A Blog About Blogging

Since I don't start my new job (as a real-life nurse) until next week, I've had a lot of time to catch up on my favorite blogs. You can see them over to the right. These, and other blogs I read, are a mix of real-life friends, and total strangers.  Before I started reading strangers' blogs, I totally didn't get it. Why would I want to read about the day-to-day happenings of a total stranger? Well, who knew, it's one of my favorite parts of my day.

One of the blogs to the right is written by a woman in Chicago that I have never met. I originally found her blog through Facebook, through a friend of a friend of a friend. You know. It was the first blog I started to read. I've been reading it religiously for over a year. Though it sounds a little voyeuristic, and a little bit weird, I totally don't care. She is a fantastic writer. Her writing reads in a way that feels like she effortlessly pulled the thoughts from her head and placed it on the page, without second guessing a word. I laugh, smile, and occasionally cry while reading her posts. Her blog is interesting to me because, except for some serious tragedies, I feel her life parallels my own, but she's two years ahead of me. I also envy the way she is able to freely write about her emotions.

Sometimes I think I started this blog to get more in touch with myself. I am not good a verbalizing my emotions, much less writing about them. Writing this blog has made that very apparent to me. The slowness of writing about your life allows the time to second guess every thought, every word.  It shows me what thoughts I hide from which people, and what thoughts I hide from myself. I then am forced to consciously choose if I will continue to hide that thought from anyone. It's like doing an audit of emotional habits. I've found it's allowed me to grow and mature in ways that I already thought I'd grown. This has made my life better, happier.

Didn't Socrates say something about the unexamined life?

No, We Haven't Been Dating Since High School

I've been working on our wedding website today. For the "Our Story" section of the template I had to write, well, our story. So, I thought I'd post it here as well.

Joe and Anna met as 7th graders at Wayzata West Junior High. Though their memories of each other at that time are vague, Joe thought Anna was a troublemaker, and Anna thought Joe was tall. Through high school they had what Joe calls a Venn diagram of friends, or slightly overlapping cliques. Many of these friendships we maintain today, and some of these folks, like Clint, played integral parts in our reconnection.

Joe went off to college at University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire, and Anna headed to the University of Kansas. After college, Joe headed to North Platte, Nebraska for his first Job, and Anna headed home to Minneapolis. Jump ahead a few years, Joe's living in Lincoln and Anna's in Northeast Minneapolis. In 2006, with his Nebraskan and also Jayhawk friends Brian and Jenn, Joe travels north for a weekend in his old stomping ground. Anna talks to Clint, meets them all out a bar in Uptown, and as they say, the rest is history.

Well, almost.

Joe still lives in Lincoln, and Anna in Minneapolis. For the next two years, they maintain a happy and hopeful long distance relationship. Joe visits Anna in Minneapolis, and Anna visits Joe in Lincoln. Well, Joe mostly visits Minneapolis. He's much better at the long drives. Twice they meet for weekends in the romance capital (and midway point) of Des Moines, Iowa. 

Finally in 2008, after a year of searching, Joe gets a job with Shire Pharmaceuticals and relocates to Rochester, MN. He's much closer, but still 1 1/2 hours from Anna. They drive on weekends, grateful to get to spend more time together. They travel to Africa for Jenny & Goaf's wedding, further appreciating their Wayzata/Kansas connections. In August 2009, Anna moves to Mankato to attend nursing school. Everyone thinks, "Finally, they'll be closer to each other!" We explain, "Not yet, Mankato is 1 1/2 hours from Rochester."

Anna makes it 3 months in Mankato. She gets up the guts and pops the big question.... "How about I move in with you in Rochester?" Anna and the cats move to Rochester in December, just in time for their first Christmas at home together.

Finally, they are together. Happy as clams. On July, 5th 2010 Joe takes Anna to Quarry Hill Nature Center for a spur of the moment geocaching outing. Anna is unsuspecting, there are lots of bugs, and she really just wants to get out of the woods. Joe says, "No, I see the cache right here." Anna says, 

"OK, open it."

"No, you open it."

"No, you just open it."

"Anna, open it!"

"Fine."

No, he didn't leave the ring in a box in the woods. He left a note, and a question. The answer was yes, and they celebrated with a day at the pool, a nice dinner out, and calls to family and friends. Who all already knew, by the way.

After 5 more months in the Roch, Anna graduates nursing school, and Joe's company calls with a plan. He's relocated to the Western 'burbs, and they move back to Minneapolis to a chic apartment on the park.

Now here we are, still happy as clams, planning away and getting excited to spend our long awaited big day with our dear family and friends.

Ugh February. Yea Minneapolis. Gratitude.

This is the time in Minnesota when I am so over it. I've spent most of my life in this state, but every year I find myself surprised that the winter can actually be this long. Luckily, J and I are now proud residents of Minneapolis. Having a view of the city, underground parking, and many friends close by seems to be helping. I honestly don't think I could have braved another Rochester winter. True, I did only have to brave one, but still, I didn't want another.

It is good to be back. We have a sweet new apartment right on Loring Park. The location is unbeatable. We are about a 5 minute walk to Nicollet Mall, and a 10 minute run to Lake of the Isles. We are one block from "Eat Street," and also have a fantastic restaurant in our building. We've had to resist the urge to eat every meal out at one of the many great restaurants nearby.

I just moved away from Minneapolis in August of 2009, but moving back now, it feels like a whole new city. I'm seeing excitement and potential in Minneapolis that I wasn't seeing a few years ago. I guess it took a little time away to make me realize what a special city this is. Or, it took a year or so of small town livin' to make me really miss the city. Granted, many would argue that Rochester is not really a small town, but it wasn't big enough for me.

So here we are, in our new chic apartment. J has a awesome new territory, and I'm about to start my first job as a real nurse. I got a job on the oncology unit at my absolute first choice hospital. Things could not have worked out better. In the midst of this gloomy, depressing, hated time of year, I'm feeling enormous gratitude for our circumstance. I hope next February is like this.

Shrimp and Avocado Dip

On our recent trip to Austin and San Antonio, J and I encountered this tasty dish a number of times. I had never heard of it, but it's apparently popular in good 'ol Tejas. We ordered it as an appetizer during one of our numerous happy hours downtown Austin. The preparation at this particular restaurant had its flaws, but I definitely saw its potential. I threw together a version that was so tasty, we've had it twice since Saturday.

I'm going to pass on this recipe without tons of detail. It's really a general concept, and ingredients can be swapped out as your tastes desire. Also, the amounts of the ingredients are not very specific, as I believe you should add more or less of what you like or don't.

 
- Shrimp (any size, but always use raw shrimp. Buying cooked shrimp is pointless, tasteless and lazy, no offense. I used about 10-15 26/30s)
- 1 Avocado (diced)
- 1 plum or Romano tomato (seeded and diced)
- 1/4 cup red onion (diced)
- 1/4 cup green pepper (diced)
- 1/2 jalapeño
- some cilantro (chopped)
- 1/2 to 3/4 cup sour cream (I used fat free)
- 1 to 2 tablespoons mayo (I did not use fat free!)
- 1/2 a lime
- Flour tortillas
- Lawry's Seasoned Salt

Preheat oven to 400F

Start with the shrimp. Peel and devein them (if this hasn't been done for you), and chop into pieces. Fully cook the shrimp in a sauté pan, tossing/stirring frequently. This should take about 3-5 minutes. I used olive oil and also butter because the butter adds a richer taste, but use the cooking oil of your choice. After the shrimp is cooked, toss a little Lawry's over it, and put it into a bowl and place directly in the freezer.

Combine the tomato, green and jalapeño peppers, onion, cilantro, sour cream and mayo, and stir until everything is coated. When the shrimp is cool, add it to the mixture. Squeeze in the juice of the lime. Lastly, add the avocado and mix gently until everything is coated. 

For the dippers, slice a few tortillas into triangles, and arrange them in a single layer on a baking sheet. Dust them with the Lawry's Seasoned Salt, and bake until golden brown. Remember Lawry's is mostly salt, so be careful not to overdo it.

For serving, arrange the dippers around a mound of the dip, and garnish with avocado slices and a few shakes of Lawry's.

On Being Present

I was sitting downtown Minneapolis today. I walked down from our awesome new apartment, and only had to be outside for 2 blocks! I stopped at one of the many skyway Caribous for a coffee, and spent some time sitting alone at a table. I read the Downtown Journal, I took a picture of the scenery, and I spent the next 40 minutes staring at my iphone. Then I thought, am I present?

No, I was so glad to be sitting downtown Minneapolis, but I was anywhere but there. I was in Colorado with Brooke, I was in KC with Joe, I was in Rochester with Cait. Constantly sending texts and looking at Facebook, I was anywhere but sitting alone in Gavidee Common. But why?

I have no idea. But, it really doesn't matter. Joe and I are thrilled to finally be back in Minneapolis, and we have an amazing place to live. A few years ago, I couldn't have imagined this life for myself. It's better than I could have ever have conjured. So, why do I have such a hard time living in the moment. Why do I constantly look to the grass on the other side. I don't know.

This might be my very late New Year's resolution, or just a new goal. I will do better at living in the moment. This will require more gratitude, a thing I consistently underestimate. Instead of jumping from one goal to the next, I need to spend some time being thankful for what I have. I have gotten everything I've wanted in the last couple of years, and that is spectacular. Thats's crazy, really.

So, for the future, gratitude. Presence.

Do you have any strategies for embodying these things?