Back Next Week...

After a busy weekend, and a busy week already in progress - I plan to devote some time next week to a few new blog posts. Mailbox Monday and Finnish Friday will return next week...

Mailbox Monday: Week 3

My letter went in the mailbox on Monday; this post comes a couple days 'late'.  :-)

"G" has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. She is not family by blood, but in the hearts of myself, my siblings, my parents, and several others, she is family.

Me, "G", and my daughter. Florida - January 2009

I could tell a million stories, camping, vacationing, The Forty, her fabulous cooking/pickle/salsa/wine/etc making, etc, etc, etc, but this post would go on f.o.r.e.v.e.r.

The most important thing I will share about "G" is friendship. "G" was my grandma's best friend. Ever since my grandpa 'passed away' in 1983 (and probably before?), "G" had been by my grandma's side. She became family. My grandma had a 'cabin' of sorts in Wisconsin that she moved to after she retired in 1986/7. They both lived in Wisconsin until 2005 - the first great-grandbaby came in 2004 and my grandma wanted to move back to 'the cities' to be closer to all of us. When she got sick in 2006, "G" was here quite often to help out with doctor appointments and such. She was here A LOT in 2007 as my grandma's cancer became worse...and was here until her last breaths on October 31, 2007.

We all tried to spend as much time as we could with grandma, between work, kids, etc, but "G" was always there for her. My grandma was so lucky to have such a loving, caring, kindhearted friend. I hope someday when I am breathing my last breaths that I have a friend just like "G" by my side.

I am hoping to drive out to WI soon for a visit - it has been way too long! Maybe we can get in a few games of Hollywood Rummy; "S" and I play, but I am ready for some new competition! ;-)

Thank you "G" for being a part of our family, and mostly for being such a great friend to Grandma... <3

Mailbox Monday: Week 2

(Monday was a holiday, with no mail service, so I'm posting a day 'late'.)

Today I placed an envelope in the mail for R&V. I met R&V 8 years ago. They have been family ever since. I have many stories I could write about, but I'll keep it to the most recent, for now. :-)

BBQ. Grilling. Yum. R&V make a fantastic team when it comes to the grill. I believe V most often preps/seasons/marinates the meat and veggies, and R does the grilling.

Yesterday we got together with my hubby's side of the family to celebrate Independence Day. It was a fun day; visiting with family, water fun with the kids, and, of course, yummy food. R&V grilled up some delicious items and we also enjoyed layered salad, corn on the cob, apple crisp, various treats, etc.  The main course was beef, chicken, shrimp, mushrooms, onions and peppers.

Here's the amazing part (dad, you will be proud!). I have tried shrimp many times, mainly at restaurants (cooked many different ways...and off from someone else's plate) and at the holidays when there is a cold shrimp platter around. I have never liked shrimp. For some reason I've kept trying it in hopes that I would eventually like it.

I tried it again yesterday. And. I. Liked. It!

I'm quite certain it is the way it was seasoned and grilled. It didn't have that shrimpy/fishy taste like it normally does (or like it seems to have to my taste buds). I even took some leftovers home to eat later that night. The beef, chicken, and mushrooms were also delicious, but I still can't believe I liked the shrimp!

My dad LOVES shrimp. He orders it when ever/where ever he goes out to eat, I think him and my mom have it every so often, and it is a staple at the holidays. I wish he could have been at R&V's to see me enjoying it as well...oh - and to enjoy some shrimp himself!

I wish I would've taken a picture of my plate to share here, but I thought about it too late...so there was no evidence remaining.

I promise my letter to them doesn't just compliment the shrimp they served!

Thank you R&V for being such a big part of our lives!

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It is past my bedtime now, so I will wrap this up.

Watch out for a new Finnish Friday posting this week!

G'Night.

Mailbox Monday: Week 1

I met "D" many years ago after she started working at the Tech College, where I also worked. She was in Marketing, I was in Information Technology.

I remember at work or when we were out and about having people ask if we were sisters. :-)

She took me on my "first" bike ride (I had been on a Honda Goldwing a couple times before, but a sportbike is a very different experience!). I think we ended up riding through Lino Lakes a bit, and I guess I'm not really sure where else we went. I know we went through the country - and it was great! We rode so fast and while beforehand I thought I might be nervous, I wasn't. By the time our ride ended, I was hooked.

At the time I was living in an apartment with "T". When we came in after the ride, she teased that I was going to go out and buy a bike. I guess she was right because within a month or two I had completed my Motorcycle Safety Training, tested (and passed!) my endorsement test a.k.a. motorcycle license, AND bought a motorcycle.

"D" also played a big part in my current life...she introduced me to my husband! They had met at an open house for a local bike shop - before I met "D" I believe(?). They became friends and hung out here and there. As our friendship grew she thought that "S" and I should meet. The first attempt didn't work out on his end (I believe he had a work party) but eventually we did meet (that story is for another post).

I was honored to have "D" by my side as I married "S". And I was honored to be a part of her special day a year later, as she married "J".

We've drifted apart over the last few years; moving far away from everyone, and having a couple kids can have that effect, but deep down our friendship is there waiting to reconnect. Now that the kids are getting a bit older (4 and almost 3) things seem to be getting easier, and I am finally (but slowly) learning how to live again.  :-)

Thank you "D" for your friendship and being a part of my life!

Sometimes I Wish I Didn't Care So Much

During lunch today, after the kids were done and had run off to play, my husband asked if there was anything he could do to help out today. Wednesday is a 'big day' for me, so I have been doing a few projects around the house, mainly organizing and cleaning. The house is kept up fairly decent from day to day, but toy overload was setting in, so it was time for rotation, and the basement has been in a bit of disarray lately. Anyways...I jokingly asked my husband if he could plan out menus for the next few weeks (I plan out breakfast, lunch, and dinner, as well as snack for daycare days - makes life sooo much easier!). He said sure, and rattled off "mac & cheese, chicken nuggets, grilled cheese..."  I laughed and added in "fish sticks".

Then I said "Sometimes I wish I didn't care so much". He nodded in agreement. I replied "except that I care too much about you and the kids..."

It is such a struggle sometimes. It would be so easy to buy convenience items and I know everyone would eat them. Just think of all the extra time I would have! Planning menus would take no time at all. I wouldn't have to plan around what fresh ingredients to incorporate into multiple meals, or what I need to prepare ahead of time to ensure meals can be served at meal time, etc... But, I'm too far in now to go back. Plus, I love that we eat healthy and that my children are learning healthy eating habits. And, I do love to cook and bake.

I also wish I didn't care so much about taking care of my house. It's rare that I do a thorough cleaning, but everyday is filled with dishes, laundry, cleaning/tidying up, etc...all the basics that most people do - although maybe it's not an everyday thing for others. I would love to let the dishes go for a few days sometimes, or let the laundry pile up, to tackle it all at once for a couple hours. But I can't. With running a business out of my home, I just don't feel comfortable letting things slide.

I don't mean to complain, I'm working on that, but I guess this is a place where I can do that sometimes, just because I can :-)  I'll continue to do the things I do, because I DO care, but little by little I will find ways to make them seem less tedious. I will find ways to fit in more of the things I truly love to do, little by little.

Sometimes I wish I didn't care so much...but I do.

Introduction to "Mailbox Mondays"

No other type of communication can ever compare to sending/receiving a handwritten letter in the mail.

I began corresponding through "snail mail" at a very young age. I think I was about 6 years old (first grade) when some friends from down the block moved to Missouri. I can't imagine that I was writing at that age (mom did you write letters for me?) but maybe it was shortly after that that we wrote letters back and forth. For years. They moved to Tennessee, and eventually back to Missouri, all the while we exchanged letters. We don't write any longer, but we occasionally update each other through email.

Then, at 12 years old (the summer just after 6th grade) I began corresponding with my pen-pal in Finland. I have a whole collection of letters locked away for safe keeping! As time went on, we began emailing each other, which was nice because of the length of time it takes for a letter to travel back and forth. And now with Facebook, communication is even easier. It's nice to keep up to date with each other at the touch of a button; it's tough living so far away from your best friend...so this helps a bit to not feel so far away :-)

But, I will never forget the days of running out to the mailbox in anticipation of a letter awaiting with my name on it. And, on the reverse side, I loved to drop a letter in the mailbox, or make that trip to the post office to get my letter or package weighed and stamped to go to Finland. Ok, I'll admit that even now amongst the bills and junk, I am always overly excited to receive a handwritten letter :-)

But, times are different now, and I realize that. I can't even remember the last time I sat down and hand wrote a letter. Makes me sad sometimes because it was something I always loved to do. It just seems so hard to find the time to sit down and write. Especially with my Finnish friend because our letters have almost always been pages, and pages long. Now it just seems easier to sit down and type - because I can type SO MUCH faster than I can write.

I've decided to change that. I have a ton of stationery, plenty of pens around the house, moments here and there that could be used for writing, and no excuses not to do it.

I plan to write a letter each week. I will drop a letter in the mailbox each Monday. My "Mailbox Monday" post will not contain the actual message that I hand write, or the recipients name, but a 'story' about them; how I met them/know them, an adventure we have shared, how they have impacted my life, etc...I haven't really decided yet, but the words will come as I write them and I'm thinking it will turn into one of those types of 'stories'.

If a tough week/end finds me on Monday with out a letter to drop in the mailbox, I won't beat myself up about it - this isn't another 'chore on my list'...it's a chance rekindle my love of letter writing; I imagine it to be relaxing and enjoyable.

On Monday I will have a letter going out to someone...and I'd love to keep up with this for as long as I can!

A Bicycle Ride With My Family

Today we made a picnic lunch then packed the cooler - and our kids - in the bike trailer, and headed out for a bike ride. There is a new bicycle/walking trail that connects our city with the city just to the north of us. We knew where the trail started, but were not sure where it let out, or how long it was. My hubby attached his GPS to his handle bars, so we could measure distance.

It was gorgeous weather for a bike ride, around 70-75F (21-24C), with a nice breeze/wind. We rode through the countryside, farms, fields, etc...and eventually came to a wooden bridge. It was quite a long bridge. I could smell the wood as we biked across it; it reminded me of Finland. I took in every breath and enjoyed the sights (swamp, trees, the train tracks running parallel to it, etc...). The bridge ended, and we hit the asphalt trail again.

Soon we hit a road. The trail ended. The road straight ahead turned to gravel just ahead. So, we went to the right. As we stopped to decide where to go next, we were lucky to hear a train approaching! We parked our bikes so the kids could watch the train. I love these small towns where we can watch the trains 'close up'!

After the rails cleared, we crossed to see what was ahead. Turns out it went to the old highway, that now hooks up to the new highway. Hmmm...not a safe place to ride. So, we turned around and went the direction that would be taking a left off of the bike trail. There was no shoulder to the road, so we had to ride on the road and pull into the grass/gravel on the side when a car came by. We soon turned on a residential road, and followed it for a bit, chose another road to turn on, then searched for a place to stop and eat lunch.

We kept riding and found out that the road went to another busy road, with no sidewalk, so we decided to go back to a church that we had seen among the houses in the neighborhood. We pulled in and there was a police car. The officer was gearing up to go out on his bike. He greeted us and said 'hi' to the kids, then gave them Junior Police Officer badge stickers. My son was talkative and my daughter was shy. :-)

We found a nice tree shaded area and had our lunch. The kids played around a bit, then decided to head for home. The GPS battery was running low, so we made a note of our distance since it likely wouldn't last until we got home. The ride home seemed to go a bit quicker, but we were starting to feel it in our legs.

After we crossed the wooden bridge, we came across a turtle. We stopped to check it out and the kids loved it! We didn't want them to scare it, but we let them get down and get a closer look. I think it was looking for shade because it kept running under the bike trailer. I moved the trailer and then it would go running again - I don't think I've ever seen a turtle run so fast! Ok, so I haven't seen many turtles-maybe they all do that? We moved on and then made our way back home.

We ended up riding close to 15 miles (24km), and were out and about for nearly 3 1/2 hours. With A LOT of hills. I should call myself lucky that the bike trailer works better on my husband's bike...I don't know what the kids weigh, but I'm guessing close to 30 pounds each (13.6kg) - so that is 60 pounds (27.2kg) of kids, plus several pounds for the trailer, and our cooler (thankfully soft-sided), and the first aid kit, etc. This was a great test of his endurance! (I do take the kids out when my hubby isn't home - and it really makes me realize how hilly our city is! I always have in my mind the phrases "slow and steady wins the race" and "I think I can, I think I can...".)

All in all it was a GREAT day! I do have to say though, that I was a bit disappointed that the trail just dumped us out onto a fairly busy road with no sidewalks. I thought it would bring us closer into 'downtown'. Maybe the trail is not completed yet??? We decided next time that we'll just ride to the end, and turn around. It is a 2 mile ride to get to the starting point of this trail, and there is a great playground/park across the street from this point so maybe next time after we come back we will have a picnic at that park, play for a while, then enjoy the 2 mile ride home.

On a side note, my husband will be participating in the Mud Run MS Twin Cities on Saturday, September 10th. It is a 10k (6.2 mile) race through a military style obstacle course made of mud. Two of his cousins who live in Missouri recently participated in this, in their area. One of the cousins formed the team for the Mud Run in the Twin Cities, so my hubby and brother-in-law have joined his team. This will be the first time the guys here have participated in an event like this. I think our hilly bike rides with the kids is just the first step in preparing his body for this. If anyone is interested in joining in, or making a donation - please click here. There will be plenty of pictures and stories to tell after he completes this! My sister-in-law and I will definitely be on the sidelines with cameras in hand!

p.s. What better way to end a day full of bike riding excitement than with a rib eye steak for dinner?