Three On Thursday

Three on Thursday – maybe you’ll learn something new about me! Happy Thursday!

Favorite cuisine:
1. Italian
2. Mexican
3. Seafood

Foods I never seem to get sick of:
1. Avocados
2. Cheese
3. Pizza and spaghetti (there’s a 4th- potatoes in all forms!)

Three words I'd use to describe myself:
1. Frivolous
2. Flirty
3. Creative

3 U.S. Cities I would like living in, besides Minneapolis:
1. San Diego
2. Seattle
3. San Francisco

3 places in the U.S. that I haven't visited but would like to:
1. New Orleans
2. Dallas
3. Portland

Favorite forms of exercise:
1. Walking and riding my bike
2. Elliptical
3. Barre burn and Zumba classes

Favorite smells:
1. Chocolate and vanilla candles
2. Anything fruity
3. Outdoor smells like rain, damp fall leaves, night blooming jasmine and the ocean

Big vacations I'd like to take some day:
1. Go back to Hawaii (which is where I got married) and stay at a really fancy hotel
2. Someday I want to spend a whole summer on Mackinac Island and just rent a condo and it would just be me, my pets, a bicycle and fudge – lots of fudge – and I imagine I would read and write a lot 3. I would really like to go to Italy and eat a LOT like in Eat, Pray, Love



  And that is it from me.

February

I totally dropped the ball on blogging in February and here it is March 10th so I better chop chop! I devised a brief update of what I did last month.

Reading: I read Marilu Henner's book, The Total Memory Makeover. This actress of Taxi fame has a rare kind of memory that is only found in a very small percentage of the population and I was very excited to read her book because people tell me that I have a crazy good memory. However, what she has is called HSAM - Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory and she can remember every single day of her life from 5th grade on (I believe--ha I forgot!). But anyhow her memory is very detailed and goes back to childhood. She can bring up any day from her life from that point forward and tell you what she was wearing, what her hair looked like, what she weighed, what day of the week it was, what the weather was doing. I think that is so fascinating! And, no, my memory is not quite that good but I do have a freaky memory for dates and can often remember what I was wearing, and whenever certain songs come on from the past I can tell you what guy I was dating. Probably not that unusual!

Loving: I was loving all my spring flowers that I brought into my office to brighten up winter - I had a bulb garden, a cyclamen and the bouquet of flowers I got for Valentine's Day. They have since all died of course. :-(

Thinking: Oh, definitely thinking I was tired of winter especially as we ended up with 60 inches of snow and 50 days below zero. Ugh!!

Feeling: See above! Feeling tired of winter! And it is not that I don't like winter but enough is enough and even people who love winter would be tired of this! I had some really long commutes of 3 hours where I may as well have lived in my car.

Anticipating: My vacation to Southern California beginning April 4th! And also dog sitting Roxie, my favorite little Shih Tzu.

Inspired By: My friends! Everyone is good at something and everyone has gifts. I appreciate all my friends!

Watching: More like NOT watching the Winter Olympics or the Walking Dead. I don't have any favorite shows right now and didn't really watch a lot of TV in February.

Sad: I don't think anything made me too sad in February as I flipped back through my calendar for reminders--except the anniversary of my dad's death on Feburary 12th. I still miss him of course, so yes, that was actually a sad day. Gone 12 years now....

Working: Working and working out! Still working my 4 and a half days a week as a receptionst at an upscale bath and body company and I have to add in working out - barre burn and zumba classes and really doing the elliptical almost every day.

Grateful: I have a lot to be grateful for - wonderful friends, adorable pets, a good job, a nice house, a really nice car, a closet full of clothes, a husband who would do anything for me, good health, not a lot of REAL worries. I try to remind myself of that every day!

Listening: I listened to a lot of Miley Cyrus and Robin Thicke. I am open to listening to something new! Any suggestions?

Wishing: Oh, I wished for a lot of things. None of which have come true - YET. So that's it for February in a nutshell. In the midst of March now and need to get better at blogging.


I still have NOT made my vision board yet and that was going to be my big project for January. Maybe that is why my wishes are not coming true! :-)

Looking Forward...

Last week, I talked about living in the moment which I think is a very advisable (and admirable) way to live, but I am not going to lie – I also like having things to look forward to – vacations, holidays, a new book or movie, a package in the mail (on-line shopping!), trying a new restaurant with friends, etc.

Some of my blogging friends have been doing “Looking Forward” posts so I am taking a page from their book. Here is what I am looking forward to:

This Weekend… The Super Bowl, of course! It’s my team, the Seahawks, and really except for a Super Bowl party a few years ago, this is the most excited I have been about the Super Bowl in a long time. Even the half time acts are ones I am excited about – Bruno Mars and Red Hot Chili Peppers! Go Seahawks! Sidebar: I ordered TWO shirts for the game—I really hope one of them shows up, but both would be nice. I can wear one during the first half, and the other during the second half.
 

NEXT MONTH…. I have to say Valentine’s Day. I do like getting a big bouquet from my husband. It is one of the holidays where he spares no expense on my flowers. And I will find a fun restaurant to go to. I also have another idea that we carried out last year—a bunch of my girlfriends and I did a Girls Valentine’s Day dinner beforehand. Yes, I really went to two dinners last year. And as for the FOLLOWING month, March (ugh, I don’t really like that month but we won’t go into that) I have things to look forward to as well—a trip to California (either March or April) and also I am going to be dog sitting for a Shih Tzu named Roxie. I get to take care of her a lot but it has been awhile. I think I get her for 10 whole days this time. Sorry, Violet.

This summer….So excited to see my friend, Amber, get married in Spencer, Iowa on July 19th! She has already shared a photo of her dress with me. I am just very happy for her. I love summer too for the trips we go on – usually Mackinac Island or Door County. But no details yet! Summer sounds good right about now.

THIS YEAR … This is a big one – I am going to Paris for my birthday in October!! More to come on that big event.

What about you? What are you looking forward to? Please leave me a comment!

Living In The Polar Vortex Moment

 

I haven’t blogged in a few weeks – it was my original intention to do it every week, but oh, well, things don’t always go as planned! Plan B!

I have been busy trying to stay warm in this impossibly cold weather. I can’t count the days that have been way below zero at night and then never even go above zero during the daytime. It was during all this that first our furnace went out and then our washing machine. And it happens while my husband is traveling for the bank – first Detroit one week, then Denver the following week and then Detroit again for another week. That left me to deal with the repairmen – and Noodles, my Pug. He enjoys hanging out with the repairmen. He helps. Okay, gets in their way!

Hi, Noodles!!

I have also been taking 4 exercise classes a week – Zumba toning on Tuesday night, Barre Burn on Friday night, regular Zumba on Saturday morning and Barre Burn again on Sunday afternoon. And I still try to do the elliptical (Le Elliptical!) every day for 30 to 40 minutes. When nice weather comes back, I can add walking and riding my bike to the mix – but in the meantime, I really have to focus on my classes to keep in shape.

We had our book club this month – the little group that my pal, Heidi and I started last spring – Chick Lit and Cocktails. I am actually now in 3 book clubs but this one came about because one of my book clubs tends to go very serious and the other one is in Des Moines so I can’t always drive down there with my schedule. I wanted this book club to be closer (obviously!) and also more fun, light and fluffy books. We met at Crave at the Mall of America but due to the weather only half of us made it but it was still fun. We will try again in March!

One other exciting thing happened in January and that is that my favorite football team, the Seattle Seahawks, are going to the Super Bowl! That is actually super exciting. I just saw them play a few weeks ago on Dec. 29th when I was in Seattle and I had a good feeling then. I have ordered my Russell Wilson #3 football jersey so I have appropriate attire for the game on February 2nd!

The dogs and I took a little road trip to Iowa this week on MLK Day. It is just nice to get away and stay in a hotel and have wine and answer to no one. Of course, the weather down there was no better. I fantasize about getting in my yellow Eclipse, Daisy, with my 2 dogs and driving across the country to California. I am serious!

So anyhow it has been extremely cold and snowy but it is January in the upper Midwest and I still try to appreciate it for what it is. Like these super cute snowmen in my neighborhood.

Someone is creative!

And watching my bulb garden(s) grow and eventually bloom. I have 2 – one for home and one for my office.

Someday We Will Bloom!

 Spring will eventually come. I am just trying to enjoy the here and now and not project myself too far in the future .  Live for the moment.




By the way, I am on Instagram as lesli13 – I post equally exciting photos as these! ;-)

Happy January!

Make A Wish!

I don’t make New Year’s resolutions. But I do make New Year’s Wishes!

One of the best ways to make a wish—A Wishing Jar! Just find an old Mason Jar to decorate and fill with your wishes—big and small. At the end of the year, see which ones have come true.



Another way to make a wish—a wishing bracelet. The idea behind the bracelet is to make a wish when you tie it on – when the bracelet breaks or falls off, your wish is ready to come true! You can find them on Etsy.

On the subject of wishes and resolutions even, the New Year is a great time to make a Vision Board and fill it with all the things you would like to do and have in the coming year. I am going to make a vision board this weekend. Stay tuned!

Finally, similar to the Wishing Jar is the Happiness Jar—you can fill it with the little things that make you happy during the year. Just write them down on a slip of paper and then on New Year’s Eve you can go through and remember all the things that made you happy.

Those are my thoughts for today! Happy New Year!

2013 - A Little Recap

I feel bad to even say this but 2013 was NOT the best year of my life. I always start my New Years off with lots of hope and optimism and I did the same for 2013. But right off the bat something was just “off”. I won’t get into details but let’s just say I learned some valuable lessons along the way and leave it at that.

I would rather focus on the positive – I had some really fun trips, twice to Door County, Wisconsin, and once to Mackinac Island, Michigan; to New Hampshire for the 4th of July, an early birthday trip to Las Vegas in September to see Motley Crue, and a trip to end the year in Seattle to see my football team, the Seahawks.

 I saw one of my favorite bands, LA Guns, not once but twice!

  I also completed a 27-mile bike ride in September which might not sound like much to some, but I did it on a really heavy beach cruiser style bike while everyone else, the professional riders, had their skinny-tired, stream-lined bikes. I am glad I did it and I really pushed myself. There were lots of hills – much like in my real life this year! But sooner or later, you get to cruise down the hills, too!

I also was the chair person of an Animal Walk that raised over $3,000 for Secondhand Hounds – so I did good for the animals, too!

  Everything that was good about 2012 (now that was a great year!) was still in my life in 2013 and I need to appreciate that fact, and I do! 2013 was the year I really expressed gratitude and counted my blessings of which I have many.

  But I am very ready to move forward in this New Year, 2014, and to be better about documenting my life through my blog and also my personal writing and photographs.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!