Back to Cyclone Country.

Last weekend, my roommate Paige and I took a mini-road trip adventure to Ames, Iowa. I was so happy to return to Iowa State, my alma matter. It was surely a weekend jam-packed of activities. I was able to give Paige a tour of campus, of course buy the much needed Iowa State sweatshirt…a common occurrence from my trips to Ames, visit the beloved Ark pet shop we are all obsessed with (...Tommy needed some fish), eat at Hickory Park, give Paige a tour of the FIJI fraternity, and most importantly…a tour of our favorite ISU bars.



Love these men! So happy to see Kyle and Tommy.



Love him!

It was definitely not a weekend for sleeping, that’s for sure! We ventured back home with many memories from the weekend and a handful of pictures.



Sunday was also a day for an awesome celebration! My beloved Patriots celebrated a playoff victory against the Broncos and a blow to Tebow’s ego! Way to go boys!! Next up is our AFC championship game against the Ravens, the match up will certainly be a game to watch, with the Ravens roster containing some of the best players in NFL history. I’m confident it will be a good game, and Tom Brady is up for the challenge! 

Take that Tebow!

It was so nice to have a long weekend, thanks to MLK Day! After a much needed day of relaxation yesterday, some girl time with my wonderful mother, and finishing the second book of the Hunger Games Trilogy, I am refreshed and ready to tackle another work week! 

Wishing and hoping for this ASAP!

Here’s to hoping for some more snow so we can go out and shred this weekend!

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Happy Birthday MLK!


photo courtesy of: http://mlkday.gov/

Last week at work, a great opportunity to showcase the company's appreciation for diversity came across my plate. In writing a feature on our diversity networks, my manager sent me this great quote from a card she received in the mail. Perfect for my New Year's Resolutions!

"Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?'" - Martin Luther King, Jr.

Why not honor the mission that Martin Luther King, Jr., strived for so passionately, than to simply, Be Good to People?!

Take time today to visit, http://mlkday.gov/ and learn more about one of our country's greatest leaders.

"The MLK Day of Service is a part of United We Serve, the President's national call to service initiative. It calls for Americans from all walks of life to work together to provide solutions to our most pressing national problems." - mlkday.gov

MLK Day is one of the great holidays that our whole country believes in. Make today a day of service.

Micro-miracles.

This week, something wonderful happened. Despite the negative perception that Facebook often carries, I found a reason that Facebook is a fabulous networking tool and one of the best ways to connect people.

A couple of days ago I posted a link to the 501(c)(3) pending non-profit that my cousin is a part of, after having her own micro-premie miracle baby. Our Miracle Babies is a touching non-profit, working to raise awareness, support and connect families faced with the joys and challenges of having and raising a micro-premie baby.

My cousin's little miracle Conner, such a smile!!

After posting about Our Miracle Babies, a coworker of mine told me about her friend, Jon, from Montana, who has had quite the journey with his own micro-premie miracle. She sent me the link to a book website, You Don't Know Jack, promoting a book that Jon is trying to publish. It is a book all about their experiences with Jack, what they went through and of course the joys of raising one of humanity's greatest heroes - a baby fighting for its life. Check it out! Jon is an exceptional writer.


I contacted Jon to thank him for his story and to connect him to my cousin's blog about her baby Conner. Jon shared with me his wife's blog, Life with Jack, and I thought it was so wonderful I wanted to share it. In the excerpt of Jon's book, where he has posted the first three chapters of his beautifully written manuscript, Jon begins the book with a quote that I think is so inspiring and reminds you of everything you have to be thankful for - despite the challenges you may face in all that life brings.

"Sometimes you just know when life is good. It's not the absence of problems, it is the mere recognition of all the blessings you have."

It's hard to see all of the good and beauty in your life when you are bogged down with challenges and negativity, but like my dad always says, "Good things happen to people with good attitudes." Something else to live by! ...Happy Friday the 13th!

Back to work, back to work.

This week marks my first full week back in the office in well over a month. After the scramble to use up remaining PTO, holidays and vacation, it’s time to get back to reality. Luckily, Monday is MLK Day, so I will have, yet again, another three day weekend. Woo hoo!

Last week, I got to spend an amazing week in Colorado with Nic and his family. It was not my first time to the Denver area, but it was my first time out on the “official” slopes. I’ve been on a trip before in my high school days, but snowboarding in Whitecap Mountain in Wisconsin is no Copper Mountain in Colorado!

After a few ski tumbles in my day, I’ve never been itching to get back up on those awkward skis, so I’ve taken a liking to the snowboard. I got myself “warmed up” for this trip the past month with many, many trips to little Buck Hill in Minnesota, but the lack of snow and abundance of icy, fake snow, have resulted in many bruises, swollen knees, and a sore body. But like I said last week, “No pain, no gain.” Right? Right!



Sibling time at Buck Hill, Christmas Eve morning.

I took an all-day lesson at Copper our first official day on the slopes. My teacher, Evan, was phenomenal. Those instructors out there really do, do that for a living. And man, do they know what they are doing! I was successfully linking turns and making my way down the slopes in the ‘S’ turn fashion snowboarders are accustomed to, and was loving every second of it! Despite my early falls onto rocks, hard snow, and some incredibly scary looking bruises.

We would spend our mornings perusing down the hills, meeting for lunch up at the top of the mountain, me…taking “breaks” sitting on the snow during runs simply out of frustration, and would conclude our active days in the resort hot tub. At night, the Meyers and I would play so many games! From one of our favorites, Canasta, to the Mexican Train, Yahtzee Hands Down card game, Monopoly in card game form, Spades, Hearts, and so many more. I finished up the vacation with three wins under my belt…not bad!

Keystone time!

After two days at Copper, we ventured over to Keystone for a day. Sadly, Nic’s dad had a pretty bad shoulder injury after a fall on the second day at Copper, so he was unable to ski with us the rest of the trip. Keystone was a blast, but the 3.5 mile run I continuously did that day was exhausting! We finished up the trip back at Copper with some very successful runs that left us with smiles on our faces and me, with a sense of accomplishment and excitement to come back!



Sunny break time at Copper.

The weather was BEAUTIFUL! Mid-40s all week, very little wind, with solid sun. The only downfall...was the lack of snow. Sadly, Colorado mountains were made up of 100% fake snow last week. I hope more snow will come, so at least some people can enjoy some fresh powder!



Keystone Silver Spoon run.

On Saturday, we drove all 15 hours back to St. Louis…this trip was by far the longest time in a car I had ever spent. Definitely a lot longer than the 6 hours I previously thought took forever! All that traveling was exhausting, and left me with not much time in between. Soon enough, I was back at the airport Sunday early morning, flying home to Minneapolis.

I’m excited to go back to Colorado next year when I will for sure be a professional snowboarder…lets hope I’ll be on the half pipe by then!

New year, new inspiration.

Traditionally, the new year has transfixed people all over the world to come up with “New Year’s Resolutions,” to either lose weight, accomplish a specific goal, cross something off their bucket list and so on. I admit that I too jumped on the resolution bandwagon this year and I fully intend to stick to my resolutions through the entirety of 2012.

After much reflection and inspiration, I finally came up with a list that I think is pretty wonderful:

1.       Be good to people. I cannot take credit for this idea, my roommate Paige has this love for notes containing inspiring quotes. During one of her many visits to Patina, she found the Be Good to People post-it notes. These little notes have since then become the foundation for my new motto to ring in the new year.

2.       Do something for someone each day. So many days go by that seem to be a blur. I want to have more meaningful days this year, marked by something great that I was able to do for someone else.

3.       Stick to your budget! This is one that will be my biggest challenge…ahh the difficulties of growing up. Time to do more than just save and contribute to a 401k…it’s time to cut back on the unnecessary trips to the mall or sadly, to Caribou.

4.       Be healthy, and good to YOU. Nothing more important than a healthy body, healthy attitude and ME TIME!

5.       Be committed to all of your goals, and in all that you do. My friend and coworker Nicole and I often joke around about making up excuses at the last minute to not attend an after-work function, happy hour, or a friend’s party. We both are making it a goal to stick with it.

6.       Work harder each day, and more than you ever have. Self-explanatory…time to step it up and take control, both in work and at home.

So, here’s to hoping that writing these down in more than one place reminds me to follow Resolution #5 in following my entire list of resolutions…sticking with it!

On New Year’s Eve, I flew to St. Louis to spend the holiday with my boyfriend Nic in his hometown. We had an absolutely fabulous day.

After going to see the cliché movie, New Year’s Eve, which neither of us were impressed with at all, Nic and I went to a quaint little wine bar, One 19 North, in Kirkwood, Missouri, for tapas and spirits. We were by far the youngest guests in the teeny, tiny establishment. Our waiter was by far the most outstanding waiter either of us have ever had, and he was so enthusiastic about his job it was unbelievable. We enjoyed pan seared sea scallops, grilled blackened salmon, and New Orleans BBQ shrimp with wine and of course, Nic’s Maker’s and Coke drink. When the waiter came by to list the desserts, my ears immediately perked up when he mentioned carrot cake. How can you not love carrot cake?! So we enjoyed a couple desserts, followed by free champagne and some New Year’s Eve festive hats – which Nic refused to wear…typical.

The evening was filled with great conversation, entertainment, a fun DJ, and of course, ringing in the new year!

Yummy Pumpkin Nutella Bread

So I've been a little M.I.A., after my many weeks of traveling and being away from home, I find myself trying to hastily whip up some cookies or cupcakes, or bread. Even cook something brilliant in a 30 minute time window. With the fall season upon us, it is only appropriate to try to incorporate pumpkin into anything and everything! (Including the pumpkin enzyme mask I had at my last facial!)

I came across this bread recipe last year, Pumpkin Nutella Bread, if you like nutella, you will LOVE this! I brought it in to my office for our made up holiday, "Pumpkin Day 2011," with all things pumpkin and orange (see picture above). This was such an office hit, people were begging me to the recipe!


Ingredients:

• 2 C. All-purpose Flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. ground ginger
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon (I always add A LOT extra)
• 1 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/2 C. butter, softened
• 3/4 C. granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 C. canned pumpkin
• 1/2 C. butterscotch chips
• 4 tbsp. Nutella (add extra!)

Instructions:

• Spray 9x5 inch loaf pan with cooking spray; line with parchment paper; spray parchment paper
• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and spices
• In a large bowl, beat butter with the sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and beat to combine. Mix in the pumpkin mixture. With the mixer on low, add flour mixture. Fold in butterscotch chips.
• Spread 1/3 of the batter in the loaf pan. Then, spread half of the nutella. Repeat with batter and then nutella again. Top with the remaining batter.
• Lightly swirl the nutella into the batter.
• Bake at 350F for about 30 minutes. Lower the heat to 325F and bake for another 25-35 minutes.
• Cool 10 minutes. (Make sure the leave the loaf in the pan as long as you can, this bread is very moist and will lose shape/crumble if it is taken out too soon).

Enjoy!

Granola Energy Bars

After my 9 day long vacation to Disney World to visit my boyfriend with his family, I was definitely due to hit the gym and start eating healthy again. Disney park food really isn't conducive to maintaining your figure, so I have picked up where I left off with my healthy diet! These granola energy bars are great! I got the idea from my Runner's World July magazine issue and decided to improvise a bit. Have fun with this one, it's super easy!

• 2 eggs
• 3 tablespoons of honey (I had more like 5 because it's so good!)
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• zest of one orange
• 1/3 cup walnuts
• 3 cups granola
• I then added cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla to taste

Mix all ingredients in a bowl, spread on a greased cookie sheet, make sure it is about the thickness of a standard granola bar. Bake for 15 minutes at 375.

Let them cool to thicken over night, these are great chewy granola bars for anytime you are on the go!

Enjoy!!