Birthday Treats for Mommy!

Aunt Jeanne surprised mom with a basket of decorated cookies for her birthday - what a nice treat!

Happy Birthday Cubicle Style

I turned 30 on May 3rd, and my co-worker Katie thought it would be fun to make sure everyone knew it!

I was so surprised when I came in to work for the day and turned the corner to see my cubicle completely decked out with streamers, balloons and Happy Birthday signs!  Later in the afternoon a chocolate cake with fudge cream frosting was served and I was having a happy day indeed!

Happy Anniversary to Us!

September 17th, 2005

Dan and I celebrated our 4 year wedding anniversary last week!

We started a tradition on our first anniversary that we don't buy eachother gifts for our anniversary, we instead take turns each year planning a special day together. This year was Dan's year to plan and he did a fantastic job!

On our anniversary fell on a Thursday and Dan surprised me at work with 2 dozen long stem roses. They were absolutely gorgeous - and made me the most envied girl in the office for a few days! I am drying them to add to my vase of flower petals from special occassions.

Friday when I came home from dropping off the girls at Grandma Sue's for the weekend I was surprised by a completely clean house, which was absolutely wonderful. I was given my itinerary for the next day which read as follows:

Be ready to leave by 9:30 am. Dress comfy.

When we get home you need to be ready to leave by 6:00pm. Dress fancy.

When I woke up Saturday morning I was so excited! I had no idea what we were doing for the day and couldn't wait to get started! We headed to Stillwater where we ate breakfast and then spent the day wandering around exploring the town. Bless Dan's heart I think we went in every single antique store, jewlery shop and botique! On our way out of town we stopped at Nelson's for some of the best ice cream around. We then headed to the salon for pedicures, which was great after being on our feet all day walking around. Then there was still the evening to get ready for! It was fun getting dolled up for a surprise night! Dan had made reservations at Forepaughs resteraunt where we enjoyed a very romantic dinner.

We had such a wonderful day together!

I think sometimes when you are married, and have kids, and have jobs, and have a house to take care of and all those other things that life throws at you it is easy to forget how nice it is to just have a day to spend together.

Happy Anniversary honey, here's to many more!

Date Night - A new Dining Experience

Fogo de Chao

Dan and I joined some friends for dinner Saturday night at a restaurant named Fogo de Chao. For those of you who have not been, we highly recommend it!

This was our first time dining here, and we have decided that without a doubt we will be going back to this meat lovers paradise! It is a little on the pricey side (about $45 a head before drinks) but well worth every penny. They explain the dining experience as follows:

Step 1: Sit down, relax, and enjoy a drink while we explain the Fogo® dining experience.
Step 2: Visit our gourmet salad and sides bar. Enjoy over 30 items including fresh cut vegetables, imported cheeses, cured meats and Brazilian side dishes.
Step 3: Turn your card green side up, signaling that you are ready for our gaucho chefs to begin tableside service.
Step 4: Choose from the 15 cuts of delectable fire roasted meats that are brought to your table, sliced, and served by our gaucho chefs.
Step 5: When you are satisfied, flip the disc to the red side until you are ready for more offerings.
Step 6: If you wish, end the meal with one of our delicious desserts.

When they say the green side signals that you are ready for the meat to come, oh boy do they mean it! Within seconds several gaucho chefs are at your side each with a different delectable choice of meat. Dan and I were in heaven watching the well orchastrated ballet of butcher knives travel around the table!

More Photo Shoot Pictures

Here are a couple more headshot pictures from my photo shoot with Paul at Blackbird Portraits. I had a really good time taking a couple of hours for "me time" and am very pleased with the results of the shoot. Thanks again Paul!

Photo Shoot

I had a photo shoot with a local photographer last weekend for "funsies". Paul is a friend of Chantel's and owns Blackbird Portraits (www.blackbirdportraits.com).

This is one of my favorite shots of the day. I think Paul does amazing work!

Employment Update

I am a bit behind in posting this update, but I figure better late than never!

I started my new job on April 13th, exactly six months after being laid off. I am working for another local printing company as an Account Manager and I absolutely love it so far!

The people are wonderful, the environment is professional and it appears to have quite a bit of opportunity for advancement, which is always wonderful. Plus I have to mention that the commute is only 12 minutes away from the girls' daycare, so I am loving it!

Thank you to everyone who was so supportive while I was unemployed, you kept my spirits up and reminded me that every time a door closes another one somewhere opens up.....and I am really liking this new door!

Daddy Makes Mommy's Day!

Dan came home a couple of days ago with a wonderful surprise for me....2 bunches of flowers! What a way to make my day! He said he saw them at the store and thought I would like them, and boy was he right!

(And yes, I did make sure that he didn't make any large purchases that I wasnt aware of!)

How many Milbrandts does it take to fix a toilet?

After having our upstairs toilet innards give out on us, Dan bought all new guts for the repair. I decided that I could do this all on my own and took on the task.

After removing all the old parts and scrubbing out the tank it was time to start deciphering the bi-lingual instructions that were not as clear as the box promised.

Flange A goes to Fill tube with a cone siphon gasket...blah did de blah blah blah. Who writes these things?!?!?

The parts appear to be assembled correctly and I decide it is time to turn the water flow back on. No leaks from the wall connection, no leaks when the tank fills so it is time to test flush....

DISASTER!!!! There is definately a leak now!

After employing Dan's assistance (and being reminded that I really need to tighten things harder) it was determined that the flood really wasn't my fault. The rubber gasket between the tank and base that came with the new kit was not the same size as the old one causing a gap allowing the water to come out. A quick change back to the old gasket and we have a functioning toilet...with no leaks!

Abundance of Opportunity...

We have some exciting news at our house...albeit a little scary at the same time.
I was laid off on Monday, meaning I now have the opportunity to find another place of employment that hopefully wont require me to commute for multiple hours a day!
Due to financial reasons several employees were let go over the past few months, and apparently Monday it was my turn to go. After almost 8 years of working there I am obviously saddened and surprised by this change of events, but am also excited for the changes it may bring for our family. Dan is quite excited too as he is hoping I will now have some time at home while doing my job search to get all those "some day" projects taken care of!
If anyone knows of an opportunity that may fit my qualifications I would be more than interested to hear about it - otherwise now is the time to schedule those get togethers that I hardly had time for before! :)