30 Day Challenge: Day 17

Funny Travel Story

Hmmm...well, one of my favorite funny travel stories stars my better half.

As you may recall, Paul & I honeymooned in Puerto Rico and the Southern Caribbean. Well, on our cruise ship, there was a dance club. I wanted to go to the dance club EVERY night, but Paul did not. He did however concede a couple nights and we danced the night away. One particular night, Paul was feelin' it. He was busy struttin' his stuff on the dance floor when I looked up to notice that a fan club had formed around him. 10, maybe 12 people (a mixture of guys and girls) were crowded around cheering Paul on. When Paul noticed, things only got more intense. He whipped out every MTV music video dance move he had ever seen.

If you've never seen Paul dance, let me clue you in...He gives it his ALL! What he lacks in skill, he makes up for in heart. AND...apparently his fan club could feel "his passion".

It. Was. Awesome.

I was dancing right next to him laughing my butt off. That night, I was upstaged....100%.

I couldn't have been prouder.

K+P

30 Day Challenge: Day 16

Weeeelllll, we just got back from a week-long trip to Ibiza.

Just kidding...I just took the week off, but I'm back at it today!

Cash, Credit or Debit? What's your financial status?

Well, this is a little personal, don't you think? But, you know me!

Overall, we're cash and debit type folk. We use our credit cards only for large purchases (flights, hotels, concert tickets, etc.) where we can rack up some major miles or dollars. We only use credit cards that allow us to earn miles or dollars for our purchases and then we proceed to pay off our monthly balance EVERY month. We kinda feel like we're tricking the bank each month...pay up, suckers!

We aren't huge shoppers or overly-materialistic people. We don't much care what brand of clothes we buy and we're not afraid to wear second-hand items. We choose to spend our fun money on experiences...dining, movies, shows, concerts, trips rather than things like designer shoes or fancy cars.

We live a "work hard, play hard" lifestyle and feel we fully deserve to enjoy this life of ours! Thankfully, we aren't too short-sighted. We talk about retirement a lot and how we want to retire early and travel (more!) so we try to remember the future now as we continue to save each month. We need to find ourselves a financial advisor, as we fully know we don't know everything when it comes to planning, investing, saving for the future so we're on the look-out for one now.

Overall, I'd say that we take turns playing the role of "voice of reason" when it comes to spending. I would say, however, that Mr. Rasmusson is the President of the Finance Committee...which is a role I'm happy to have him fill.

Happy (smart) spending,

K+P

30 Day Challenge: Day 13

Favorite Photo of Yourself...

Ummm...maybe this one? It's a photo of me at the very end of our wedding day. I'm a little glisten-y, a little tired and a lotta happy. On this day, I loved my hair, my dress(es) and was just plain happy.

Yep, I think this will be my favorite...for now!

dum-dum-da-dum,

K+P

30 Day Challenge: Day 4

Your 6 word biography

Wife. Auntie. Daughter. Sister. Student. Marketer.

Traveler. Foodie. Nameologist. Wordsmith. Overall-Enthusiast. Jock.

Did you honestly think I could only use 6 words? I should have put "talker" as one of them too!

For fun, here's Paul's (according to me):
Witty. Smart. Reader. Thoughtful. Dedicated. Sports-freak.

K+P

30 Day Challenge: Day 3

Annnnnddd....we're back! Well, I'm happy to report that our summit for work went off without a hitch and my final summer class paper is complete! So, let's carry on with the Blogging Challenge.

I'm not sure if I can technically say I'm a part of the challenge, since I'm making up my own rules. (Bri?)

What part of your life is moving too fast? Too slow?

Hmmm...good question. Looking back, a lot is moving too fast. I'm now considered in my "late 20's". Paul and I are in year 2 of marriage. We've lived in our house for 3 years. I'm starting my last year of Grad School. What the heck? I'm a full-blown adult now. Sneaks up on ya.

Of course, I also have a pretty big list of things that are moving too slow. I CANNOT wait for the time we're ready to have kids. I think I've been waiting for that time since I was 4. Don't get creeped out. I've just loved babies for as long as I remember. With work, nothing moves fast enough for me. Which explains why I've moved myself around as much as I have. I can say that I've finally found a company that makes me feel like I'm growing and developing. I love it!

As a standard, I'm always in a hurry. Sometimes I find myself wishing away the present for the future. Shame on me, I know. I have to remind myself that Paul & I are pretty darn fortunate for what we have. We should be savoring these days...sleeping in, 2 pots of coffee in our pj's on the recliners watching cooking shows, traveling like its nobody's business, testing out new restaurants. Life is good, but I'm the optimist. I know it's only going to get better from here on out. This thought reminds me of a song we love.

"Something good this way comes" by Jakob Dylan.

This phrase just sticks me with. No matter your situation, something good is on its way. Even if its not...it's nice to be looking for it, right!

"The trouble, doll, is not moving moutains but digging the ground that you're on."

Diggin' it,

K+P

30 Day Challenge: Day 1

30 Day Blogging Challenge? Good joke, Kendra. You haven't blogged since July 1st. Whoops! The summer has been a bit too busy and completely gotten away on me. A friend and fellow blogger has encouraged me to participate...and in life, and in general, I'm a participator. So, here goes...

Best/Worst Blogging Experience

I like writing and have ever since I was little. I prefer to write like I talk (go ahead, say it..."non-stop!") in non-sensical ramblings. When I first started this blog, almost 2 years ago to share our wedding plans, I struggled with what I'd say, how I'd say it, who'd be reading, and what they'd think. Sometimes these thoughts still creep into my mind, but I think my best blogging experience, so far, has been realizing that these concerns are unimportant. I consider this blog to be an online scrapbook of our life. Blogging forces me to take more pictures and jot down random happenings so that one day, we can lift our spectacles, scratch our bums and say to eachother "Hey, you...remember when we were fun?" or "Oh gosh, I looked good without wrinkles." I think I especially look forward to letting our (future) kids get a peek into what our life was like "back when".

I can just imagine...

"See kids...we were so NOT lame. Now, go to bed so I can watch Hoarders in peace."

I've really enjoyed blogging and look forward to looking back at how our words, thoughts and concerns change over the years. For the time being, we'll continue documenting our travels, happy hours, family events and wonderful friendships.

Thanks for being a part of the experience!
K+P

The Sweetest Day to be Married!

On May 29th, our good friends Ellen & Adam got hitched! They had a beautiful outdoor wedding at Centennial Lakes Park in Edina. (Thankfully, no rain!) It was short & sweet and as expected, perfectly put together!

Check out that dessert table!

Seriously? Amazing attention to details! Ellen is a designer and about as talented and creative as they come. (jealous!) She helped us create A LOT of stuff for our wedding...so if you liked anything about our wedding...she probably had a hand in it!

Every table, was slightly different but equally cute!

Yep...she designed that!

Oh, and she made her hair clip and added the pink accents to her dress. She's spunky!

Thanks for inviting us, Ellen & Adam! It was a great way to start out the day...

That day, was also my parents' 40th wedding anniversary and my sister & brother-in-law's 12th wedding anniversary. Good work, people! Keep up the love!

K+P

It's Our 1st Anniversary!

It's hard to believe it went SO fast...but it was a really fun year for us!

To celebrate, we whipped out the top tier of our wedding cake - It had been in my parents' chest freezer for the last year! As good as the cake was on the day of our wedding, it's hard to imagine it could really be that good after a YEAR...in a FREEZER, but for the sake of tradition, we're going to cut into it tonight and give it a whirl! Wish us luck!
(I made a double batch of pumpkin devil's food cupcakes, just in case the cake was a flop!)

Since this weekend has been GORGEOUS...we spent yesterday at the Edina Art Fair, then had dinner at Capital Grille downtown. Today, we had breakfast at our favorite local greasy spoon and ended the day by grilling out on our deck. What a nice, relaxing weekend!

Here's to another great year of marriage!

P+K

When dancing on a bus...watch your head.

Last weekend, I was able to get together with some college friends and celebrate Krista's upcoming nuptials. We celebrated in typical college fashion...on a party bus! Check out the bus...it was pretty cool!

(I still have a bump on my head from bonking it on the shelf when the bus driver took a crazy turn.)

Some of the fun ladies we celebrated with!

More fun ladies!

One came straight from work, one had a broken wrist (don't ask) and one was pregnant...yet fun was had by all!

Do some of these ladies look familiar? They should...2 were personal attendants and 1 was a bridesmaid at our wedding!

"Heart glasses girl" (below) is the guest of honor, Krista! She also insisted on wearing fake hill-billy teeth (as seen on the gal to her right, below) out to bars...she was a hit, per usual!
It was a blast and Paul & I look forward to celebrating again at their wedding next month!

Go wedding season,

P+K

We've been (car)toon'd...

Remember at our wedding, how we had those custom coloring sheets for the kids that had illustrated pics of Paul & I on them?

Does this pic jog your memory? Well, I was e-mailing with my superbly-talented friend, Sandy, who illustrated those sheets and (being the dork that I am) asked if she'd send me Paul & my illustrations as headshots...so, she did!

Paul, looking happy and...a bit older!

Me, looking a bit blonder and sorta like Lindsay Lohan (minus the trainwreck)!

I thanked Sandy and then reminded her that I now have brown, short hair and requested an updated pic...which she agreed to make. Man, I love her! Sandy lovingly refers to me as her 2nd favorite brat (her 1st being her daughter, Hannah!)

Anyway...thought you might like to see us toon'd! I guess you could say I'd look for any excuse to avoid writing my next final paper (due Wednesday)!! Alright, back to work for me!

Happy 2nd day of May!

K+P

And the honeymoon continues...

I got home tonight from a 5 day business trip to Chicago...

and saw this on the kitchen table when I walked in:

The card says "Thank You" on the front. Apparently it was the only card he could find in the closet but I'll give him 10 gold stars for being resourceful as his copy on the inside played in nicely with it....

Front: Thank You!

Inside: ....for coming home. I missed you!

Good work, Paulo! I'm glad to be home!

K+P

Honeymoon Stop 6: St. Maarten

St. Maarten ended up being one of our most favorite stops! The water was so clear and the sand so white. Oh, and so much more...

A really cute oceanside restaurant where we stopped for a bit.

Trying to be artsy.

Love the canopies over each table.

There was tons of shopping and the streets were so quaint and colorful!

Ahhh....beautiful.

I was battling a burnt scalp...hence the headband and oversized straw hat in previous posts.

Wish we could go back! Did I mention we also visited (not partook) a nude beach. Walk fast, don't look down or up!

Well, that's it - our honeymoon in a nutshell! We had such a great time! K+P

Honeymoon Stop 5: St. Kitts

We were camera happy again...this time in St. Kitts.

Bus tour...looking at Mt. Liamuiga...a dormant volcano. El Caribe. Open air bus tour...really fun!

St. Kitts Botanical Garden.

Atlantic Ocean on the left. Caribbean Sea on the right. Newlywed couple in the middle.

More botanical gardens.

The rainforest.

This photo is for my nephew Ben...old tractor in the front, Auntie Paul to the side and a cow in the background...his favorites!

Nice stretch!

More bus tour.

It was awesome to see all these tiny homes with beautiful ocean/sea views!

1 more stop to go!

K+P

Honeymoon Stop 4: St. Lucia

Before we jump into St. Lucia...I must add that I was able to get 1 karaoke song in while on the ship...with my new friend, Jenny, from St. Francis, MN! (small world!)

Singing Taylor Swift...odd, I know. Farmer's market downtown. Mountainous terrain. Our ship!

Paul, before we got back on the ship. He wasn't feeling very good (had nothing to do with all the cocktails in Barbados!) so our time in St. Lucia was cut short.

That's vacation...sleep when you're tired, eat when you're hungry, drink when you're thirsty.

Next stop? #5.

K+P

Honeymoon Stop 3: Barbados

To make up for the lack of pictures in St. Thomas, we got a little camera happy in Barbados...

Taking a stroll...crazy drivers, small sidewalks. That's the Ocean Pearl...not the Black Pearl. Big difference. Downtown harbor.

In front of St. Patrick's Church (kinda fun!)

Enjoying the view from the beach bar.

Takin' a break for some Banks beer and crab cakes.

An awesome restaurant we found and decided to visit for appetizers...not realizing they only served a $71/person buffet...say what? We settled for another Banks and hit the road again.

Discovered this buried treasure while strolling the beach. This guy must have a great story on how this happened.

Party boat!

Like my new purse?

So typical of a 2 person vacation...photos of one or the other...never both.

I swear we did more than just drink cocktails...but because of all the cocktails, I can't remember what.

More of downtown Barbados.

Yeah...on to stop 4!

K+P