A Beautiful Weekend

The weekend was jam packed of adventures. Erik and I had off on Friday. I got my car's oil changed. While that was going on, we ran errands. I got 5 inches cut off my hair Friday afternoon and we went to Run 'n Fun. I got a new running outfit that I sported for a run we did on Saturday morning so that I was dressed right for the drizzly March weather.


Erik, Katie and I did the Shamrock Shuffle 5K. It has been foggy and rainy at least the past 5 or 6 days (not including today) and the streams have risen. I'm pretty sure we ran through Bluff Creek, which was running about 5 inches deep over the trail. It was a nice rolling hill run. I had fun doing it with Erik and Katie.


Saturday Erik and I saw some houses. It is sort of makes me nervous and excited when we see houses that we like. There have been more on the market to choose from now. I get nervous because of the huge decision and financial responsibility can feel overwhelming and I get excited about having a home to call ours (& the banks) that will be so much better than our apartment!

Saturday night we went out for my Dad's birthday to Fogo De Chão, a Brazilian steakhouse in Minneapolis. It was a wonderful experience and wonderful food. We all had a great time. I had a large plate full of veggies from their salad bar, bites of the different kinds of meat Erik got, and a wonderful, melt in your mouth filet mingon. We finished the night sharing Fogo de Chão's Signature Papaya Cream with Blackberry Brandy. It was wonderful!

Today, the day after we sprung forward an hour, was beautifully sunny. I went to the Y and got my spinning class in. I had even woken up before the alarm, which I thought was odd for one less hour of sleep. Then I went out to my parents and enjoyed the afternoon with the family. I rode a muddy and shedding Laura Bell. She was good and we had a pleasant ride in the arena. It is terribly muddy outside with it being so warm - our thermometer read 61 deg. F. this afternoon.

I'm really looking forward to spring and early summer. I know it will come fast, but I enjoy muddy sunny days like today too!

"Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved."
Helen Keller

Temptation and Motivation

I made these temptations recently for a treat day at work... strawberry cake, caramel chocolate chip brownies, cranberry-orange muffins, and blueberry muffins. I do love to bake. At the same time of all these goodies, I've been trying to cut back on sweets, increase veggies and workout.

I go in these spurts of doing something for a little bit and then moving on to something else. I like variety, but at the same time it is good to stick with things sometimes for the long haul. One thing that has been in motivational spurts lately is working out. I have a big motivation in 96 days. I'll be participating in the Buffalo Triathlon. I did this last year too and this year I'd like to do better. Last week I was very motivated, particularly toward the end of the week and yesterday I was not motivated. I did do 6 loads of laundry though. Today I pushed through though and got the bike trainer out. I watched Biggest Loser and peddled away. One more day, one more cycle to enable me to do a little bit better.

I've had a couple of really good days. Not necessary because everything went well, but my outlook was brighter. I had a nice weekend with friends and family. We went to a birthday party Saturday night. Sunday, I went out to my parents and hung out with the family. It was very nice! I rode LauraBell bareback for a little bit in the arena. Sometimes I think to myself 'why don't I do that more?' - I'm not really sure. I sure did enjoy it. The snow was melting and crashing off of the roof making quite a racket so it was a shorter ride, but a really nice one.

The sun has been shining almost everyday lately. It has been wonderful!

The Hearts of Horses by Molly Gloss


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book caught my attention at a store by reading only the back of the book and not knowing anything else about the book. I greatly enjoyed reading about Martha, who seems like a strong young woman sticking to the way she'd like to do things rather than society's pressures for women in 1917. I was surprised by the love story that appeared gradually through the book and loved the ending. The characters were developed throughout the book, so you felt like you knew this community of which Martha has been adopted into through the horses she is working with and the conflicts that developed. I'd greatly recommend this book who is interested in reading about an independent young woman and horses.

View all my reviews >>

Up North Trip: Thursday

Our last day up North, we had breakfast at the hotel, walked Canal Park's lake walk and then packed up the car. We didn't head right back home though. We stopped at Fitger's to get some growlers. We also stopped at Positively 3rd Street Bakery to pick up some Thunder cookies - positively delicious!

Then we went over to Kitchi-Gammi park and walked around enjoying the ice, rocks and lake.


We had a lot of fun playing around in the ice and the ice formations from waves and wind.


It was beautiful and a great way to spend a morning!


We drove back home to reality. Thankfully neither of us had to work Friday, so you'd think we'd slowly come out of vacation mode and back to the responsibilities of being an adult. When we got back, we found that the sewer had backed up into the dishwasher, toilet and bathtub and had sat for some time. We are so thankful that it wasn't worse and the backup didn't continue into the rest of our apartment by overflowing, but it was not a pleasant thing to come home to. We spent much of the night cleaning, disinfecting everything, and trying our best to get rid of the horrible smell with candles.

I think we'd both like to go back to vacation. I guess times like when the sewer backs up just make you appreciate vacation that much more!

Up North Trip: Wednesday

We started the morning with breakfast at the hotel. They had some decent rolls and yogurt. I had some tea and Erik had coffee. Then we headed out for adventures of the day. We headed out to Seven Bridges Road and did a little looking around Amity creek. It was still a wee early so many of my pictures were a bit on the dark side.

Then we went up the shore on old highway 61. We stopped when we felt like it and when I thought we'd find a nice picture opportunity, but we simply enjoyed the ride too.


We veered off 61 to Stoney Point and caught view of some beautiful waves crashing on the rocks and ice. I took a lot of pictures.


We went through Two Harbors. We stopped into The Canoeist to see Mike Keller, as Erik went duck hunting with his brother this fall. The Canoeist is a nice store for many camping, paddling, and snowshoeing needs.

We went out to the lighthouse and made our way down the icy pier to get a different view. I wasn't so sure about traversing with all the ice, but I wouldn't have stayed behind either.


We stopped in the Rustic Inn Cafe for lunch. It was recommended to us the last time we were up there, but we didn't go. I'm glad we went. Erik and I had great meals followed by very good pie!

Then we headed up to Gooseberry State Park. We had a lovely time there. The trails were incredibly icy, but we had some fun with that sliding down the side of the stairs. Near the upper falls, we saw a red fox grooming itself and enjoying the warm sunny day. Our video has a shot of him moving around a bit too.


Here is a picture of the upper falls. Again, the sky was brilliantly blue. It was a beautiful day!


We hiked out to the lake and enjoyed hiking/sliding along the shore.


Erik went out on all ice to take a picture. (Sometimes I take pictures of him taking pictures too!)


After Gooseberry, then we headed back to Duluth and went ice skating.


After skating, we headed out to Park Point and walked along the lakeside.


The ice was piled up in large sheets about 2 inches thick.


It was another beautiful sunset!


It was that blue time of night.


After watching the sunset, we went to dinner at Hacienda Del Sol. It was also very good, but filled with crying or whiny kids. Then we went back to the hotel and watched the Olympics.

Up North Trip: Tuesday

Started the day off right with Caramel Rolls!


We headed out to the trails and looped around the Grand Portage Trail in the morning. It was a beautiful morning with a bright blue sky.


With the sunshine it felt quite warm after 'shoeing for a while.


I started the day all bundled up, and shed layers (into Erik's pack) the further we went.

We headed to Duluth after our hike and checked in to our hotel, South Pier Inn. This is our second time staying there. We do like it a lot. This time we upgraded to a room with a view of the harbor, a whirlpool, and a fireplace. It was very nice.


We had lunch at the Taste of Saigon and then went to the Depot to the Railroad Museum (among other little museums). We had fun checking out all the cars.


Then we enjoyed a walk back around the harbor. The sun was still out, but the clouds were coming in from the lake.

It is a pretty place when it is cloudy too.


I spent some time waiting for the sun to set and I'm glad I did. This was the view from our hotel room.


After the sunset, we went out for dinner at Fitgers. I had the salmon burger with a salad - very good, with a rootbeer. Erik had a burger, fries and a beer.