Pampering

Right now I'm training for three races, 1 definite 5k and two races where it's a toss up between a 5k & a 10k depending on how well I train. Those two races are also a week apart. This much training requires a few things.

1. Quality running shoes. If you are looking for any help with running shoes visit Run n Fun in St. Paul off of Grand Ave or The Running Room at its multiple locations. If you join Running Room's club you can get 20% off of your shoes.

2. Treating yourself to some treats. Such as pedicures, getting adjusted, massages, etc. For a quality pedicures along the way to treat yourself for all your hard work. Try Red Nails in St. Paul's Highland Park - not only did they get ranked #1 but they have a nice coupon online that gives you free stuff. I got one, and one hour and fifteen minutes later my feet were in heaven. A great place for massages is Keep In Touch - my bosses got me a massage there and I felt so cleansed energy wise, though I did have to go get adjusted for my sore muscles shortly afterward at Marty Chiropractic in my office building (quite convenient!) and she gives you packets of my favorite BioFreeze!

3. IcyHot/Benegay/BioFreeze/Freeze It - Basically anything the elderly take for their sore aches and bones, I use on my thighs and back.

Obviously some good running music helps so leave comments on your favorite tunes so I can add them to my iPod!

LEAD Bootcamp

LEAD Board Boot Camp - Wednesday, May 27th


Space is still available for this Wednesday's Board Boot Camp
training and networking event, hosted by The LEAD Project and MAP
for Nonprofits. The session will be held at the Minneapolis Club
at 6:00 p.m.

Tickets ($20) will be sold at the door for those of
you who have not purchased in advance.


* Are you interested in learning about the basics of nonprofit
board service?
* Curious about how young professionals can play a critical role
on nonprofit boards?
* Interested in tips on how to govern during difficult financial
times?
* Do you want to expand your network of fellow young
professionals serving on nonprofit boards?


If you answered YES to any of these questions, then you will
benefit from LEAD's Board Boot Camp event.


We also invite you to join us before and after the Boot Camp event
for socializing and networking.


Hope to see you there!



The LEAD Team

And I'm Back

My apologies for being away from the technological world for so long. I've been very busy getting my life ready to move to Minneapolis' Uptown.

So I've been cleaning out my room/apartment and trying to sort my life out at the same time. I've gotten advice for all sorts of people with very different viewpoints throughout the year, and I've come to some conclusions finally.

The past year I've struggled with confrontation and addressing people if they are hurting me, annoying me, etc. I've been told by some friends I need to address every issue to avoid it from happening in the future. I've been told by some friends to pick my battles, that every issue is not worth discussing. And I have obviously heard from some friends to just 'get over it'. I finally asked my mom about it. That's a lie. I was complaining to her about a situation and that I didn't know what to do. She told me to 'grow up' and get over it. That I should become better at confronting people but that I have to also realize that doesn't just 'poof' solve problems. Because not only are people sensitive to being criticized but some behaviors are so deep (20 some years of a habit) that me saying it bothers me will not necessarily make it change. That part of being an adult is not only asking people to change, be willing to change yourself, and be able to understand that some things just won't change no matter how many times it is discussed. So now I've decided new city, new start. I'm picking my battles and little things are not going to bother me anymore. Big things = discussion. Otherwise time to live and let go.

The next lesson I've learned has been more second hand. There has been a lot of heartache, death, sickness, trouble in my loved ones' lives lately. There are a few phrases that have stuck with me whenever I'm in a spot where I feel like it's hard to go on. The first is "Tough times don't last, tough people do." What goes up must go down. But what goes down must come back up. The person I'm most impressed with has been a friend of mine. The same friend who's sister had trouble, then her aunt found out she has breast cancer and the day of the procedure her uncle found out he had testicular cancer. She recently suffered a bad break up sort of thing and rebounded less than 24 hours later. I thought it might take weeks but as I told her what my mother told me, "Life is shit and it doesn't get any easier. It's tough day in and day out. The difference is we learn how to deal with it better." It's true - life isn't about to get any easy, so we can either let it break us down or we can figure out a way to go mano a mano with it. The good news is that we can equip ourselves with good friends, good shoes, retail therapy, vacations and most importantly Ben & Jerry's. So if life isn't where you want it to be right now the good news is that it's more in your hands than you realize, and the even better news is that sooner or later it will get better.

The last thing I have realized is there are always people out there who are going to try and make you feel bad about yourself so they can feel good about themselves. The bad news is that these people are not just enemies, they are also acquaintences, friends, or what one might call a friend. It might be hard to spot them at first, because sometimes they can appear to be great people but over time they will slowly attack you. First it will be a snide comment here, a condescending remark there and grow to criticizing you in public, insulting you, etc. And you'll find yourself in an odd position, because first your feelings, self-esteem, etc will take a huge hit. Then you'll start to question why you are friends with the person, and then you'll ask yourself what they bring to the friendship. My friend Lindsey told me to ask myself a question whenever I am questioning a friendship whether at work, at home, or from Colorado. I have a lot of nice friends, although sometimes they aren't always nice to me. And Lindsey told me that nice is overrated. And if everyone else thinks they're nice than everyone else can be friends with them, but I don't have to be. I found that to be very interesting and insightful. She said to question what are they bringing to the table, a thought we're taught since we are young is selfish and rude. But she said at the end of the day everyone is looking out for #1, and if I'm looking out for other people I'm going to be the only one with my back not covered.

So hopefully my lessons learned are some you have learned, are learning or can learn about through my trials and tribulations. I plan on being on here a lot more often come move in day!

New Website!

I have decided to make a virtual scrapbook of my thoughts & my personal pictures. To visit that site click here! My hope is to one day be able to create an actual photo site to showcase the photos I will take once I have the time and energy to go and pursue a community class & brush up on my skills. So this is my practice website, enjoy!

Boobie Blucy

Minneapolis gave the world one of my favorite meals. No I'm not referring to Goulash (appetizing name, huh?) But rather the fine delicacy known as the Juicy Lucy. Two bars lay claim to the Juicy Lucy - Matt's & 5-8 bar. And while I have not had the pleasure of sampling either - my first Juicy Lucy was at a local favorite in Saint Paul - The Groveland Tap, or more affectionately known as The Tap. It was good, but I wasn't that impressed.

Fast forward a few months and I'm with a friend at the Blue Door for dinner. The Blue Door is a cute little hole in the wall pub on Selby & Fairview. The dinner rush was spectacular - it was impossible to grab a seat. When we finally got to eat I had the Bacon Juicy Lucy & it was divine.

Saturday after Sara Bareilles, we hit up the Blue Door for some post concert food. What we found was a little slice of heaven on Earth. From May 1st - May 10th The Blue Door was offering what they cleverly referred to as Boobie Blucy's. What this deal entailed was $6 for two mini Blucy burgers with fries or tots. $3 was donated to the Susan G. Komen foundation for the fight against breast cancer. And while the deal is no longer happening, I like to support compaies that support a cause greater than themselves.

So if you are out in Saint Paul and looking for a killer Juicy Lucy try the Blucy Lucy - in between the burger are Bleu Cheese crumbles & chopped garlic. Like I said, a little piece of heaven. The tots are phenom as well. For more information check out the website here, and make sure to ask to join the club - try all the Blue Door's Juicy Lucy's and you get a free t-shirt.

Sara Bareilles

Saturday night I met up with Lindsay & Caleb & we decided to attend UST's free Spring Jam concert. The artist? Sara Bareilles - I had the pleasure of experiencing her open for Maroon 5 as well as The Hives (who were awful by the way - the lead singer shouted the entire time & swung his microphone until it broke) and after she performed she met with fans. Well I was with Jon and I dragged him up tot he beer line and to meet Sara. We took a picture with her and she was super nice. I told her how much I disliked the other band and wished that she had more time to perform more songs because she was amazing live. She laughed it off, I mean, I was insulting her tourmates. And we were pretty stoked.

Fast forward a few months and Love Song is HUGE. A few more months and Bottle It Up was just as big of a hit. I was pretty stoked we got to meet her - but I didn't know when we'd be able to see her again. Ryan told us of the free concert that happened to be outdoors, so we went. There were maybe 100-200 kids there and I am almost sure I was the oldest 20 something there (there was a set of parents which was odd but whatever) and I definitely felt it.

Oh to be at UST again where the guys are d-bags and under 6'0" and the girls wear so much make up it's caked on and orange. Not to mention the curls that are hairsprayed so not a chance of a a strand moving lest a tornado show up. Well Sara came on and she was hilarious, charismatic and amazing live. She sounded a billion times better than on her album - she had soul & she made each song her own. I have a huge amount of respect for her, especially after the incident. She bounced back really well, but you could tell from her reaction she was a genuine person and would never say anything to offend anyone.

About thirty minutes after the cocnert - Caleb, Lindsay & I waited to meet her. And low and behold she turned up and signed autographes and took pictures. We talked about me meeting her before and she was super cool about it. She even remembered (as I'm sure ti's not easy to forget the person who slanders your tourmates.) We left pretty giddy. Caleb even got his iPhone cover signed by her.

And so I'm encouraging you to go out and buy her album - my three favorites are Vegas, One Sweet Love & Many The Miles. Though it was pretty cool to have us sing the chorus of Love Song. And even cooler to sing the chorus to Rihanna's Umbrella & U2's Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For. By the way, I knew I was old when in the middle of the song a kid behind me said, "Is this sung by U2?!?!?" After she dedicated the song to Bono and told a story about U2. Idiots. Then again, I was the only person in the crowd around me at the Excel who recognized In The Air Tonight by Phil Collins & Genesis when Adam Lavine sang it. It's always nice to have a musical education - so thanks Dad!

Another Day, Another Dollar Towards My Car

As you may have read previously, I have had some recent car troubles. It came as a great surprise to me then, to have my car die on me on the way home from work today. I was exiting Highway 62 to take the back roads, and good thing I did. Just as I was turning on the next intersection my car stated losing power was flooring it and it kept going slower. The lamp dripping oil and the battery signal light up and my car died. One minute later I got it to work again, just enough time for me to be completely frazzled that I had already put a ton of money into the damn thing and just picked it up from the mechanics yesterday!

Well I called the service place and let them have a piece of my mind. I told them what happened and that this was quite disconcerting because I just picked my car up yesterday and I was quite surprised that the $110 complete diagnostic test yielded no suspicions on my engine. If you're going to charge me for it you better damn well make sure you can put your money where your mouth is.

I told them I was dropping my car off tomorrow morning and they were driving me to work and they were going to fix this problem because that's what the $110 paid them to find out before I had to have my car die on the back roads. So hopefully after tomorrow, I won't have any more car issues to report.

And because I didn't blog about this earlier - the piece of metal I hit didn't do any damage, turns out a water pump burst and there was nothing I could have done to prevent it. So good thing I had left otherwise there wouldn't have been a towing place or mechanic place open by the time I left. Oy. Hopefully by tomorrow this will all be a thing of the past.

Skinny Girl Margaritas

I'm always a day late and a dollar short. Today I came across this 'group' on facebook called Skinny Girl Margaritas by Bethenny Frankel from the Real Housewives of NYC. Interesting I thought as I looked over it and found that Bethenny is a huge advocate of natural foods and had thus partnered up to provide women with a low calorie drink alternative. Available this summer are *NEW* Skinny Girl Margaritas that you simply open up and drink. Until then get recipes and other information at the Skinny Girl Margarita website. And when out - if the bartender does not have the ingredients readily available ask for your marg to be made like this:

Silver Tequila

Juice from 4 fresh limes

Small splash of cointreau or triple sec

And splash of soda if too strong.

Do not have the salt.

Boston Scientific 5K

In my attempt to train for a 10K this summer in Milwaukee, I have decided to also participate in a 5K for Boston Scientific this summer in Minneapolis at Lake Nokomis. Don't get me wrong, I do not like running. I do it because my pants don't fit and I eat unhealthy amounts of butter. Otherwise, I wouldn't run unless something was chasing me.

My dear friend Keri, errr Kara as others know her as, has recently invited me to gruel it out once a week with her at Como Park. There's a brief instruction by a fitness trainer at the beginning and then an hour and a half to train. We plan to yuck it up with gossip, girl talk, and just our thoughts. It's perfect because I still live in Saint Paul until May 30th, and then after that I can drive once a week to train and make myself somewhat less unhealthy.

For those of you who are unable to attend the weekly training session, try this wonderful website I was introduced to last week, it's called Runner's World which has information on anything you could ever want or need as a runner. Where to buy shoes, how to buy shoes, what shoes to buy. Where to train, how often to train, how long to train, and techniques to make you train better. It's a great resource for anyone in the running world, novice or expert.

For more information on the 5k & 10k on Lake Nokomis on July 25th, 2009 check out the website here!

Cinco De Drinko!

Of the drinking holidays that exist, there may only be three others it competes with. St. Patrick's Day (which is still #1), New Year's Eve & Halloween (surprised? Those girls in the slutty costumes have to stay warm somehow!)

And while the other holidays are all equally fun & encourage drinking, Cinco De Mayo is the only one that typically is accompanied by delicious food. Chips, Guacamole, Tacos, Burritos, etc. The Irish and their corned beef and cabbage can't even compete (ssshhhhh don't tell my family that!) And the overpriced meal you pay for with NYE may be delicious, but you could have twelve Chipotle burritos for that one appetizer. And we all know you can't eat on Halloween if you are going to be wearing scandalous clothing. Good thing I always dress like a homeless person or grungy, I love food too much to sacrifice dressing like a whore in exchange for food.

Yes Cinco De Mayo may just be the best drinking/eating holiday out there. It's warm enough because it's Spring, you get to eat wonderful food, & you aren't required to spend the holiday with family but rather friends. Which means less stress and more time to enjoy the holiday for what it's worth, food & alcohol. No politics, religion, or other b*llsh*t. Sounds perfect to me!!

Just remember, if you're going to drink make sure you don't drive. The cops are going to be out in full force tonight. If you need a ride home (with your car) check these guys out!. And for those of you looking for a great guacamole recipe, check this out!

Happy Star Wars Day!

Seems silly to me that people b*tch about there being an Earth Day but no one complains about Star Wars day being on the fourth of May. Or as Star Wars enthusiasts everywhere proclaim "May the Fourth be with you." Cheesy and yet it still makes me giggle.

In unrelated, but still on the topic of space and movies, it seems there is a new movie out this Friday by the wonderful J.J. Abrams. The same man behind LOST starring none other than one of my favorite Hollywood hotties, Chris Pine. Call me biased, but I think he's way hotter than William Shattner. Eww. And though I usually frown on Trekkies I suppose I may have to catch this movie. Why? Well it appears that the combination of Hot Guy + Talented Director = Worth the ticket price.

Now I've been told my movie choices are less than ideal. I have no qualms about proclaiming my love for easy to watch, fun fiilms. Legally Blonde & Legally Blonde 2? Love both, they make me giggle. My favorite types of movies are action (people blowing stuff up) and romantic comedies (idiots falling in love). I find it almost saddening (or at least I know I will get an earful from friends/family) for going and seeing Star Trek when I still haven't seen Slumdog Millionaire or any other Oscar nominated film. Don't worry, I'll add it on my list of things to do.

Dan Zamlen

Yesterday my day was nothing compared to the parents of University of St. Thomas Freshman Dan Zamlen. Dan, who had been missing for 27 days, was finally found in the Mississippi River at the Ford Bridge, a few blocks away from where he went missing.

I have no inkling as to what the parents are enduring at this moment in time, I would imagine it's a mixture of sadness, anger, confusion, and closure. I keep them in my thoughts and prayers and hope that we can all learn a few valuable lessons from this sad tragedy.

For more information check out the St. Thomas Aquin for a press release AND video.

The first is to appreciate and love those close to you while you can. We don't know if we have tomorrow, so we should cherish those we love while we have them, and let them know we care for them.

The second is a little more far fetched, but hopefully people start to understand if they are drinking they need to watch out for each other, because I know underaged drinking won't stop. But don't let your friend walk out of a party by themselves. Don't let them make decisions out of anger when they are intoxicated. The buddy system was designed to make sure your friend gets out alive, without making bad decisions. To avoid bad hook ups, not being injured, and hopefully still alive.

The Bad Day Continued

So.....I thought my bad day at work was just going to be about my heel breaking and nothing really going my way. I mean, isn't it enough punishment for a girl to ruin her favorite heels after the third time wearing them?

Well long story short, I was dog-sitting Annie & Skipper, my Uncle's two white labs whom Chanel absolutely adores. When she was dog-sat by my Uncle she looked less than thrilled to see me, she would have preferred that I never come home I think!!! So Chanel and I had left my sweat pants at work with my flip flops at work. I had let the girls out, fed them and let them out again. I was on my way back to work to get my sweat pants to relax with the girls & watch some tv on the HUGE plasma television, what a great night, right? Well for whatever reason Chanel wanted to come with me. Probably lucky she did. I'm driving back to Edina and am rounding the last curve before my favorite road of all time - Ferndale Ave. All of a sudden I drive over a LARGE piece of metal. This awful scrapping noise starts and there are cars behind me. The speed limit is 50 mph. I can't just stop, so I start heading off to Ferndale. The noise comes to a screeching stop as the piece of metal flies out from the car and my car starts to seriously smoke up. There is the most awful smelling smoke coming out of my car hood.

My flashers are on and about twenty cars pass me, each giving me the evil eye. How dare I let my old, piece of crap (which mind you is relatively new and in no way shape or form a piece of crap) die on their beautiful road? This old, crappy car pulls up next to me and these two men come out and one of them is missing teeth. He tells me, the green goop coming out of my car is anti-freeze and that the area the metal tore is most likely the hose that connects the radiator to the engine, making it impossible for the engine to stay cool. I call one of my best friend's dad who helps me with my car and he tells me he will fix my car if I can get it back to St. Paul.

I get back onto Shoreline Dr. and my car starts overheating within 45 seconds. I pull over to the side and cars are whizzing by at 50 miles an hour. It takes over half an hour to even get 20 more yards to the next road. I finally call Progressive Auto Insurance and they tell me, that I had somehow neglected to click the spot for 24 hour complete road side assistance. Said assistance covers towing and any other problem. The cost? $1 more a month. They finally send me a tow truck and my poor dog is deathly afraid of cars, let alone loud noises. My dog decides to drool all over me and my pants the entire way there.

The silver lining? Well there's a few. All of my friends offered to come get me, knowing I have amazing people in my life makes bad times better. The other? The place my boss introduced me to in order to get my oil changed was one of two places open on Friday past 7 pm. They stayed open until I got there to make sure they could process my car. And the last good news? Progressive said to try and claim it as it was technically a collision with a hazardous material in the road.

What a Friday, my motto turned into Thank God It's Saturday instead. Then my car didn't get fixed in time, my allergies got bad and I got Pink Eye, right after I made fun of people who get Pink Eye. Moral of the story? Always pay for roadside assistance, you never know when you're gonna need it. AND when it rains it pours, but what doesn't kill you makes you so much stronger.

Oh Bad Days

My day wasn't awful - but compared to the rest of my week it stuck out as the 'bad day'. To be fair I didn't get caught by the state as a carrier of this Swine Flu I am spreading around, and I still have my job, and I'm still healthy. But today, I broke a pair of my heels.

To any girl, they surely know how invaluable a heel is in a shoe. A good heel is one that supports and gives us a little lift in how we stand, correcting our posture and slimming our figure. And now I will forever remember that a good heel is also one that doesn't just fall off.

This is not the first time a pair of shoes have broken on me. And granted this time was way less embarrassing than the time my heel broke while I was in church as an alter server and coming down the stairs. I fell on my *ss and made a big kaboom and the entire congregation turne and saw me. This time it was just my dumb *ss that leaned my weight on my heel at the wrong angle and pop! Off it came.

So now my favorite pair of brown, suede, Stuart Weitzman's have to go visit the shoe repair man. It was only my third time wearing them and now I'm stuck limping around because I have no heel. The worst part is, it was my own fault and not Stuart's. FML.

Anyways, I'm off to Minnetonka to hang out with the girls and go see if we can spread this Swine Flu to unsuspecting people, we typically aim for those in surgical masks - especially those who do not cover their nose. We feel like these people, and people who get pink eye on a regular basis, are more likely to contract said Swine Flu. It's the dirty stinkin' animals that spread it in the first place by not washing their hands!