to be home

It is good to be home. Home where I take naps and eat chocolate ice cream. Home where I get hugs and listen to music in my living room. It is good to be home.

buzzed

I am at a conference where they have free food and snacks all day.
Did I mention free drinks as well? Just at night with dinner.
Last night I had lobster! I love New England. Tonight I started the dance after the BBQ. Seriously. It was so fun.

Here is the hilarious e-mail I sent to Jake last night....after a few glasses of free wine. i love conferences.

oh hun. i miss you so much. i wish you were here with me, i love you. i am buzzed right now forsure. i want to laught outloud but i have two roomates - i don't want to be that person that is loud and annoying. i am going to wash my face and brush my teeth now and then checkt osee what time ih ave to eat breakfast i don't wan to miss that. hello. then i will sleep long ab dhard i am so tierd. i am speelling nad spacing wr4ong but oh well when i replied to others not you i was very careful i mssyou and love you and will talk toy outojmorrow.. gezzei amn don'nt want to type anyme. anne

I feel like I am in college again. Living in a dorm with two roommates. Totally loving life and sharing a shower. But in my real life college experience I didn't drink free wine, I didn't drink at all. So maybe this is me reliving that experience.

OH MY GOSH I AM HAVING SO MUCH FUN.

different places

Tomorrow at 6 o'clock in the morning I leave for Vermont. I will rent a car with GPS and drive through the mountains to my destination. I will stay for two days. Then I drive to Dartmouth College in New Hampshire for a five day conference.

I am looking forward to the new sights I will see and the people I will meet.

But lately I have been falling in love with our house, our backyard, our neighborhood, our friends, the ideas of today, tomorrow and yesterday and the conversations that follow. I used to think that I would live in different places - exciting places like New York or California. Are those places really exciting? Do I still want that? I don't know. What about another country? Then I think of the high school that is just down the block from our house. You have to speak another language at home and have lived in the US for less than three years. I see girls with long fabric every day before I head to work. That is where I need to be. I met some of these students at a neighborhood gathering - words cannot describe the light and curiosity in their eyes. They were amazing. Then a few weeks later I watched a PBS special that followed two immigrant families transition to the US...I cried as I watched in awe the determination, passion, resiliance of these families. I couldn't help but feel so incredibily selfish.

I don't know why this is what I am saying today on my blog...like I said before, I am heading to Vermont at 6 am and I will rent a car with GPS.

in a panic

Yesterday at this point I had already woken up in a panic thinking I was late, only to find that it was 5:46 am.

A few hours later I dropped my hairdryer in the toilet while it was plugged in. I thought I was going to die but I am still here so I can't explain it.

While I drove home from work later that day, I held my car blanket up the entire time to shelter myself from the down pour that was outside. Luckily I avoided getting completely soaked.

My automatic window stopped working, while it was down.

count to 10

walk the slackline

This is my Dad on the 4th of July - we all tried to walk the slackline that Jake had set up between two trees in the backyard. Jake and Ben are the only two human beings I have ever seen walk all the way across.



p.s. He is not wearing white socks.

the sweds arrive

the sweds

I was on vacation - a blogging vacation.

The Swed's have been in MN all week - and staying at our house since Friday. It has been so much fun!

I will post photos and videos later.

in honor of

I don't work tomorrow in honor of the 4th.
I don't work on Thursday or Friday in honor of me.

Agenda for vacation:

1. Tonight, organizing the explosion of crap in the basement.
Where should I put this?
Just put it in the basement.

2. Tomorrow, head to Kato for illegal fireworks and turkey burgers.
Malin, Joakim, and Johan are visiting from the country of Sweden. Malin lived with my family during my senior year of high school. Also, Katie is home from Madison and brought two of her college friends.

3. Some other day, head back to St. Paul.
Basilica Block Party Saturday night with Peter, Cassie, Malin, Joakim, Johan and a thousand other people.

Should be fun!

summit

Jake got back from his climbing trip - Mt. Hood and Mt. Rainer.