Vote for your favorite wedding photos!

Happily Ever After is looking for a new studio album and is asking blog readers to vote for their favorites. If you have a few minutes it's a great excuse to look at some fabulous photos!

SRF Holiday Party Photos

I wrote about the party in a previous entry and just got pics from my co-worker Chad ... here they are!

At the Environmental Group "pre-party" - my boss Beth with Chad

Nat, Chad, Matt, and me at the blackjack tables.

Kelcie and Sam

Nat with boyfriend Jay

Low-carbin' it

As some of you know, after being diagnosed as insulin resistant a couple years ago, my doctor suggested an insulin resistance diet that focused on reducing carbs to reduce insulin spikes. I followed her advice and pretty quickly lost 20 pounds, plus reversed some other negative health impacts that had come as a result of the insulin resistance. I've gotten worse over the past year, however; so, after talking with my friends Tom and Steph who were about to embark on a month of the South Beach diet, I decided to do the same.

I completed Phase I six pounds lighter and feeling great. I know that I need to limit carbs, and eat lean meats and a lot of vegetables, to maintain my health. The first week I made a menu plan and went to the store - I (and probably the cashier) was shocked at the amount of veggies! Tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, cauliflower, green beans, lettuce, fresh spinach, frozen spinach, zucchini and summer squash, celery, radishes, scallions, cilantro, leeks ... this plus a couple packages of fish and some dairy was the extent of my grocery cart (our freezer at home is filled with lots of meat already). At the parties this weekend I splurged a little, but I know I'll eat healthier after the "boot camp" of sorts of Phase I. I have reinvigorated my interest in low-carb eating.

I've spent a lot of time on a low-carb forum, and one of the blogs I came across had an interesting post. The blogger of Weight of the Evidence listed their food budget for a year, showing how one can follow a local, organic, pastured diet on a budget. I loved this list! This could be like my ideal grocery shopping list. Not only is this low-carb, but it also follows another food passion of mine, one rooted in having things that are healthy for the earth, for humans, for farmers, for the local economy. Matt and I follow a similar strategy for a good chunk of our food. We buy local, in bulk, so we know where our food comes from. Our pasture-fed beef comes from Cedar Summit Farm (a quarter cow); our free-range chickens come from Gale Woods Farm; I grow all of our produce during the growing season; and we also buy food from Whole Farms Co-op, a cooperative of farmers in central Minnesota. This list made me realize that yes, eating this way can be reasonable, and it inspired me to find new ways to support and engage in sustainable agriculture.

Which reminds me - it's almost time to get started on a seed order and start my seeds for this year's vegetable garden!

Weekend of Parties

By some weird coincidence, Matt and I had holiday parties for both our companies this weekend--Matt's on Friday night and mine on Saturday night. What are the chances that both would have holiday parties this late, in January, and on the same weekend?

We were well prepared, as evidenced by my previous post discussing wardrobe decisions. So Friday night we got all dressed up and went to Oak Ridge Conference Center for the Digital River party. This was my third party as Matt's date, and by far the best. Three floors of the conference center were filled with things to do - food stations with various themes, several bars, a DJ/dance floor, game rooms (casino games, horse racing, bingo), even bonfires and a carved ice bar outside. Our friends Jamie and Becky were there and snapped this photo of us:


I have to say, the staff at Oak Ridge was unlike anything I'd ever seen. Valets were so fast, there was someone right inside the door to offer to take our coats, and everywhere we went there were the most helpful, friendly, amazing people. If anyone is looking for a place for an event, I'd highly recommend it!

Last night was SRF's party at Hotel Sofitel. My company likes to seat you at tables where you are mixed up with people from several departments--nice way to meet new people, but not the most fun. So my department gathered an hour early at a nearby bar to have drinks, socialize, and meet each other's spouses. My group is so fun! After dinner, we had another night of casino games. Matt and I did very well at blackjack, winning a lot of "money" which we used to buy tons of raffle tickets--unfortunately we didn't win anything.

Now we're both exhausted after two late nights. I've been trying to get myself to bed EARLIER so I can start my day earlier, get home from work earlier, etc. Not sure that all the partying helps that goal!

Need fashion help

So, I have two parties this week and am trying to figure out outfits ... I know I have friends with good taste who can help me out!

So ... taking a cue from my friend Nina about taking photos in front of the mirror, I tried a few outfits on tonight.

The first party is Friday night and is Matt's company's party. It is somewhat casual ("dressy" jeans are ok) so I was thinking of going with dark jeans with heels. I have this blue shirt but is it too dark with the jeans? -


The second party is Saturday and is my company's holiday party. It's much dressier. I have looked for a fab dress to go with the pearl jewelry Matt has given me, but couldn't find one. So, I have the same blue shirt above, this time with dressier black pants:

Again, does the blue go with black? I'm not 100% sure.

Or, I have this snazzy red skirt that has a very dressy sheen to it. I love it with the following tank top, which is a black and red velour print:
But, bare sleeves in January? I think not. I put it on with this black jacket, but I'm not sold ... the jacket seems to cut the top off in a funny way.

Thoughts anyone? Does the jacket work with the outfit, or no? Can I wear dark pants with the blue shirt? And which outfit should I choose for Saturday's party? (yes, "none of the above" is definitely an option!)

Owls

A new bird for my life-list!

This weekend Matt and I went up north, and on Saturday ventured to the Sax-Zim Bog in search of owls and other fun birds.

A Northern Hawk Owl

A Redpoll - also a new bird for me!

Our list of species for the day includes:

Great Gray Owl
Northern Hawk Owl
Common Redpoll
Hoary Redpoll
Black-Capped Chickadee
Boreal Chickadee
Blue Jay
Gray Jay
Bald Eagle
Downy Woodpecker

hmm ... there were probably a couple more I am forgetting at the moment!

Here are a couple photos of one of my favorite birds, the Great Gray Owl.




Thanks to Matt for taking these photos!

Hannah's New Boots

We finally bought the right size boots for Hannah! After a few mishaps of different sizes, these fit. And you can sure tell our pup is not quite sure how to walk with boots on! I laughed so hard the first time she tried to walk I fell over on the floor. Unfortunately I missed her first few attempts but I did manage to catch some rough video after that:

January Sunrise

going seventy
you see only highlights
the mind rejects concrete, seeing
golden streams
on fields
making black branches glow
in the winter air

the silhouetted hawk
watches

do others notice
the gleam on orange bricks
the low-slung clouds
the creatures surviving
the hope being cast around?
…or is it only me?

My Grandpa

Tonight on facebook I saw this updated profile pic of my cousin Rachel, with our grandpa:


... and it made me so sad.

I thought I was done with all the tears. But I guess not. So now here I am, on a random night, sitting here crying because of this picture. The sad thing is that I so vividly remember kissing him at Thanksgiving, back when we had no idea anything was wrong. He seemed so strong and sure of himself, and - as always - so happy to have us around. I can almost still feel that moment, bending in to say goodbye and reaching out to give him a hug and kiss.

I will always miss him ... his proud speeches at holidays with his family gathered around, his humor (sometimes self-deprecating, like when he sang his line from The Twelve Days of Christmas - "five golden rings"- so off key, just to make us laugh!), his love of playing cribbage, the bird feeders that surrounded his yard, his hard work that resulted in tasty vegetables, beautiful gardens, and welded football poles and clothesline poles and everything in between. And as was often said in the days around his funeral, "he could fix just about everything ... except balloons and coffee cups." I could explain the inside jokes there, but maybe they're better off being inside jokes.

I miss him more than I ever thought I would (if I really thought about it before). I've always loved him, sure, but with his death I find myself thinking about how I probably didn't appreciate his presence in our lives enough. Someone like Grandpa is just always there, always a part of your family's history and fabric, events and trials and celebrations. He was always the one who could fix stuff or help out, was at orchestra concerts and graduations and our wedding, as well as at all the everyday stuff ... getting together for dinner or stopping in for coffee after church on Sunday, coming over on hot summer days to swim in our pool or barbecue dinner.

Probably the biggest shocker for me is realizing how much I am like him. I can't believe I never tallied up all the interests I shared with him, nor that I never spent time sharing those interests with him. We both love gardening, and enjoy bird watching and hunting and family. And like him, and like my own father, I am quite fond of cribbage. Growing up, I thought I was so unlike my grandparents. They were older and more traditional, conservative in some ways. And very Catholic, which I definitely was not. I saw all the ways we would disagree on political issues, and made a lot of assumptions about things I thought we would differ on. I was so busy seeing the ways we were different that I didn't recognize all the ways we were similar.

In your absence, Grandpa, I will carry on your interest in many of the things you loved most in life. I know I'm not Catholic and can't carry that forward, but there are so many other things we could have shared. And I will try to learn to look for similarities instead of differences in those around me.

Settler of the Year!

How can 2009 be anything but perfect when you start the year off by winning the SOC tournament???

This was the 6th Annual SOC (Settlers of Catan) tournament; Matt and I have played every year, since its inception in 2004. It's played every year on New Year's Day. In the first tournament, he and I both made it to the winners table and competed against each other; in the end, he won. I haven't made it to the winners table since then, and definitely didn't expect to do so this year - we had been up until 3:00 a.m. the night before with our friends and I was sooooo tired! Somehow I did well enough in the first game, won easily in the second game and made it to the winners table:

Jenn, Tom, Don, and Mike - the highest scoring players of the first two rounds.

My strategies in the game paid off, and I shocked even myself when I built a city for my ninth victory point and turned over my discovery card for my tenth victory point. My name was added to the traveling trophy, next to Matt's!


This win boosted my hopes for 2009. Last year had its good points, for sure, but it was also a difficult year in many respects (personally as well as, of course, as a country). It's time for things to look up. Welcomek 2009!!

Christmas at Grandma's

Last weekend Matt and I drove north again, this time because Grandma wanted to host a Christmas celebration at her house for the family. We went up early to spend time with my parents, visit relatives on Saturday morning, get a massage (for me), and take some photos of my cousin Katie's 2-year-old son Jayden. On Sunday we all gathered at Grandma's, 28 of us! The house was packed! The above photo is my Grandma and me.

I added pictures from the day into my Christmas 2008 album.

In October I wrote about the NKOTB concert. My grandma heard the stories of the concert, and unearthed from her basement a couple of my cousin Brooke's vintage NKOTB items. They were wrapped up for Brooke under the tree:



Many of the gifts were humorous, and our whole family had a great time!