the run was across a floating boardwalk. I started to feel nauseous from the unsteady boards and dizzy from the magic eye illusion of the boards. I seriously thought I was going to barf on the guy in front of me! I hit the finish line and found others got sick too! Twas a crazy but fun run. Ironically, I won a free 3 month gym membership at the end of race raffle. It was either a gym membership that I didn't need or a Sportsman's Warehouse baseball cap that I didn't want. Tough choices!

After the 5k I went to my first Twins game of the season. It was the day after Derek Boogaard was found dead in his condo in Minneapolis. A sad day for Minnesota hockey fans. I made the best of it by cheering on our losing Twins.

Next up in May - I went on a photoclub safari with Robyn to the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden and Bird Sanctuary. After we exhausted ourselves with forest photos, we went to Cooper's at the West End for a bite to eat and conversation. I got "lost" on the way and ended up going 35 miles out of the way because I chewed on my own ego and thought I could get from Minneapolis to the West End "my secret way" faster. HA! It was worth it once I got there. A beautiful evening on the patio and an experimentation of flavors. Two of which I can't stand - sweet potatoes and blue cheese. I knew there had to be a really good reason why anyone would mix the two together so I had to try. Surprise, surprise it was delish!
I volunteered to help out my dear friend, Anna, as a photographer for her Furry Friends Walk-a-Thon. It was a rainy, windy, blustery day but the turnout was great and everyone was so genuinely happy to be there. I learned a lot about K9 units and people and their dogs!

Later in the month, I was hosted by Ms. Vanessa with a divine dinner of chili (with REAL meat) followed by a beautiful high speed walk around Lake of the Isles with she and Chris. It was my very first time around Lake of the Isles. I had a great time smelling the lilacs, apple blossoms, people gawking, and house peeping. Lake of the Isles is now my favorite of the chain of lakes. Fewer people and much more unique, changing scenery!

Finally, Memorial Day weekend rolled in. We stayed home and did absolutely nothing all weekend. Well maybe not all relaxing - lots of gardening and Menard's runs to spruce up the perennials in the yard. And then there was steak. Lots of steak and lots of potato salad. Oh and bonfires, neighborhood social time, and late night ghost stories.

Despite the cold, it ended up being an active and exciting month!

Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden and Bird Sanctuary | Nature Photos

2011-05-23T19:43:00.000-07:00

Last week Robyn and I eagerly visited the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden and Bird Sanctuary at Theodore Wirth Park in Minneapolis for our first photo adventure of 2011. I, along with thousands of others, will never tire of the peaceful and serene parks available in the metropolitan area. I heart Minneapolis so much for the parks!

We saw plenty of garden-ey type things here, many chipmunks and only two birds. The birds must not have got the memo that it is okay to chill and relax in this sanctuary!

I am not sure what these things are below, but they were pretty amazing looking. Kind of outer space looking with their "eye" and "hairs" around the stems.

The Martha E. Crone Shelter with park rangers and a fireplace inside! Reminded me of the shelter at my home park - Scenic State Park. Except there were no stuffed baby fawn.

Purple Trillium! So beautiful!

Spring Storm Number One 2011

2011-05-11T17:37:00.000-07:00

My gratuitous storm shots from last night - our first big storm of the Spring 2011.

Goal for summer 2011 - Learn how to take better photos of lightning!

Marshmallows in the sky!

My Tulips | First Attempt at Gardening

2011-05-11T17:30:00.000-07:00

These oh-so-cute-as-can-be button bucks just love coming up to our feeder and mowing down on corn. They also love eating my vegetation in the yard! After my heart broke about a dozen times earlier this spring when I saw my tulip nubs chewed to the ground, I broke down and invested in the Deer Stopper spray. All that it is is a fancy mix of herbs including mint and rosemary. I could make my own concoction! Wait, I did and it didn't work! Someone told me cayenne pepper works well. I sprinkled so much cayenne pepper on my tulips that they turned red, yet the deer still munched them down!

This morning I woke up to the colorful site of a few strong tulips! WIN!

If Birds Could Talk

2011-05-10T16:19:00.001-07:00

This is my weak attempt at comic humor! Hahaha, I make myself laugh! I am playing around with a Wacom Intuos4 tablet for work and fun. It would take a lot of getting used to directing the pen the right way and such. I am sad to report that the handwriting on the picture is a pretty damn accurate depiction for how my handwriting looks on paper with a regular ink pen!

A Very Big Ship | Lake Superior

2011-04-29T19:14:00.000-07:00

Paul R. Tregurtha (1013'6"x105') is the largest vessel on the Great Lakes. And it is HUGE, really HUGE! Click on the top picture to see a closer view.

Lake Superior | How I Love Thee

2011-04-29T18:57:00.000-07:00

From our romantic getaway to Duluth on Easter Sunday. I love that city and Great Lake so very much!

Isla Mujeres | Women Island

2011-04-22T17:32:00.001-07:00

Of ALL of the times I have ever flown I have felt ripped off - I am either on the opposite side of the plane from the sunrise or sunset, in the middle seat flying alone, or flying entirely in the clouds where I can't see a thing out the window.

The flight back from Cancun provided the most stunning view for us almost the entire flight back. It was so beautiful, I really can't even describe it. I feel so fortunate to have been able to get the photo above. This is the entire island, all 5 miles of it. We stayed at a hotel on the north side of the island which is the skinny tip of the island on the far left. It was such a small but comfortable place to visit. And to think we had the entire island navigated and memorized in less than a day!

Swings on the Beach

2011-04-22T17:18:00.001-07:00

One of the more popular entertainment items along all of the beaches of Isla Mujeres were swings. There were "swing bars" with just a tent and a bar set up and no chairs, only swings to sit on.

This dock just south of Playa Norte was one of the smaller "party cruise" pick up and drop off spots where very few people hung out. We went out to this dock to sit and watch the sunset over the Caribbean Ocean most every night. The swings looked fun, but scary! We saw lovers, kids and groups of grown adults every evening out on the swings watching the sun sink below the water. I just took the safe route and sat on the beat up dock with my legs swung over the edge. We had a few pelicans to entertain us while we enjoyed the last bit of daylight.

Chips

2011-04-22T05:50:00.001-07:00

Look at all of these chips! And so many flavors that we don't have here in the U.S. Our hotel minibar fridge was stocked with a few of the local flavors including Mexican style Cheetos called "Cheetos Torciditos". They were cheetos with chili pepper. I didn't like the first bag I tried but they eventually grew on me. Definitely had a taste I wasn't used to and it wasn't a spicy hot kind of different it was just different altogether!

Peering into Ik-il Cenote

2011-04-19T09:16:00.000-07:00

Agave Tequilana

2011-04-18T15:57:00.000-07:00

On our drive out to Chichen Itza, we saw this amazing field of agave tequilana (known as blue agave). It was truly a stunning sight to see! It wasn't part of our itinerary for the day or even of remote interest to our driver, Sr. Gerardo, but I asked him on the way back to Cancun if he could pull over so I could take pictures. Silly me asked him to stop after we already drove past the farm, but he was kind enough to turn around and drive back 5 miles so I could get these pictures. Unfortunately, the distillery was just closing up for the day when we arrived so we were unable to take a tour. Just a few quick snapshots before the storm rolled on over.

According to Gerry, in his broken English, the blue agave takes a year or so to grow. After the growing phase, the agave is specially harvested and the leaves are broke open/shredded to allow the juices to come out. The juices are fermented for another year and then used to make the tequila. He said this particular brand of tequila is one of the more strong flavors. I am bummed I couldn't find a bottle of it anywhere!

El Centro Hotel

2011-04-15T12:09:00.000-07:00

One of many cutesy, small, and private hotels we walked by in El Centro on Isla Mujeres.

Golf Carts and Seashells

2011-04-14T21:33:00.000-07:00

We rented a golf cart for one day and drove around Isla Mujeres over and over and over again. The island is only 4.3 miles long by less than a 0.5 mile wide with lots of water inside the island. It was hard to believe it could stay "a float" being so small and fluid!

Our day's excursion had us rounding the perimeter of the island about 5 times and traversing inside some of the neighborhood's in the middle. There were a few little tourist places along the way -- zip line over the ocean, ancient crumbled Mayan ruins, dolphin/shark discovery and a turtle sanctuary. We decided to skip it all for the sake of a better adventure on our own!

Little did we know we would have that adventure with a minor accident along the way. We laid low the evening before in preparation for the day's activity - neither one of us wanted to be in a bad condition to drive, even if it was going to be on a golf cart in Mexico! We saw soooo many people cruising around with coolers of beer and WASTED on their golf carts. Jail wasn't looking too appealing so we stayed sober and had good fun on our journey.

We had to stop in the road to lay out a blanket across our laps in one of the seemingly close knit communities . The sun was too hot on our legs! There was no traffic around us and we had lots of wide open space behind and ahead of us. Out of nowhere we hear screeching and then metal sliding on pavement and then metal on metal and then a jolt. We turned around and looked behind us -- a kid on a bicycle ran right into us!!! He had plenty of time to stop or go around us but instead landed on the ground and into the golf cart. I freaked out. Not a little, but a lot. Dustin hit the gas pedal and I screamed at him to stop. The kid was curled up in a ball on the road and not moving. I start yelling (in English because I was in shock) "are you ok?!" over and over. And the kid finally got up and gave me a look that could murder. It was horrible. I will never forget his expression. There were business owners standing out in the street that saw us and were laughing. I don't know if they were laughing at us or with us. I was so freaked the kid would pull a gun or a knife and try to kill us! Once he was up and on his bike again, Dustin hit the gas pedal and we went as fast as that little cart could go. It took us a good 10 minutes to get the kid off our tail, but we finally were off in the distance.

We never went back to that part of the island again.

Instead of going round and round the island the rest of the day, we hung out along the beaches on the eastern coast of the island. Very deserted in those areas, more random dogs than random people.

In the middle of the photo below you can see MILLIONS of seashells. You might have to click on the picture to see a larger view. It was incredible!

I was so intrigued by them I wanted to touch them. I was too scared so I just continued fantasizing that the shells were soft and squishy. They looked like they were!

I had never seen so many seashells in one place. It was amazing!

At the end of our journey around the island we returned the golf cart. Except, the rando rental dude on the street wasn't standing on the street where we picked it up. The golf cart was not licensed (had expired papers with no plates) and had a business name on the side that we hadn't seen around the island. When we picked up the cart earlier in the morning, the rental dude took our money and gave us the keys. Didn't ask for an ID (which is apparently a requirement) or names or hotel name or anything. He just pointed to the "number 4" golf cart up the street and said return it by 5 pm and leave the keys in it if we didn't see him. The man wouldn't even walk to the golf cart to show it to us! I was CERTAIN he was giving us a set of play keys and running off with our $500.00 pesos ($45 USD)! I thought we were doing good if we made it that far into our vacation without being ripped off! I held my breath when we sat down on the golf cart seat and stuck the key in. Vroom! It started! A sigh, a giggle and then off we went!

So, at the end of the day, we pulled the "number 4" golf cart up to the curb where we picked it up, turned it off, left the keys in it, and walked away. We figured it was already stolen so why not complete the circle and let someone else steal it?!

The day we left to come back home, the "number 4" golf cart was sitting in the cool shade in the same exact spot we first picked it up.

A good ending to a strange story!

Fat Iguana

2011-04-14T16:42:00.000-07:00

I don't think I could have wrapped both of my manly hands around this fat beast!

Question for my readers:
Now that you have seen how big these things can get -- do you think you would easily confuse eating a half a chicken with a half of an iguana?

We had some to-die-for delish chicken in the boonies of Yucatan and Dustin SWEARS it was iguana just because it didn't have "wings". After all, a local had just told us an hour prior to our meal that iguana is the "Mexican Chicken"... we will never know.

Isla Mujeres | Playa Norte

2011-04-13T16:37:00.000-07:00

Random Mexican Observations

2011-04-13T15:54:00.000-07:00

It took me until day three of our vacation to realize that Isla Mujeres isn't as photogenic as Puerto Rico. I was pretty excited to take gazillions of pictures, but once I was in the moment I wasn't feeling "it". By the end of the trip I was tired and bored of taking pictures. That is unheard of! Knowing that feeling was starting to creep up on me, I made it my mission to take pictures of "different" things. "Different" as in things that are not normal to me in my environment or my bubble that I live in in Minnesota. Different is probably not what the natives of Isla Mujeres would say. Normal and expected would be their descriptive words.

I present to you, my readers, my photo journal journey of things that I found to be "random" and "different" --

Dogs. Dogs everywhere. Homeless dogs, beach dogs, store owner dogs - anywhere you can imagine there would be a dog.

Here is a sleepy dog -

Messes and rats nests of cables and wiring. It seems to me that having electricity and cable is a godsend there! Might explain why our hotel telephone was fuzzy and puked out on our last night on the island.

Random empty buildings with random items.

Look a lonely chair! Or is this a sentinel chair? Either way, looks like a great place to hang out to me!

Another deserted building. Our best guess was this was a happening hotel at one time that started to get renovated but never really got anywhere. Just a place for the iguanas to hang out now!

Lots and lots of homemade houses. Some were 100% tarp and wood poles and others were tin roofs with wood poles like below. We even saw houses in trees made out of tarp and wood pallets. Such creativity, truly.
And then sprinkled between the homemade houses were gorgeous castles.

You could take the map of Isla Mujeres and cut it into three pieces -- Centro (downtown), the locals' neighborhood, and then the ginormous mansions on the eastern beach. We later found out that most of the glamorous houses are rentals and are not actually inhabited by the same people year round.

There are four main modes of transportation on Isla Mujeres -- Golf Cart, Bicycle, Scooter and Taxi. There weren't very many cars or trucks on the island. The roads were hardly wide enough for two vehicles to travel on. What we found entertaining was the seemingly lack of care or concern the locals had with driving around on scooters.

See example below -
We saw a family of five smashed onto one scooter on several occasions! We also saw two men on a scooter and the man on the back of the scooter was holding a full size glass shower door on his head!

So many parents held onto their kids with one hand. We even saw a family of three on a scooter and the dad in back held the baby car seat off to the side!! Dustin saw a mom and three kids on a scooter and the mom had tied the baby to the seat in front of her with a t-shirt around her waist. It was a hard pill to swallow seeing the lack of safety!

Another example -- and note that this scooter was going a good 30 mph or faster!

So many walls around all different types of property were lined with smashed bottles sealed in the concrete. Another ingenious idea! A green initiative! Who needs barbed wire, electronic security systems or rottweilers any ways?!

Lots and lots and lots and lots of iguanas. Dustin is deathly afraid of iguanas. My big, strong, protective husband was left weak at the knees almost the entire trip. Every turn we took, every beach we slithered along, every store and restaurant we went to there were wild iguanas with a watchful eye on us. Despite his fear, he sucked it up and went to an iguana park with me. And below, we found an obese iguana. Actually, several obese iguana. They must have drank too many Coronas. Or are 200 years old or something like that.

See grandpa iguana -

A room full of toilets! Every potty trained kid's dream!

Random placement of things for sale. Priced marked in pesos and a collection bin for the money. Considering this is likely someone's livelihood, I find it hard to believe he or she would be trustworthy enough to leave their assets laying in the wide open. 5 pesos for a conch shell - not bad!

Speed bumps! SPEED BUMPS!!! I think that is a Mexico thing. Forget traffic signals or stop signs or giving pedestrians the legal right of way on roads. Just install several speed bumps. In a row. And these aren't little USA-type speed bumps. You can tell by the sign they are not what we consider "normal" speed bumps. Crazy, speed bump inducing madness --

Being a stranger in a foreign country can be fun and highly entertaining!

Rock Photography Career

2011-04-11T17:17:00.000-07:00

I very clearly decided by day 4 of our trip in Mexico that I want to quit my job and become a rock photographer. The rocks in Mexico along the beaches, in the cities, at the ruins, and everywhere else basically were just downright intriguing!! Now, all I need to do is find someone that would be interested in funding my rock photography career...

All fantasies aside, here are a couple of the rocks I fell in love with:

Isn't that just the coolest thing ever!? To think that these are probably from dinosaur days where T-Rex and all of the other dinos roamed the land. Just awesome. Just awesome.

Gruta Cenote | X'Keken

2011-04-11T10:00:00.000-07:00

A few shots from inside X'Keken -

I would have loved to take a swim here because of the smaller crowd and peacefulness inside the cenote. The entrance to the park where the cenote is located had a flea market set up outside where the locals were trying to sell hand embroidered hankies for a dollar. It was just another annoying downside to visiting Mexico, but our driver did a great job telling them to leave us alone. However, he did not do anything when the very vocal mexican boy at the entrance of the cenote called me gordita. I am highly doubting he was asking me to run to Taco Bell. Ha! I guess there is just no Minnesota Nice in Mexico!

The admission to X'Keken was $52.00 pesos each (about 4 USD). Kind of steep pricing if you ask me, but worth it for the pictures!

Going for a Swim | Ik-il Yucatan

2011-04-10T17:24:00.000-07:00

We visited three cenotes while in Mexico - Ik-il, Sacred Cenote at Chichen Itza and X'Keken. A cenote is a sinkhole with standing water that the Mayans used as their primary water source. Today there have been around 7,000 cenotes discovered in Mexico. They all vary in size and type -- some are Cenotes-cántaro (pit cenotes), Cenotes-cilíndricos (Cylinder cenotes), or grutas (Cave cenotes). From what I can assert, Ik-il is a gruta and X'Keken is a cenotes-cilindrico. The cenotes that are open for visitor swimming have pumps setup to filter and cleanse the water. The underground cenote, X'Keken was set up with blue flourescent lights to give the cave a unique ambiance. Kind of creepy but exhilarating at the same time.

I was suited up in my bathing suit for our day trip across the Yucatan Peninsula but opted out on my opportunity to swim at Ik-il. Our driver gave us a few minutes to take a quick look around at X'Keken, which was not on the itinerary for the day's events but was a great stop. If we would've had time to swim, I would have rather swam there than at Ik-il. Ik-il is located centrally on a huge resort. Despite the fact that our driver said it was a "slow time of day" at the site there were still gobs of people all over. It wasn't a dip-your-toe in the water kind of setting. It was an all or nothing, jump in and completely submerse yourself in the experience kind of setting. There was a platform that you could dive off and into the cenote or a ladder that you could slowly ease yourself into the water. It was absolutely gorgeously breathtaking! And humid.

View of Ik-il standing at ground level:

View of Ik-il standing inside the cenote:

For more info on cenotes - read up on Wikipedia.

A Mojito Seniorita

2011-04-08T15:16:00.001-07:00

I learned of my new found love in Puerto Rico for mojitos. Mojitos are natively from Cuba thanks to Bacardi and have since spread in popularity worldwide. Because of Bacardi's presence in Puerto Rico, mojitos are hugely popular there and are tapped from giant pitchers (like the ones you see with slushie mix at Super America) at every bar and restaurant.

Mexico, known for margaritas, are also delish. But our hotel bars must have used cat urine for mix because their margaritas tasted horrible. So much for laying by the beach and pool drinking margaritas all week! I wasn't expecting to find mojitos in the land of Mexico but was very pleased to see them listed on our hotel bar menu. That is, until, every single bartender told me "no, no mojito mint has expense" or "no we no have mint". Urgh, then why have it on the menu?!

But do not fear! Raul, the amazing funny and smiley guy with a golden grill in the shape of a motorcycle saw that glimmer of desire in my eye and got us mojitos! Note that I made it to day three of beach laziness before someone succumbed to my wishes. I didn't want to overstep the boundary of my single mojito good fortune and planned to switch back to corona after finishing. Raul shined like a bright rainbow in my eyes and brought more! And more! He was so awesome! Then every day after when he saw me he would say "mojito for you senorita?" What a great, great man. I loved every single molecule of every mojito all the way down to the chunks of sugar and mint leaf branches. Yum yum in my tum!

Hot Dog on a Beach

2011-04-07T16:54:00.000-07:00

¡Hola Amigos! We are back from the hot, humid, and sunny beaches of Isla Mujeres, Mexico. We had a very laid back and relaxing time. We did pretty much nothing other than alternate between laying out at our hotel pool, swimming in the pool, laying out at the beach, swimming in the ocean, and enjoying food and beverages.

On a whim before we left for the trip, I bought a waterproof digital camera. I figured it was much more cost effective than buying a waterproof film camera for $12 and another $10 to develop the film. I usually go through 6 or so waterproof film cameras per year. I ended up snatching (and paying) for this little yellow Polaroid guy. I was not expecting any super duper image qualities but ended up with a few keepers out of the 112 I shot on it. Definitely got my money's worth out of it on the camera's first journey!

We found this gal on Playa Norte digging her way to China, probably in hopes for a cool place to relax. What a hot dog!

Not too shabby for a cheapy waterproof camera! Now for the critical comments -- if any of you are really seriously interested in a waterproof camera do NOT purchase this one. Do your homework and don't dump the bucks into one like I got. The LCD screen is impossible to see in the sun, the zoom sucks, the ISO is too high and it scratched in multiple places on the screen almost immediately. There is a bit of a Polaroid retard flaw, ahem I mean design flaw, that you can never plug in the USB cord because it is beside the batteries and requires you to shut the flap to secure the batteries. But you can't because the cord is plugged in. Derr, Polaroid!!! I recommend getting a far more superior waterproof camera!

Leaving on a Jet Plane

2011-03-31T04:57:00.000-07:00

On a jet plane headed to Mexico! Photo above is from our vacation last spring on the beaches of Old San Juan, Puerto Rico. I can't wait to get back to the Caribbean Ocean!

Hasta luego!

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

2011-03-30T22:08:00.000-07:00

I started growing my hair long before our wedding in 2009 and then just let it keep growing. I was intending on donating it once it had enough length to still be long after cutting it. My biggest, main influence for keeping my long locks was for Dustin's grandpa Al. He adores long hair and always plays with with my hair when he sees me. He is the closest I have had to my very own grandpa since I was very, very young and I adore him dearly.

My hair and I hit a rough patch in our love-hate relationship last summer and I was ready to cut it then. To the grace of the hair gods, I met a new hair stylist who has been amazing at figuring out what kinds of coloring I like. She gave me bright blonde peek-a-boos that I fell in love with and immediately decided I loved my hair, yet again, for another long duration.

Earlier this month the straw broke the camel's back when I was constantly finding myself sitting on my hair and getting it caught in every single inanimate object I came across. It was too much for my patience to bear. I was ready to donate it and get it off my back. To my delayed dismay, I couldn't donate it. So dumb of me to not investigate donation programs any further than what length the donated hair should be! My hair has been colored, re-colored and colored again so many times over the life of my relationship with my hair. There was no way I could guarantee that it hadn't been completely bleached or risk it getting damaged while being processed for a wig. So, I said "good-bye dear hair" and cut over 8 inches off.

Good-bye dear hair! We will meet again someday!

Dustin's Grandpa and Grandma have been in Arizona snow-birding for the winter and no one told them about my decision. Three days after I cut my hair, Grandma mailed me the following news article in the mail. I swear she has a tenth sense and knows me better than I think she does!

"Sarah - Please don't feel pressured to NOT cut - do what you'd like to do and spring is here! Go for it"!

I am liking having shoulder length hair again! It doesn't feel like a stranger behind me tickling my elbows when I am running on the treadmill -- nor do I have to jerk it out of my coat sleeves -- or pick up endless strands of hair from the floor. I could get used to this for a long time. Now, what will Grandpa Al say??

You Can't Take the Spring Out of Me

2011-03-30T13:00:00.000-07:00

I am slightly impatient for my 50+ bulbs outside to poke through the solid tundra. This Minnesota winter is taking me down! Ho ho ho, never fear! I have planted bulbs and am waking up the spring season indoors. Keep chirping birdies! We will have some worms for you to grab a hold of soon!

Inspired by The Oatmeal

2011-03-29T21:08:00.000-07:00

Last week I had the awesomely amazing pleasure of attending a discussion and book signing byMatthew Inman "The Oatmeal". He is as hilarious in real life as he is in his comics. For as ginormous of a sense of humor the man has, he was petite in physical size. He gave a great lecture on how he went from a web developer to dating website guru to a full time web comic. He has personally inspired me to use words like "glitter, unicorn and farts" in my daily vocabulary. And yes, frequently all in the same sentence.

The Oatmeal has also assisted in influencing my decision to quit my previous job and work for my current job. He helped me to see "Why working from home is both horrible and awesome". Thanks to his fantastic explanation, I am avoiding becoming the sloth-blubbering-obese-pants-wetter-home-worker by going into the office at least twice a week. My chances of crying at the water cooler or spraying Cheerios out of my nose and onto my desk in front of my boss have greatly reduced.

The Oatmeal (and a person somewhere out in Twitter land) inspired me to do a daily writing project. The Oatmeal explained in great detail "How (his) handwriting has changed since Kindergarten" and I couldn't help but wet myself with laughter and shame because that is ME to a T!

Excerpt from my 2011 daily writing project here (Note that 87 days into the project, my handwriting has NOT reverted back to the beautiful Middle/High School days):

The Oatmeal has helped me grow balls to tell my friends and constantly remind myself of the "7 things you really don't need to take a photo of". (shhh, I still break the rules but keep these craptastic photos to me, myself and my hard drive.)

The Oatmeal has also been a good teacher to me. All of my grammar and English skills have been flushed out of me like airplane lavatory waste over the Atlantic Ocean. Without The Oatmeal, I would not know "When to use i.e. in a sentence" or "How to use an apostrophe" and most importantly "10 words you need to stop misspelling". Without these handy tutorials, you could just call me ~~shit~~ mush for brains.

The Oatmeal has taught me quite a bit about animal anatomy. How would I have ever known that balls are like snowflakes without learning about "How the male angler fish gets completely screwed"? Or how magical pig orgasms are just one of the "5 reasons pigs are more awesome than (me)"?

And lastly, The Oatmeal has reassured me that I am not a loner, lone, lame dork in my IT career. That yes, it is true "(why i believe) Printers are sent from hell to make us miserable" and yes, it is THE BEST idea "(why it's better to) Pretend you don't know anything about computers". The Oatmeal speaks my language, fluently.

For all of the above, I thank The Oatmeal for enriching my spirit, bacon hunger, and compounding my love for tetherball.

A Golden Birthday for a Golden Guy

2011-03-14T15:49:00.000-07:00

Dustin's parents threw a surprise Golden 31st Birthday Party on Saturday for him. He had no idea! We did the party reverse surprise -- we showed up at his parents house for "dinner" and he was a little confused why we were doing a buffet style dinner but went with the flow. He was VERY concerned about the high school hockey tournament and did not want to miss the game at 7. Soon people started trickling in one at a time. It was so funny watching his expression. The first person to show said he was just in the neighborhood to stop in say hi. Then the next person showed up and by the third group of people Dustin connected the pieces to the puzzle. Then it was a full blown party. We had such a great time!

We all bought Dustin "golden" gifts. Who knew there was so much food with "gold" in it?!?

Can't forget the "gold" alcohol! Not pictured is the keg of Michelob Golden Light.

We still have two weeks to go until his official birthday. We can convert this into golden birthday month for him! We will be on a plane headed to Mexico on his actual birthday. I can't wait!!

Bangers in Billiards

2011-03-11T13:01:00.000-08:00

So many pool tables, so many balls, so many pockets, so many sticks, so many people and so much green!!!

[Location: St. Paul River Centre, St. Paul, MN| MOMA State Dart and Pool Tournament]

Truth in Signs

2011-03-10T15:34:00.000-08:00

I spotted this accident in January and could not believe that for the first time in my life, I had witnessed a MN/DOT reader board that was 100% accurate!

Crash? CHECK!
Right Shoulder? CHECK!
Happening at the same time the sign displayed it? CHECK!

MN/DOT WIN!

It seems like almost every time when I see these reader boards lit up they are just there to get people hyped up and panicky. Then nothing actually ever happens. All of the anticipation of seeing busted metal, glass, guts and gore makes people slow down to turtle paces for NO REASON. Then I get pissy because the signs do no good, just harm in making my commute slower. But not this time! This time it was R.E.A.L. and and no faking "gotcha" swings at the commuters by MN/DOT!

Snow Angel

2011-03-08T17:23:00.000-08:00

I left my mark in my yard. And this, Folks, is the most activity that I have had outdoors since November.

Do not shed a tear, for spring is near! But only after we hit our historical snowfall record for the season this month! Currently at 78.7" and just under 20" to go. We CAN DO IT Mother Nature!

A Cherry for Summer

2011-03-04T15:51:00.000-08:00

Dear Snow,

Please melt away so I can enjoy my Minnesota summer!

Love always,
Sarah

Yard Pets

2011-03-04T14:19:00.000-08:00

Dustin's parents gave us a handmade, wooden deer feeder that we can load up with corn for the deer. We were so excited to "host" the deer for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day! We set up the feeder right away and peeked out the windows all hours of the days and nights, waiting for our pet deer to appear. This winter has brought us so much snow and incredibly the deer have not come around at all since fall. They must have other homes that "host" their meals so they don't want to wander too far to find anything else of interest. Two weeks into our waiting for our deer period, we learned that we were feeding the forest of every animal but our beloved deer.

See new yard pet below.

"Oh, you! I can't see you so you can't see me. I am really sneaky and careful. You will never even notice me. Muah ha ha ha!" -Squeaky the squirrel

"Oh, crap! I heard you! You must be on to my shenanigans! I run and I hide behind this tree. You will NEVER see me! I am stick thin, I fit perfectly right here. I am so hidden, this game of hide and seek will last forever because I am soooo good! You can't see me, neener neener!" - Squeaky the squirrel

"I streeeeeeeetch! Look at my muscles and how strong I am! I am like 'The Situation' of all squirreldom. All the chick squirrels want me for my brawn! This workout is so worth my meal of a lick or two of suet." -Squeaky "The Situation" the squirrel

"Oh, brrr. It is kind of cold. Stretching out like that makes my belly cold. I think this tuck and roll method is more effective at keeping me warm. AND I can shove my entire face into the suet cake. PORK OUT!" -Squeaky the squirrel

"I heard a rumor among the forest animals that you like to save your apples and give them to the deer. Too bad! Neener, neener! And now, I take your apples! Appppplllllllllles!" -Squeaky the squirrel

Well, Squeaky, I have a whole bag of rotten year+ old cookies that I can't wait to pitch out your way! Pork out on THAT!

A Goodbye and A New Chapter

2011-03-03T15:02:00.000-08:00

31 days ago, I turned in my key card and parking pass. I walked away from something secure but inevitably unsatisfying. Perpetual boredom and an incredible blackhole for any work or thought resembling creativity. It was not me, nor was it anything I could convince anyone of changing. I hashed, mulled and rehashed what I had dreamed as my career path in the organization that very quickly became an impossible feat. It took me many months and a series of events all around me that made it quite clear that it was time to go. It shouldn't have come to a surprise to me that there was no shock or awe when I turned in my notice. No counteroffers or requests to reconsider. It wasn't just me that knew that I didn't fit in. There was sadness, but no remorse. I learned who the greatest people were as I walked out the door. The people that I thought were supporting me, carrying my dreams ended up not appearing. Not a puff of air, an email or a show of face. It was heartbreaking but enlightening all in the same moment. I walked away knowing that I met and worked directly with a great group of people with the biggest hearts that I have ever known. I miss the camaraderie but have exchanged the fellowship of fun to follow my dreams.

31 days later, I sit here and type with rosy red cheeks and a big grin on my face. I have finally started once again down the career path in this chapter of my life that makes my heart, soul and mind smile.

A Time Out

2011-01-14T08:46:00.000-08:00

[Photo Location: El Yunque Rainforest, Puerto Rico]

I have no one, single, solid answer for my blog absence. I can summarize it to say that the past couple of months my heart and mind have been excruciatingly full. Too full of emotions, situations, and things to be able to sit down and compose any type of creative anything. My camera is collecting dust and my blog is definitely rusty. We can suffice it to say that I am preoccupied. Between work, my family, friends and everything in between, I hardly have a single blank second of thought in my mind.

With that, I formally post that I am taking a leave of absence from blogging. For now. I have a major change coming up in my life that I believe will free up space in my mind to get back to the core of my creative self. I will be back soon! And no, there are no babies in any of this at all.

Talk to you all soon...

Free Entertainment at Work

2010-12-13T20:22:00.000-08:00

School was closed today in St. Paul and will be closed again tomorrow. Sadly, no injuries were caught on film. Maybe the boarders will return to the parking lot tomorrow? I can't believe they were doing this right above University Ave!

Reminder of Days Past

2010-12-04T00:11:00.000-08:00

Between listening to the eerie music from the soundtrack of Dexter and the constant fall of snow, I think I am in lala land wishing for the days gone by to return.

Tree of 2010

2010-12-03T21:47:00.000-08:00

We made our 3rd annual trip out to Hanson Tree Farm on the day after Thanksgiving this year. It was the first of the three years that we had snow AND cold weather for our pilgrimage. We started scouring our "usual" patch of balsam trees and got quickly discouraged and moved to the opposite side of the farm. Our shadows were growing longer and longer and our scrutinizing eyes were raising the expectations higher and higher.

No hayrides for us this year. Only the desire to find a nice tree and warmth!

Peek-a-boo! We found our tree!!

It is the tallest and least girthy tree we have found of the three years we have had real trees. She seems to have a "perky" personality with branches pointed straight North! Since we set her up (I think this is a rather feminine tree) in the house she has loosened up and her branches aren't so perky now! But she seems like she is happy holding our holiday decorations and guarding our presents.

A Great Thanksgiving

2010-12-03T15:46:00.001-08:00

We hosted our first major family gathering at our new home this year and had a great time! We deep fried one turkey and Grandpa B. made his first ever turkey for us at 82 years old. The meal was ginormous and delicious and the company was so very special. I would love to make this a family tradition but not sure if Grandpa would be up for making a turkey again! He did an amazing job for his first time ever. Just look at the picture below!

The spread that fed 8 plus a week of leftovers for three families!

It was soooooooooo cold out! Beers, sodas and waters froze immediately upon exposure to the frigid air!

Appetizers galore! An essential to prepare our bellies for the huge meal ahead!

Mmm...deep fried turkey....

I can't wait to do it again! And I am so thankful for everything and everyone!

Silly Me Sucker

2010-11-19T23:02:00.000-08:00

Picture above not related to story below. Just needed a little brighten-up and reminder of how awesome summer in Minnesota is. Mr. Sunflower was posing for me so poetically at the state fair this past August.

On to the story...
Silly me, seriously. I get so excited about Groupon that I should attend a support group. Most all of the time the Groupons are worth it, ONLY if they are services you will use and in time before they expire. My latest example of "suckerness" was a $40 Groupon for $220 worth of frames and glasses. I hopped on it ASAP without doing the math. In my head I thought $220 could get me a nice set of spectacles. Um duh, I hadn't thought about what the price of glasses are at places other than the cheapo mall stores. So last night I ventured in to the Spectacle Shoppe clasping my Groupon and a little gittery at the jowels. Holy cowabunga, there were hundreds and hundreds of frames to choose from! It was quite overwhelming, but their staff saved the day. The most wonderful saleswoman of spectacles swooped in and reassured me that everything was going to be okay. I thought she would get all judgmental on me about my fat face, random hair color and nasty gray roots, crooked eyes, etc. but she was complimentary and chose her words very wisely. I started with a tray of 10 frames and she helped me get out of my "plain" look and dug around for designer frames with the wide temples and super bright colored frames. I couldn't swallow a huge change in style no matter how many times I gawked at myself in the mirror. All said and done I ended up choosing a pair that I never ever thought I would wear. A simple tortoise colored basic Oliver Peoples frame. Very school marmy and modest.

So we get to the part where she starts doing the math and up-selling me on this, that and the other thing. It was like I just bought a car! "Would you like x-ray vision installed on these as well ma'am? That will be another $10,000, cha ching!" I went very basic and turned down the oh so tempting deluxe de la deluxe lenses. She started crunching the numbers and spat out a total of $560 and then minus, the now drop in a bucket, $220. I choked silently, a little, and then whipped out my credit card. I pray, pray, pray that I will keep these buggers for another decade!

Oh, but my eyes will be so happy! I walked out of the store with three+ bills less and a nice, fresh, white rose in hand. Service at its finest!

Honoring our Vets through Baking

2010-11-13T12:10:00.000-08:00

Veteran's Day was filled with flour, butter, eggs, sugar and joy! Robyn and I cultivated our first baking day together at my house and conjured up four fun new recipes.

Goat Cheese Chocolate Truffles
Pumpkin Cake with Brown Butter Icing
Inside Out Carrot Cake Cookies
Maple Syrup Caramels

The caramels are absolutely delightful! We didn't have the maple extract that the recipe called for but they turned out as sweet as could be! The picture above shows Robyn placing the most perfect looking caramel of the batch on the top of the pile! (Side note: I painted the bowl the caramels are in with Robyn during our last pottery painting gathering. Perfect use of a nice bowl!)

We made a double batch of the inside out carrot cake cookies. Only half of them were turned into the mammoth cookie samiches shown below. So yummy! These monster cookies are fully loaded with golden raisins, walnuts and carrots. A very dense dough but the cookies are soft and squishy. I heart them! Wondering why carrot cookies? I was inspired by the ten pounds of carrots my mother-in-law gave me from her 'extra stock' in her fridge. I needed something to do with that many carrots and what better way then turn them into a bite of heaven!?

The above photo shows Robyn mixing the 6 1/2 squares of bittersweet chocolate into the goat cheese made straight from her co-worker's farm goats. I am not sure if it was the homemade cheese factor or all the chocolate that made these truffles divine! I would make again in a heartbeat!

The pumpkin cake is unmentionable at this point. It still sits in the fridge waiting to be eaten. I was saving it for the mother daughter weekend that was supposed to happen this weekend but was called off due to the snow dump. We have a birthday party tonight that I will instead be bringing it to. It better be good cake because the pumpkin is homemade!

All in all, it was a great day and I am so grateful that our Vet's made that day and every day possible for us in America!

Snow! Finally

2010-11-13T12:06:00.001-08:00

Our first snowfall of the year and we get this...

Four plus inches and it is just the beginning. Mother Nature sure has been holding the snow in this year. Now that she has "broken her seal" the snow isn't going to stop for the next six months.

I don't think I have been this excited about snow since I was a kid. Hopefully the sparkliness of it all doesn't fade before January 1st!

Happy Winter!

A Dog on the Bus

2010-11-06T17:10:00.000-07:00

Growing up, our family dog was "Fearless the Wonder Dog." She was the greatest, most fabulous dog I have ever had the pleasure of spending time with. To top off her amazing companionship, she was a great model for my photography hobby. I took rolls and rolls of film of just Fearless. She would pose so pretty, almost as though she was a reincarnate of Marilyn Monroe.

My step-dad was a substitute school bus driver and would bring the buses home after his routes. Now, friends from good ol' B-fork, don't worry we never left any messes on the bus! It was all fun and games for me and the dog. The above photo is just one of our many fun photo shoots together. I sure do miss that 'ol gal!

Happy Halloween

2010-10-31T09:13:00.000-07:00

Trick or Treat! May your candy coma only last a few hours!

Pumpkin Patching of 2010

2010-10-28T19:15:00.000-07:00

The same donkey that has been there every year for the past four years looked the happiest this year. Just munching away on his grass, minding his own business as a donkey should.

The farm's super social mare wanted a sip of soda. I think she was after the sugar in the Sprite. It was hilarious watching her stretch her lips out to make contact with Dustin's hands!

The owners of Berry Hill Farm put up a huge, new barn this year. A major upgrade for them and a nice touch to the cutesy farm.

D hauling our load of prized pumpkins across the field.

A lonely pumpkin. He needed a home!

Tomorrow we carve our jack-o-lanterns and play in pumpkin goo. I can't wait!

2010-10-24T16:40:00.001-07:00

Just casually observing the pumpkin patch, no harm caused and no harm done.

[Location: Nowthen, MN Berry Hill Farm]

The Kissing Room at The Local

2010-10-23T15:56:00.001-07:00

Bare Bridge

2010-10-22T15:10:00.000-07:00

A walk on the wild side...

...I nearly pooped my pants.
Thank you for watching my back Robyn!

[Location: NE Mpls, MN]

Underground Mining

2010-10-22T11:00:00.000-07:00

My first visit to the Tower-Soudan mine was in 6th grade back in 1993. My memory of the traditional annual field trip mecca for BHS 6th graders is very slight. I remember being wary of the unknown and being cold. And being cold again during a lunch on Lake Vermillion over a game of mini golf with the class, all 20 something of us.

Ironically, Dustin too made his pilgrimage up to the Tower-Soudan Mine in 6th grade during the year of 1993.

This year, we together visited the Tower-Soudan Mine on our annual Fall About trip. We spent most of the tour comparing memories from our 12/13 year-old selves and enjoyed the quiet end of the tourist season. We both had clear memories of the coolness of the underground temperatures and were good and bundled up for the decent into the Earth. There were only 2 other people on the tour with us and they were poorly dressed. Albeit the outside, above-ground temperatures were in the high 70s, the couple dressed only for surface temperatures. Touring around the mine in their shorts and tank tops, they commended us repeatedly on our smarts for dressing for "the occasion." At least we could brag about the one clear memory we had!

The tour was sensational and enlightening. The tour guide was on her 20th year working there and told many a great tales about her experiences tending bar for the miners 35 years ago and her miner family stories. If my memory served me any better, I may guess that she was our guide during my first trip to the mine.

1/2 a mile down into the Earth! They call this the "Cadillac" of mines because it is dry, the air is naturally fresh and the temperature is ideal in the 50s. The bats were a bit freaky flying around our heads but the rest of the tour I didn't get a spook or chill once. The "death records" show only a couple of people died there, but further research by the guide found hundreds of miners died there. She kept repeating to us "remember, this is an underground mine."

Can you imagine working your entire mining career in one spot? Some miners spent 9 or more years working in one area of the mine. Unbelievable.

And as we were voluntary touring an underground mine, the Chilean miners were involuntarily trapped in their mine. The tour, if anything, brought some intense perspective into our lives. Bless the miners of the world, past and present!

[Location: Soudan, MN 10/8/10]

Leonidas Overlook

2010-10-21T19:23:00.000-07:00

This one is for my Dad...

Driving up to da 'Range on Hwy 53 brought back all the years of memories of riding in the back of the pickup truck on newspaper hauls, collecting gas stamps for Whatchamacallit candy bars and eagerly anticipating the donuts at Days Inn in Hibbing. It was like nothing had changed over the past 20 years and everything changed, all at the same time.

All those years gone by and the Iron Range is still as beautiful as it ever has been.

[Location: Eveleth, MN 10/8/10]

Crusher House Tower-Soudan Mine

2010-10-21T19:17:00.000-07:00

[Location: Soudan, MN 10/8/10]

Long Legs in NE

2010-10-14T18:51:00.001-07:00

Fall walkabout on Nicollet Island with Robyn. Look at those legs!

Fall Reflections

2010-10-14T18:31:00.001-07:00

Another fall scene from the gorgeous Jay Cooke State Park taken last weekend.

A little Sarah history lesson for my readers...

I have carried a camera with me since age 11. I have gone from the dinky little 110mm film cameras to the slightly less dinky 35mm point and shoot cameras to ultra SLR 35mm to my current, dSLR. I have always been fascinated by the art and realism of photography. I started taking college photography courses in 2006 and there started my incredibe affinity for hobby photography.

In 2007, I wrote the following artist statement for my college Photography class:

I see life as a path through which we are drawn down whether it can be seen or not. Seeing the light at the end of the tunnel can seem bleak or bright. Knowing this can only be evident to conscious thinking. Through photography, I aspire to capture life’s paths literally and figuratively through light and inorganic materials. I gravitate heavily toward capturing linear and shadowed forms of objects. I seek insight through adventure and exploration in urban and rural settings. My recent work has been in urban areas with rural appeal. I am inspired by these settings from my days of youth growing up in rural Minnesota."

Today, in 2010, I can see how far my "eyes" have grown, expanded and reached beyond. Most obviously now, I have a great love for reflection photography. Let's see what 3 more years will bring me in my photography ways!

Jay Cooke State Park

2010-10-12T18:47:00.001-07:00

This is THE picture. THE view. THE breath that was taken when I walked out to this overlook. THE flowing water. THE gentle fall breeze.

This is THE reason why I love Minnesota.

[Location: Jay Cooke State Park, Thomson, MN. Date: 10/7/10]

Falling Away

2010-10-11T18:08:00.001-07:00

My 2nd favorite photo from our Fall About 2010 trip over this past weekend. We missed the peak of the fall colors, but still had quite the eye feast with the turning deciduous needle trees.

Any guesses where this was at? I know two of my dedicated readers do...think back 18 years ago...

My 1st Hot Rod Rides

2010-10-03T18:15:00.000-07:00

I rode in these two beauties. Neither cars had side windows, which made for a very chilly cruise. It was worth every second of goosebumps!

Beauty

2010-09-30T18:36:00.001-07:00

[Location: Plainwell, MI]

Weddingingness

2010-09-23T20:23:00.001-07:00

If only pictures could speak. What were these boys thinking?!

Taken at one of the two weddings I attended in the span of 8 days. I went into the above wedding skeptical as hell, thinking "weddings are no fun now because I am married now. HA!" Oh boy, Did I surprise myself! I had goosebumps the size of eggs and my heart pounded through the entire ceremony. I am pretty certain that I was more excited about someone else's wedding that day than I had ever been before. We sat in the back of the church and I couldn't see the bridal party or what was happening up front. I could hear a man singing, a piano, and a woman singing. I could tell the man was the guy at the piano (bride's brother) but then after the first verse saw the woman singing was actually the bride. It was so beautiful! I was mostly amazed at all of the details of the wedding, all the way down to the little fishy punch outs she had on the programs. She had a very simple and nice black and white wedding. The biggest surprise was her hubby cut his hair! He has always had long shabby (think hockey hair with the hat depression), crazy red hair. I didn't even recognize him with his hair short. Definitely a better look for him!

The night wore on, friends were made, stories were told and songs were danced to. The whole day far exceeded our expectations!

Congrats Levi and Amber!

Droves of Change

2010-09-02T19:16:00.000-07:00

Change is the only constant. I have heard that phrase said so many times I have become immune to the impact and truthfulness of the words. Today, I experienced change like a jumbo jet smashing into a mountainside and flying out the other side. I don't write about work for professional reasons, but had to mark this day in history. Today is a day, where the things that I wake up and pray for every day for all of the days I have worked at this job that all of my wishes came true.

Let me repeat. All of my wishes came true On. The. Same. Day. And it just won't stop. I should have bought a lottery ticket tonight, that is how deep the horseshoe is up my ass right now. I feel so fortunate but also feel an enormous swell of challenges ahead that may be tougher to live through than they appear now.

These changes are not about me, but the people and the work around me. Tomorrow is a new day, a very new day.

Nature at Home

2010-08-29T18:29:00.000-07:00

Here are a few of my favorite things about our new house:

My stargazer lilies opened up today! I planted the bulbs in May and thought they were a lost cause after no activity for months! They smell so good and look so gorgeous. Thanks to my mom for giving us the bulbs for our housewarming gift.

Deer butts! My boss has been giving me bags and bags of apples from his apple tree. I have so kindly shared them with the deer that sneak in after dark. Yesterday afternoon, Vanessa, Dustin and I were chatting away when Dustin saw these two fawns walk nonchalantly into our yard. Talk about big ca hones! If the sliding glass door would have been open, I am sure they would have walked in for a cup of tea with us. Such a fun and beautiful sight! They stuck around for a good 20 minutes until a siren/wind/plant scared them off.

Showing some love!

I have recently found our bird bath to be the most entertaining fixture in our yard. I had fun all weekend cleaning out the bath and giving the birdies fresh water every couple of hours. They were so delighted they pooped all over the place! Silly birds!

Famous People - The Twins

2010-08-23T19:38:00.000-07:00

Dustin and I went to our first game at the new Target field. We were under the impression there was no way we were going to get tickets at face value. I called the Twins ticket line and scored us some sweet lower level seats just off of first base. Any guesses who the 1987 World Series Twins player was that sat in front of us?

Split Rock Lighthouse

2010-08-23T19:31:00.000-07:00

Summer of 2009 Flashback. One of my most favorite places.

[Location: Split Rock Lighthouse, North Shore, MN]

Valleyfair Was Not My Final Desination

2010-08-16T19:29:00.001-07:00

Last Saturday I returned to Valleyfair for the first time in 9 years. My lack of attendance was mixed with skepticism, intentional avoidance and little interest from friends and family.

I used to get dizzy from the county fair rides when I was a wee little kid. And for the most part, was deathly afraid of the rides. I broke out of my scared-of-rides shell when I was 15 or so and down in Tennesee for the summer. My cousins brought my sister and I to the now defunct Opryland for a smorgasboard of all I could hobble up rides. It was an intense pleasure that I had not felt before. I guess you could say I was sucked into the adrenaline high and became a little bit of a roller coaster and non-spinny ride junkie. I went on a streak and visited Valleyfair frequently from 1999-2001. It was my last visit, 9 years ago, that forever changed my perception of the ride high.

I had only been living in the Twin Cities for a few months and was still getting familiar with the lay of the metropolitan land. One of my BFFs from elementary school and I had grown close over the previous couple of years. Her and her boyfriend along with his friends and family decided to take a road trip down to see us and go to Valleyfair. I was super excited for the adventure and to see my friends from back home!

Reflecting back to that time in my life, the details are pretty fuzzy. I had been going through an immense amount of stress with a complete change in my life and environment that had me in a perpetual spin. For the most part I clearly recall we were there after dark, we may have even just gone to Valleyfair for the Twilight Special. After all, you save about $30 on your admission price after 5:30 pm. Double win -- fewer munchkins and less money! We all met up and rode and rode and rode all the rides. I absolutely love the Wild Thing roller coaster and rode that many, many times.

This was the year that Valleyfair debuted the Power Tower. There had been shenanigans with the FAA about the height of the ride in correlation to the air space and proximity to the Flying Cloud airport. Eventually a deal was made and the ride height was modified to meet FAA's expectations. Besides the technical info, I still had a strange feeling about the ride. Not to mention looking at it made me want to fill my drawers! I avoided the lines at the Power Tower and opted out on being one of the first season riders. My BFF's boyfriend's sister (we will call her Jennifer) was HOOKED. I can't even count how many times she went up and down the Power Tower. The good part was we never lost her in the park, we always knew she would be recycling herself through the line and on the ride.

Park closing time arrived and we gathered ourselves up and headed back to their hotel. We stayed up all hours of the night and had a good time hanging out. The next day, they all headed home and my bf at the time and I drove back to the Northern 'burbs.

Life returned to normal. Until I got a phone call less than 48 hours after our Valleyfair adventure. Jennifer was found dead in her bathtub. She was a mother of two small children, a wife with a loving husband, a sister and a friend. The first speculation was she had accidentally taken too many of her meds. They did two (maybe three) autopsies on her and never did find out what her cause of death was. Everyone was blanketed with so much grief and so many overwhelming emotions. It was a hard phase in life, for all of us, and a questioning time. Why did this happen? How did this happen?

You never hear the stories of people getting sick or falling severely ill after visiting an amusement park. You only hear about the tragedies that happen on the premises and in the moment events. To this day, I still believe in my heart and gut that something about her experience at Valleyfair gave her that little nudge into her final destination.

After 9 long years of avoidance, did I ride the Power Tower on Saturday? HELL. NO. I boldly have and always will, point the finger of blame at the Power Tower. However, I did ride my heart out on many other rides, screaming like a fool all the way. Most importantly I survived.

I am ready to go again right now!

Gnomes

2010-08-12T18:35:00.000-07:00

[Location: Schell's Brewery, New Ulm, MN]

Stairway to Heaven

2010-08-10T22:31:00.001-07:00

A little teaser photo from our 1 year anniversary get away. Any guesses?

[Location: Schell's Brewery, New Ulm, MN]

Balloons

2010-07-30T20:31:00.000-07:00

I heart fair season.

Fair season=cheese-curd-corn-dog-glutton-in-my-heart-and-belly.

[Location: Anoka County Fair, Anoka, MN]

Empty No More

2010-07-30T20:24:00.000-07:00

A little over dramatized picture, I know, but it explains how sad I am to see the lot between our house and our neighbors be filled with a new home. Good-bye weedy, empty and crazy wild lot. Our time together was too short. We will miss you.

Here's to hoping the new neighbors will be cooler than cucumbers!

A Chicken

2010-07-18T09:00:00.000-07:00

[Location: A to Z Farm, Stockholm, WI]

Stormy Saturday

2010-07-17T19:21:00.000-07:00

Wow, that was an incredibly intense storm that just blew through. I joked on the phone with Dustin about our neighbors being "weird" for bringing all their plants indoors when the sirens went off. Well, the joke is on me now. Our trash ended up two houses over and all of my bird feeders and plants whipped to the opposite side of the yard. It is dark outside now, with the occasional bolt of lightning, so I will wait until tomorrow to do the clean-up. I spent the entirety of the storm in the basement, under the stairs. Dustin left for the night to hang out with his buds, leaving me home alone. I could literally feel the house tilting with the winds. I couldn't help but think about the pictures I just hung on the walls thirty minutes earlier flying off and into the winds. Post storm, we were graced with double rainbows and a colorful sky.

Sparklers

2010-07-13T09:19:00.000-07:00

Hannah Banana of Green Bay brought these up to the cabin on Mille Lacs for us to play with on Saturday. Her sister had her wedding the Friday night before and gave away sparklers as favors. What a neat idea!

[Location: Malmo on Lake Mille Lacs, MN]

Hydrangeas

2010-07-12T19:18:00.000-07:00

[Location: A to Z Farm in Stockholm, WI]

Farmer Mailbox

2010-07-09T10:08:00.000-07:00

[Location: A to Z Farm, Stockholm, WI]

Rev It Up!

2010-07-07T08:17:00.000-07:00

My first ever trip to Back to the 50's was awesome! If only I knew that most all of the great state fair food is hot out of the deep fryer and ready to be chowed on, I probably would have been there years ago!

Of the 12,000+ cars and umpteen thousand people there, I had my eye out for one family from back home. Sure enough, I saw them in passing and just a glimmer of recognition but the connection wasn't made. Maybe next time!

Dustin and I had a blast porking out on fair food and checking out the cars and people.

Pretty motor!

Gobs and gobs of people in all shapes and sizes.

So many creative ideas...

And crazy ideas...

Love these taillights! Were they ever a health hazard? Anyone lose an eye from one?

Big cars...

...and little cars...

...and cars with comical people and sexy mannequins!

State fair food. Nom nom nom.

This one is for Mom... check out those kickin' plastic canvas "fuzzy" dice!

No words for this one!

Checking cars for the variety of shifter knobs was like an antiquey treasure hunt -- skulls, beer tappers, pistons, oh my! The list goes is near never-ending.

I am already marking my calendar to go back next year!

Sunsets of Seasons

2010-07-06T20:10:00.000-07:00

Such a stark contrast, only 4 months later...

[Location: Movil Lake, Bemidji]

Moon

2010-07-06T12:52:00.000-07:00

[Location: Lake Pepin, Wisconsin]

Sunset

2010-07-05T18:51:00.001-07:00

[Location: Movil Lake, Bemidji]

Red

2010-07-04T09:08:00.000-07:00

Nothing says summer like a beautiful hot rod.

[Location: Back to the 50's, June 19, 2010]

Summer Weather

2010-06-17T19:39:00.000-07:00

12:00 Noon Today, St. Paul, MN
Sunny, Windy, Humid, Warm and Beautiful Summer

9:00 pm Today, My House in the 'burbs
After the severe weather -- just a little bit of heavy rain and wind with pink, blue and purple looming post-storm clouds.

Note: Photos have not been retouched. Colors are original and pretty darn accurate to what my naked, special eyes saw.

Another One Bites the Dust

2010-06-16T18:32:00.000-07:00

I killed another point and shoot. There, I said it. I just take too many pictures and the little guys just can't handle the work load. I switched brands this time. My Canon dSLR has been very good and has built some brand confidence for me. Nikon has just taken too many dives into the dirt for me. I think I am on my 5th point and shoot over the past few years, all of which have been Nikons.

Upcoming challenge: making friends with my new Canon PowerShot...

Spirea we planted in the front of our house.

A Blog About Sarah

Tree Carnage

A Day at Como

Cowles Conservatory | Purple

Pictures of People

Mystery Cave | Forestville State Park

My Birchbark Love Affair

The People of Las Vegas | Fall 2011

Root River | Preston

Como Zoo | Fall

Mushrooms and More Mushrooms

MMS Member | Fall Foray

Photography Class | Minneapolis

The Great Minnesota Get Together

Lutsen Mountain | North Shore

On the Lutsen Gondolas | North Shore

Silver Bay | North Shore

Temperance River | North Shore

Anker Lane Church

Pizza on the Farm | A to Z Farm

Girls Day | Stillwater

An Epic Day | July 23rd

Memory Lane | Ladysmith

May Recap

Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden and Bird Sanctuary | Nature Photos

Spring Storm Number One 2011

My Tulips | First Attempt at Gardening

If Birds Could Talk

A Very Big Ship | Lake Superior

Lake Superior | How I Love Thee

Isla Mujeres | Women Island

Swings on the Beach

Chips

Peering into Ik-il Cenote

Agave Tequilana

El Centro Hotel

Golf Carts and Seashells

Fat Iguana

Isla Mujeres | Playa Norte

Random Mexican Observations

Rock Photography Career

Gruta Cenote | X'Keken

Going for a Swim | Ik-il Yucatan

A Mojito Seniorita

Hot Dog on a Beach

Leaving on a Jet Plane

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

You Can't Take the Spring Out of Me

Inspired by The Oatmeal

A Golden Birthday for a Golden Guy

Bangers in Billiards

Truth in Signs

Snow Angel

A Cherry for Summer

Yard Pets

A Goodbye and A New Chapter

A Time Out

Free Entertainment at Work

Reminder of Days Past

Tree of 2010

A Great Thanksgiving

Silly Me Sucker

Honoring our Vets through Baking

Snow! Finally

A Dog on the Bus

Happy Halloween

Pumpkin Patching of 2010

Tweet

The Kissing Room at The Local

Bare Bridge

Underground Mining

Leonidas Overlook

Crusher House Tower-Soudan Mine

Long Legs in NE

Fall Reflections

Jay Cooke State Park

Falling Away

My 1st Hot Rod Rides

Beauty

Weddingingness