Midwestern Getaway!

Last weekend I had the pleasure of visiting Minnesota for the first time! All week I have been asked, "Why Minnesota?", which is a very natural and reasonable question. Well, a visit to MN has been on my radar ever since Dominic and Margaret, dear CPSLO friends of mine, moved to St. Louis Park last year, although I didn't expect to make the trip until 2012. Then Dan and Erin, post-college SoCal friends of mine, invited me to go with them to the Twin Cities area when they headed to Erin's hometown for a wedding. It all worked out perfectly and I was able to spend time with Dominic and Margaret while they attended the wedding. Dan and Erin planned tons of other activities for the rest of the weekend and I was shown Minneapolis, St. Paul and the surrounding areas by true locals. After arriving on Friday we met some of Erin's friends at restaurant/bar called Cowboy Jack's (I was in Heaven), where I seized the day and rode the mechanical bull (no, I was not drunk). On Saturday I headed over to Dominic and Margaret's darling 1940's home, where there was fresh bread baking when I arrived. We walked around Lake Calhoun, played with Patrick, helped Margaret prepare for Sunday school teaching and chatted the day away. After attending Mass on Sunday with Dominic and Margaret, I teamed back up with Dan and Erin and we headed to Minnetonka Orchards for apple picking, hay rides and a corn maze. We also visited Excelsior, a charming small town on Lake Minnetonka, where Dan and Erin had their first date. That evening, Erin's mom treated us to "Hairspray" at the local Chanhassen dinner theater (again - me in Heaven). Before flying home on Monday evening we walked around Minneapolis and St. Paul. Overall it was a fantastic weekend! I loved the homegrown feel of the Midwest, although stories about negative 40 degree weather were probably enough to keep me in SoCal for the time being :-). Here are some pics from our amazing weekend...

Haircut!

After finding myself becoming increasingly hair-lazy I decided that less might be more...

Keith Urban in San Jose!

My parents and I headed up to San Jose yesterday to join my uncle and Nancy for a Keith Urban concert. We were in the 14th row thanks to Nancy, and I get excited all over again each time I think about it :-). He put on an AMAZING show and even moved throughout the crowd to perform. Oh yes, and Jake Owen opened the show, so it was a two-for-one treat for a country-music-aholic like me :-). I also got to meet up with Cal Poly SLO friend John for brunch, which was a long-overdue visit. Stay tuned, because next weekend will be full of fun too :-)!

Day Trips, Movies and Friends...Oh My!

The past few weeks have been full of fun. Some of the highlights are depicted below...a drive-in movie with the family, a birthday dinner with Jessica and Manny (newly engaged!), and a day trip to San Diego with friends.

Not shown in pictures was my first venture into jury duty today. I actually very much enjoyed the experience! I was well-armed with books to enjoy all day, however I spent most of the time listening to jury selection on a case. I was questioned to be an alternate, but was appropriately dismissed. I would have enjoyed sitting on child molestation a case, but I found myself to be slightly less than objective given the disgusting allegations. Hopefully the defendant will get a fair trial from the jury that was selected! Back to work for me tomorrow!

P.S.-The next two weekends will be full of new adventures for me, so stay tuned :-)!

An Overdue Update

Greetings friends! These pictures, in no particular order, show a sampling of things I've been up to lately...2 weddings, Toby Keith concert with Mom, paddle boarding with Dad, Montgomery Gentry concert with my friend Maria, karaoke at Ma'May's bachelorette party, my sister's surprise 30th birthday party (displaying a custom made margarita glass by me). Enjoy :-)!

What have I been up to???

First things first...weddings! Jason and Emily, college friends from SLO, were married on April 30 in San Jose. Dan and Erin, post-college friends from So Cal, were married on May 21 in Long Beach. Both had beautiful ceremonies and receptions, and I am so grateful to have attended both occasions!

In between the weddings, life has been a cyclone of activities. I've taken up line dancing again, this time on Monday evenings near work, which I was very much missing after life in SLO. On Thursdays I help facilitate a book study with friends on Love and Responsibility by JPII. Friday brings the occasional softball game for the local church league. Throw in a few ad hoc activities each week such as dinner with friends, Bible studies, family bike rides, Mom's birthday celebration, and Brewfest at Santa Clara de Asis, and life becomes very busy.

Anyway, you can see how updating the blog can take a backseat to all of these events, but I'll try to post a bit more frequently :-). As for right now, I think I'll go take a nap...

March Madness: China and a Promotion

Greetings! Once again I find that it has been far too long since I've posted any updates, but I have been quite busy! The biggest recent event is that my long-in-the-works trip to China has actually come to pass. My friend (and co-worker) Laura and I travelled to Beijing, Xi'an, Guilin, Shanghai and Hong Kong and returned just this past Wednesday. We had a fantastic time visiting these amazing cities and particularly enjoyed hiking on the Great Wall, standing in the vastness of Tianamen Square and visiting the famed Terracotta Soldiers. We also had several memorable cultural experiences. The ham in me loved the many requests for pictures that the locals would make of Laura and I, both of whom are light-eyed westerners. The less-charming experiences I also secretly loved included the all-to-common pushiness, life-threatening driving and spitting of Chinese life. I definitely feel even more lucky to live in America after having visited this country. The government owns all of the land in China and many families share very tight quarters among many generations. One of our tour guides lived in 217 square feet, including a bathroom and kitchen, with 3 of his other family members. That's a very brief summary, but overall we had an incredible journey!

In other news, I was promoted to Senior Accountant! My role will remain the same, but my responsibilities will continue to grow as I join additional teams within the department. This is an exciting step for me, as I have been gunning for this promotion for quite some time.

Here's a picture of me at the Great Wall to get the photo-sharing started.