| Karen's profileKaren's space of excitem...PhotosBlogLists |  Tools  Help |
|
December 28 2006 Wrap-UpIf I were to send out a holiday letter, this is probably what it would look like. 2006 has been a very exciting and busy year for us. In the beginning of the year, we were still living in East Grand Forks, Minnesota in the basement of Bryan’s Mom’s house. We were both working at SEI (now known as Verety), Bryan as a Supervisor and Karen as the Manager of Technical Training. Much of January was spent traveling to the Twin Cities to attend job interviews and making plans for our move. Karen traveled for work to “exotic” locations such as Rugby and Steele, itty bitty towns in the middle of North Dakota, a far cry from her previous trips to Chicago, Illinois. In February, Karen took a trip with her work friends Britani and Melissa to Las Vegas, where she went tandem skydiving on her birthday. In the Spring, we made the move back to the Twin Cities, staying in the spare bedroom at Jennie’s townhouse in Eden Prairie. Bryan started a new job doing loan sales with Wells Fargo Financial in Eden Prairie and Karen got a job as the Training and Quality Specialist at Allina Hospital and Clinics in Minneapolis. We spent time looking at homes to purchase and finally found one that we both fell in love with in Plymouth and moved in at the end of March. Our Summer was kept busy with entertaining friends and family at our new home, attending weddings and celebrating our second wedding anniversary. We also made time to attend the Minnesota State Fair, the Renaissance Festival and other summertime Twin Cities events. In the Fall, Karen’s Mom, Dad and brother Daniel came for a two week visit. This was their first time in Minnesota, so we took them on the tour to Grand Forks and Bemidji, along with visiting the sights and shopping destinations of the Minneapolis and St. Paul area. We are hoping to plan a trip to Malaysia at the end of 2007. Bryan still has never met any of Karen’s extended family. This winter has been mild, with little snowfall. That’s okay with us! Karen’s cousin Eric came for a visit over Thanksgiving and joined us at Mary’s house for the celebration. We went up again during Christmas and had a fantastic time eating at Bunny’s, exchanging gifts at Grandma’s and staying at Derek’s log-cabin home. We hope that this year has been as good to you as it has been for us. Best wishes for 2007! Love,
Karen, Bryan and Zoe (woof!) December 26 Happy Boxing Day!I love trying out new restaurants. We have a total of 15 people going out on
 New Year's Eve to Fuji-Ya, it really grew quickly starting with just 4 of us. Britani and Adam get here on Sunday and are staying at our place for a couple nights. I just made reservations for my birthday at Chambers and for Bryan's birthday at Ruth Chris Steakhouse. YUM! It'll be fun to check those places out. Those are listed as some of the top restaurants in Minneapolis.Today was the day after Christmas. Woke up a bit earlier than I usually do and headed off to Target at 7am to see if there were any good deals on Christmas decorations. Picked up some things and headed off to work. There was absolutely no traffic on the way to work- wish it was like this every day! It was pretty slow at work today, makes it go by ever so slowly. Only three work days left in this short week. After work, I picked up groceries and a couple more Christmas clearance items. I wish I could find the stuff I'm still missing from our many moves. That's one thing that sucks about moving- losing half your belongings.
40 questions40 of the MOST Random Questions Ever, BE HONEST:
1. Where were you 2 hours ago? At SuperTarget in Plymouth, grocery shopping and checking out the deals on Christmas stuff 2. Who will be your next kiss? Bryan or Zoe 3. When is the last time you went to the mall? After work today, just to look around 4. Are you wearing socks right now? White Hanes socks 5. When was the last time you went out of the state? Probably Grand Forks in October when my family was here 7. Have you been to the movies in the last 5 days? Yup, went to the Pursuit of Happyness with the Hartjes and Marshalls 8. What was the last thing you had to drink? Water 9.What are you wearing right now? Blue hooded cable knit sweater, black tank, grey pants 10. Has anyone ever called you a tease? Nah 11. What was your last purchase? Groceries and Christmas stuff at Target 12. Last food you ate? Fish sticks 12. Who was the last person you talked to on the phone? Jennie, asking her if she wanted me to pick up wrapping paper for her 13. Have you bought any clothing items in the last week? Not that I can think of 14. Do you have a pet? Zoe fluff 15. What's the last sporting event you watched? Some college football game at Derek's, doesn't count since I wasn't really watching, otherwise, the Packers/Vikings game last Thursday 16. What is/was your favorite class? Business 17. If you could be anywhere right now where would it be? I'm happy where I am 18. What is the last thing you purchased online? Bought Derek's Christmas present- a Rival griddle from Amazon.com 19. How old are your parents? 51 and 51 20. What is your favorite kind of soup? I like clam chowder, lobster bisque, chicken noodle and chicken wild rice 21. Do you miss anyone? My mom and my high school friends 22. Last play you saw? Can't think of one, but the most memorable so far has been the Lion King in London 23. What are your plans for tomorrow? Work, hope to workout as well and maybe stop by the Bath and Body Works that starts tomorrow 24. Who is the last person you messaged on myspace? Can't remember 25. Ever go to camp? Yes 26. Are you an honor roll student in school? I made the dean's list in undergrad and graduated with honors, but not in high school 27.What do you think will happen in the future? Have a couple of kids, work my way up the corporate ladder, be happy 28. Are you wearing any perfume or cologne? Nope 31. Do you have a tan? I look how I always look (for the most part) 32. How old do you want to be when you have kids? 26-30ish 33. Do you collect anything? I try not to 34. Do you have any tattoos or piercings? No tattoos, 7 piercings 36. How do you like your soda? With ice and a straw? Or Diet Coke from McD's 37. Do you like hot sauce? It's kind of a "fake" hot to me, I prefer the spice of curry 38. Last time you took a shower? This morning, early 39. What is your mood right now? Happy to be at home after a day of work and running errands 40. What's the last TV show you watched? House December 25 ChristmasIt's Christmas once again! We drove up to Bemidji on Saturday and stayed at Derek's house. I took Rich to do some last minute Christmas shopping and we went to the Pursuit of Happyness the rest of the family. On Christmas Eve, we drove to Deer River, met up with Bryan's aunt Kay and uncle Gary and their family for brunch and then drove back to Bemidji. Wrapped some presents, then we went to church and to Bunny's house for the annual Christmas Eve dinner. After that, we headed over to Grandma Hanson's house to exchange and open presents. On Christmas morning, Linda came over with brunch and we opened presents with the immediate family. It was a great time, had a wonderful time with the family and we got some great gifts. MERRY CHRISTMAS TO EVERYONE! December 22 Merry Christmas!Merry Christmas to everyone who reads this blog. Hope that you and your loved ones have a safe and happy holiday season. December 21 Winter started todaySo winter started today at approximately 2pm today. We got a taste of heavy rain, followed by freezing rain, some sleet and I think maybe even some hail and then by snow, snow and more snow. I thought my commute home was going to be horrible, but I got home just a few minutes after I normaly do. Speeds were a little slower, but there was pretty light traffic on 394. It looks like some of the other highways are pretty jammed up. Ouch. I hear there's even more snow forecasted for tomorrow. Good thing it's FRIDAY! Woohoo!!! And it's almost Christmas. I am so ready and now with some white outside, my backyard looks a lot like the scene out of Narnia. Pretty.
On a completely unrelated note, I'm not a fan of George W, however, I am a fan of his father. Just saw him on tv and he still looks pretty healthy. Good for him. December 20 Websites that cracked me upI find this hilarious!! Someone painted Pac Man on Hwy 55 where they've painted big white dots to show people how far apart to stay from the car in front of you. Of course, Pac Man is eating the dots. HAHAHAH!!
Another site that made my day. Countdown keychains!
December 19 Holiday madnessDecember 19th. Seriously. How does time fly by so quickly?? Only 6 days until Christmas and then we aren't too far off from New Year's. 200-freakin-7. We are done with our holiday shopping, it's all wrapped up and carefully placed under the tree, sorted into stuff to bring with us and stuff to open here. Bryan and I are having dinner and exchanging gifts together on Friday evening, so I better have my stuff (and Zoe's) packed and ready to go on Thursday evening. Tomorrow is already hump day (I've always hated that term). I'm trying to reorganize the material that I use for new hire training, but just as quickly as I put it together, the information changes! Had lunch at Chang Bang today and it was pretty tasty. Looking forward to having a decent Chinese restaurant at the Global Market, didn't really care for the other one. It was a busy week last week, hence the lack of posts. Last weekend I accompanied Jennie on her shopping excursion and fought the holiday crowds with her. After that, Bryan and I were guests at Veronica and Justin's apartment, where Veronica cooked up a very delicious dinner of pasta, bread and salad. We ended the evening with a game of Apples to Apples, which I had received as a Secret Santa gift from my co-worker, Mary, the day before. My Secret Santa recipient loved the gifts I gave her- a set of 81 gel pens, the new Stephen King paperback, The Cell, dark chocolate and soap imported from Australia. I left the gifts on her desk throughout the week with little secret notes and she was trying to figure out who was leaving them. On Sunday, I slept in and then proceeded to take a nap after breakfast. That is the life! In the afternoon, Bryan and I went to Cabela's in Rogers to pick up a birthday present for Derek. There were plenty of people there as well, I'm reading for the malls to be a little bit less full of crowds! December 15 10 yearsThis is a survey to see how much we've changed in the last 10 years.
Ten years ago... December 1996 How old were you?: 14 Where did you go to school? ELC International School Where did you work? Cards N Such Where did you live? Bandar Utama Where did you hang out? Swany's, Gwen's, Sam's and YC's, 1 Utama, Suria KLCC, Bangsar What was your hairstyle? Pretty much the same as it is now! Did you wear glasses? Nope Who was your regular-person crush? What the heck is a "regular-person crush"?? How many tattoos did you have? None How many piercings did you have? 2? Maybe 4 What car did you drive? Didn't have one What was your favorite band/group? Dave Matthews Band What was your worst fear? Failing out of school Had you driven yet? Nope Had you been to a real party yet? Yup Had your heart broken? Nope Single/Taken/Married/Divorced/Bitter: Single FIVE YEARS AGO...........December 2001 How old were you? 19 Where did you go to school? Just graduated from Bemidji State University Where did you work? Nowhere Where did you live? 1615 Birch Lane, Bemidji Where did you hang out? Bryan's, Kev and Craig's, campus How was your hair style? SAME! Did you wear glasses? Nope Who was your regular-person crush? Bryan How many tattoos did you have? None How many piercings did you have? 7 What car did you drive? Other people's What was your favorite band/group? DMB What was your worst fear? Not being able to find a job Had you been to a real party yet? Oh yeah Had your heart broken? Yup Single/Taken/Married/Divorced/Bitter: Single **December 2006** How old are you?: 24 Where do you hang out? My living room, friends' houses How is your hair style? SAME! Do you wear glasses? Nope, I wear contacts Do you talk to your old friends? Many of them How many piercing do you have? 7 How many tattoos? None What kind of car do you have? Chevrolet TrailBlazer What is your favorite band/group? Still DMB, among others What is your biggest fear? Pain (Pain, without love
Pain, I can't get enough Pain, I like it rough 'Cause I'd rather feel pain than nothing at all -- Three Days Grace)
Have you been arrested, if so how many times total? None Has your heart been broken? Yup, but I'm happy now! :) December 11 Monday bloody MondayTyler's party was oh-so-fun. We played Apples to Apples (FUN game!), Imaginiff, ate pizza and other appetizers. Good times. On Sunday, we just lazed around the house and relaxed. Slept in, since we got home from Ty's house pretty late, watched the Flip the House marathon. Richard came over after he was done with work and we went out for Chinese food at Ming Garden. The food was okay, just so-so. Now it's back to Monday, another week at work. We don't have very much going on next weekend, the calm before the storm of Christmas. Only two weeks until Christmas!!  December 09 Cookie ExchangeWe had our cookie exchange today and it was great! Gay, Jennie's friend Lindsay, Sue, Chris' sister Lindsay, Jennie and Veronica came over. We had tasty punch, coffee and a variety of cookies of treats. Everyone's cookies are very delicious! What a great way to celebrate the holiday season. I had Christmas tunes playing in the living room (from the digital cable, since I don't own any Christmas music). Then we went to the General Store of Minnetonka for some Christmas shopping. I bought a couple of things for my mom and I'm going to send them to her soon. Tonight we are heading over to Tyler and Jess' house for their housewarming party. Should be a fun night. Kim and Richie are coming to visit in January and will be staying at our house.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO BRITANI!! WOOHOO!!  December 08 ChildhoodMark the things that you have currently: 03. What city did you grow up in? 04. Did you enjoy your childhood? 06. Favorite toy line? 07. Name the first memorable vacation you took as a kid? 08. What was your first best friends name from kindergarten? 10. How did you meet? 12. Who was your first crush? 13. Were you closer to your Mom or Dad as a kid? 15. What was the first record, tape or CD you remember buying? 16. What was your favorite food to eat? 20. Did you buy school lunch or bring your own? 21. Broke any bones or had any freaky accidents as a kid? 23. Favorite board game of all time? 25. Ever got grounded? 26. Seriously are you still just a kid at heart? 28. Had any braces, glasses, or piercings? December 07 I'm a truffle making machineSpent two hours this evening making a large batch of Oreo truffles. They turned out just beautiful, I'm very proud of them. I've never made them before and had the chance to purchase some at a bake sale at work this summer. I've posted the recipe here if anyone is interested in making them. They are really rich and tasty! They are a bit of work, but definitely worth it. Most people have been complaining about the bitterly cold weather we've been experiencing, but I've been using nature's refrigerator to my advantage. It only took a few minutes for the truffles to cool when I placed them (covered, of course) outside to cool down and to have the chocolate harden. It would have taken a lot longer if I had used the fridge. And not to mention I wouldn't have had enough room for them in there. Jennie is also baking her cookies tonight and Veronica made hers earlier today. Carrie stopped by earlier to drop off her bars and a ton of books for me to borrow. I can't wait to start reading! This cookie exchange is going to be one very TASTY event! I have the stuff to make punch and some other treats ready to go. YAY! One work day until it's the weekend again. Yeah! Oreo TrufflesOreo Truffles 1 pkg. (1 lb., 2 oz.) OREO Chocolate Sandwich Cookies, divided Dip balls in chocolate; place on wax paper-covered baking sheet. (Any leftover chocolate can be stored at room temperature for another use.) Sprinkle with reserved cookie crumbs. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour. Store leftover truffles, covered, in refrigerator. Source: http://www.kraftfoods.com December 04 Cold cold coldWhy is it SO COLD OUTSIDE????????? WHY WHY WHY? I know it's because winter is finally here, but that's not an answer that I'm willing to accept right now. Just got a digital cable box installed. I missed the tv guide feature. There are some pretty good free movies available On Demand as well, so I'm looking forward to wasting away hours watching them. Was pretty productive at work today, created some Captivate training videos, taught a training class, organized more training classes. It never ends. Brit is coming for New Year's, so that should be fun! Kim is coming in January, it will be good to see her again after another half a year has gone by. Just had dinner, left over pasta and some green bean casserole. Weird combination of food, I know. I'm going to go work out as soon as I gather up the motivation. We are just four days until the weekend, 21 days until Christmas. Not that I'm counting.  December 01 Really?Sometimes I wonder, whether people are deliberately trying to be rude, or whether they don't realize that they are doing it. Kind of irks me because I spend so much time attempting effort. Makes me want to just not try. Argh.
 Stopped by Trader Joe's after work this evening. Lake Calhoun looked very pretty with all of the lights reflecting off of it. Stocked up our refrigerator, since it's starting to look a little bare. Still need to hit up Target tomorrow for the essentials plus some. Haven't been to the grocery store for a couple of weeks now, so we are down to sour cream and ketchup. Not a good combination. Also picked up a swag. Not sure if you can just call the thing a swag. Sounds odd. But it's one of those bunches of Christmas tree branches with berries and cones on it. Smells like pine needles aka gin in here now. Makes me a little sick. Maybe I'll just have to hang this thing up outside. Bryan thinks it smells like B.O., great, sounds like we both dislike this thing. Good thing we didn't go with a real Christmas tree or we'd be really disgusted. Hah.
I'm glad it's Friday. We need to get the house cleaned. Carter is coming over tomorrow night and hanging out with us while mom and dad go on a date. I'm excited to play with him. Saturdays and Sundays ROCK. I'm excited to start my weeeeeekend. Woooop. |
|
|
