Last week my niece Bianca turned 5 and this past Saturday we celebrated with a family party.

Here are the photos!

Bianca Happy Birthday 2012

Bianca blowing out candles Jan 2012

Bianca got a lot of nice gifts including an American Girl Doll named Kit

Bianca and Kit Jan 2012

I got her a little portable table/chair and Moon Dough. After she had opened all her presents I caught her sitting here, smiling to herself. She was very happy :)

A moment of reflection

Playing with the Moon Dough.  This stuff is a MESS. Sorry Bri & Shel, hopefully it isn’t ground into your carpet!! I thought it would be more like play-doh :(

Bianca and Lucy with Moon Dough

The boys thought the box that the table came in was their new fort…

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Two Boys in a Box

Some family photos….

Kriisti and Annika Jan 2012 copy

I finally got to meet Chan-Man, Erin & Stew’s new baby. I love all his hair!

Cronquist Family Jan 2012

Jeffrey and Annika

Jeff and Annika Jan 2012

Bennett and Bianca Jan 2012

And a few miscellaneous

Bianca's Pink Cake Jan 2012

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)
 

I have been wanting to blog all week but I have been swamped.

Want to hear something really awesome????!!!

The Twin Cities Restaurant shattered all personal records yesterday with 6,910 page views and 2,968 hits so far today.  (Average is 1500/day)

Why the big number???

I think I can finally announce some big news…. I have partnered with Yahoo! to bring my restaurant reviews and news to the Yahoo local home page.  Any article that I publish on the Twin Cities Restaurant Blog will also be seen by the thousands of people in the Twin Cities who use Yahoo.  This has been in the works for several months now and everything is still in “Beta” mode so I am not sure that everyone can see the changes yet, but it is starting to roll out this month.

The article that I published a few days ago “TCRB Editor’s Pick: Best Ribeye” got a ton of traffic and a ton of comments.  Of course there are urban food snobs out there who were not happy with my selections but there were also many people who were very supportive and complimentary.

Hopefully all this traffic puts some more money in my pockets ;)

 

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)
 

Happy Birthday to Dana Leigh (who had a birthday yesterday)

Last Thursday night I met Dana, Ang and Heather for Happy Hour drinks at Joe Sensers in Roseville.

After drinks we went down the street to Good Earth to meet Tanya for dinner. Review of that coming soon ;) We had a nice time and we even got a picture of usKristi Tanya Dana Ang Heather Jan 2012

Looking forward to seeing these ladies again in February ;)

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Things that made me happy this week….

1. Brunch at Kozlak’s with my parents

2. New Orleans Jazz

3. Ruditini’s with Shannon and Denise

4. Phone calls from special friends

5. Having MLK jr Day off

6. A friend’s ultrasound confirmed her 10th baby will be a BOY! The other nine are all girls!

7. Homemade Eggrolls

8. Caribbean Tea and Purple People Drinker during Happy Hour

9. Dinner with Dana, Ang, Heather and Tanya at Good Earth

10. Invite to a special retreat

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)

 

It is hard to believe that my niece Bianca is five years old today.  Crazy how fast that time went, wow!!

Happy Birthday BeBe!

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I am not much of a collector (as an adult) but there are certain things that catch my eye and I just know I have to have it.  Good thing these items are all relatively inexpensive…..

  • Dichroic Glass Pendants
  • Scarves
  • Books (swap!)

My partner, however, is a Collector Maximus.  For real, he collects many different things including hand-painted fishing lures, Magic cards, glass art, concert t-shirts, Warhammer figurines, etc

Things I have collected somewhat as an adult but never kept up with:

  • Shot glasses from places I have visited
  • Take-out menus
  • Turtles
  • Lover statues/figurines
  • Scrapbook materials
  • Kevin Garnett Memorabilia
  • Statehood Quarters

I collected many more things as a kid including:

  • Shells
  • Rocks
  • Postcards
  • Stickers
  • Bouncy Balls
  • Charms
  • Books
  • North Stars Memorabilia

How about you? Do you collect anything? What collections have you had over the years? Does your significant other collect anything?

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)
 

You may have seen one of these before {filled with Vodka}

But what if you came across one of these…. (The Real Thing!)

And PLEASE, forget what you saw in the last Indiana Jones movie.  I am being serious

When were they made?
Who made them?
What do they mean?
What kind of information is stored in these special crystals?

Here is what National Geographic has to say about the Crystal Skulls

Do you believe there is something more to these skulls than meets the eye or do you think it is  a bunch of hocus pocus?

Do you think Skull sculptures (in general) are cool or creepy?

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Okay, so it isn’t Friday today but this post will still be here in a few days when it IS Friday ;)

The week before Christmas I picked up a stack of books I had been wanting to read from my local library…..

Three weeks later and I have made it through 4 & 2/3rd of them plus another that was not in this stack;)

Ape House By Sara Gruen.  I loved Water for Elephants and was very excited to read this second book by the same author.  It was an intriguing story and a very quick read (not as good as WFE though)

Girls in Trouble.  This was a sad story of a teenage girl who gets pregnant and her parents force her to give her baby up for adoption and all the repercussions of open adoption.

Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok.  Beautiful story of a teenage girl who immigrates to American from Hong Kong and her struggles in the new country.  I loved this, highly recommend.  I spent three consecutive nights reading this, I enjoyed it so much.

The Beach Trees by Karen White.  Another great story that was a mystery.  The uncovering of family secrets and missing persons reminded me a lot of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo except this book was much better written! Highly recommend.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret.  This is a juvenile fiction but it is a very quick read and another fun mystery.  I read it in about an hour

We Is Got Him by Carrie Hagen.  This is a true-crime novel about the first child abduction for ransom in America (1874).  Interesting story but is dragging.  I am not as in to non-fiction but I am determined to get this one finished in the next couple of days.

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This year marked the 25th Annual Sauer Family Foosball Tournament.  The crowd was considerably smaller than usual, as we had only around 25 people in attendance, but we still had a good time. The party rotates from year to year but it was at My uncle Joe & Mary’s house this year

My dad, The Commissioner of Foosball, became a first-time Champion with partner Mike (my cousin Katie’s BF)

2012 Foosball Champios- Jim & Mike
A shot of the 2012 Toilet Bowl Trophy
Toilet Bowl Trophy 2012
The bracket…
Foosbal Tourney 2012 Bracket
I was paired with my cousin Theresa’s husband, Andrew. We were eliminated in the first round. I am terrible at Foosball but in my defense, this is the only time I EVER play foosball
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A few of the Tourney….
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And a few other posed shots…
Kristi Brian Jeff Jan 2012
Nick, Julie, Mary and Jake
Bianca and Grandma Jan 2012
Jim, Steve, Joe and Nick
Kristi and Cincy Jan 2012
Mike and Katie Jan 2012
Natalie and David Jan 2012

Its hard to believe this family tradition has prevailed for 25 years now…. that is pretty incredible!

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On this date I have blogged about…

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I’m sick and I’ve felt like crap all week but here are the highlights of the week….

1. Temps in the 40′s and 50′s

2. Beautiful Sunrises

3.  Apples 2 Apples

4.  Restaurant Impossible on Food Network

5. Drawing Contest Entries

6. Brainstorm Game that the kids LOVED

7. Checking out people’s Timeline on FB (pretty cool!)

8. Donuts

9. The Beach Trees

11. The Invention of Hugo Cabret

 

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)
 

For those of you who know me IRL or have followed this blog over the years, know that my MIL is from Japan and that we celebrate a traditional Japanese New Year every year.  The menu changes somewhat each year but we ALWAYS have sushi of some kind that my BILs make….

I love our tradition!
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One thing that I love about the months of Jan-March is that the sun is usually just starting to rise as I leave my house for work each morning.  I often take a very short detour to the frozen shores of White Bear Lake on days that have a beautiful sunrise.  Here is what I captured (from my car window!) yesterday morning….

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Today, in the Twin Cities, we set a record high for this date.

It was 52′ F

52′!!!!  JANUARY in MINNESOTA!!

In Minnesota, January is without doubt our coldest month.  It is typically near 0′F and often gets even colder with the windchill.  Do you remember the 7 Ft snowman that I posted a photo of on New Year’s Eve? Typically a snowman that is 7ft tall built at this time of year would last well into April.

This is what the snowman looked like 7 days later (taken two days ago, on Sunday).  Today he is probably long gone….

Jan 7 2012 Minnesota Snowman Melting

The snow has all melted as well.  It is very, very strange.  I’m not complaining though, it isn’t going to last!

We are due for a deep freeze tomorrow!

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)
 

Christmas is always a busy time of year but my hometown girlfriends and I always try to get together for a dinner date every year in December.  This year we met for a late dinner at Masu Sushi and Robata (the same night as my staff holiday party) and had ourselves a great time.

I love that so many of my friends love sushi as much as I do, there is no shortage of great places to eat in the Twin Cities.  One of the items I saw on the menu was an Oyster Shooter with raw quail egg and my adventurous side desperately wanted to try it.  It didn’t take much convincing to get Bradie and Jessie to order one as well ;)  The description did say “shooter” but we were surprised to find that the oyster and quail egg were in a shot of sake!

The BEFORE….
Jessie Kristi Bradie with Oyster Shooters at Masu copy
The DURING…. (lol, Jess’s face cracks me up!)
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The sushi was delicious!Make sure you read my review of Masu if you would like to see the rest of our meal

And of course the photos of us ladies….
WBL GIrls at Masu Sushi Dec 2011
Bradie and Mandy at Masu Sishi Dec 2011
Andrea and Kelly Dec 2011
Jessie and Kristi at Masu Sushi Dec 2011
The restaurant has a giant mural on the wall of a Japanese woman’s eyes. Jess & Brade thought it would be funny to have a picture of them with the eye, so here it is!
Jessie Eye Bradie at Masu Dec 2011

It was a very fun night with great friends. Can’t wait to meet up with these ladies again soon!

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Where​ did you begin​ 2011?​
Next door, with our neighbors

What was your statu​s by Valen​tine’​s Day?  Not sure what that means but on VDay 2011 my honey and I and some friends went to Famous Daves for dinner

Were you in schoo​l anyti​me this year?​
yes, teaching all year long

Did you have to go to the hospi​tal?​
nope, nor did I visit anyone

Did you have any encou​nters​ with the polic​e?​
yes, in early Dec. after I was rear-ended and became a victim of hit and run

What did you purch​ase that was over $​1000?​
No big purchases last year.

Did you know anybo​dy who got marri​ed?​
??? Don’t think so

Did you know anybo​dy who passe​d away?​
I didn’t lose any people but I lost my two kitties, Pharaoh (3-08-11) and Dusty (4-6-11)

Did you know anyon​e who had a baby?​
My friends Mandy and Becky (I took her maternity photos) and Michelle’s sister Erin. My friend Kelly from college also had a baby.  I hope I didn’t miss anyone! lol

Did you move anywh​ere?​
Nope, still stuck in my crappy POS townhouse

Do you still​ have the same job as you did in 2010?​
Yes, but they extended our school day by an hour each day.  My contract went from 40-45 hours.  Coaching Lego was an additional 5 hours.  I also continued to write restaurant reviews for Twin Cities Restaurant Blog.

Where​ do you live now?
Hugo aka Help Us Get Out

Descr​ibe your birth​day
Fancy dinner at Heartland Restaurant with E, D & D.  Drank a lot of wine and had a great night

What’​s one thing​ you thoug​ht you’​d never​ do but did in 2011?​
I never thought I would have to bury my two fur babies within weeks of each other.  Still heartbroken

What has been your favor​ite momen​t?​
The trip to Chicago and seeing Sade in concert

Any new addit​ions to your famil​y?​
Jeff and Amanda got engaged, so I have a new future SIL. Hoping we can add our own addition asap

What was your best month​?​
August

Were you in a relat​ionsh​ip this year?​
Same relationship into the past three decades!

What music​ will you remem​ber 2011 by?
Sade,

Favor​ite Night​ out?
Seeing Sade in concert,

Do you think​ 2012 will be bette​r or worse​?​
Better, it has to be!

Done somet​hing you’​ve regre​tted?​
I regret every bad decision I make

Cut class​?​
No

Were invol​ved in somet​hing you’​ll never​ forge​t?​
Coaching my Lego Team for the first time

Visit​ed a diffe​rent count​ry?​
Wish I could say yes

Cooke​d a gross​ meal?​
You don’t really want to know! Too many times

Lost somet​hing impor​tant to you?
My cats and the Australian Opal in my favorite ring

Got a gift you adore​?​
the Statue of Pharaoh from Denise

Tripp​ed over a coffe​e table​?​
probably

Dyed your hair?​
yes.  Red, in fact! First time being a red-head

Came close​ to losin​g your life?​
Only in my nightmares

Read a great​ book?​
Several! Great year of books: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series, Hunger Games series, The Book Thief, The Help, On the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, Shadow of the Wind, Kite Runner

Saw one of your favor​ite bands​/​artis​ts live?​
Sade, Eric Gales.  So happy to have FINALLY seen them both for the very first time!!  Also Skywind’s Reunion Show and Sevendust.  Morcheeba

[​[​2011:​ Frien​ds and Enemi​es]​]​

Did you meet any new frien​ds this year?​
No

Did you disli​ke anyon​e?​
Yes, Steve S at Import Auto Sales.  I will forever have a black heart against that man and his business practices and will never forgive him for the court date on the day of Dusty’s death. Long story and maybe someday I shall tell it here.

Did you grow apart​ from anyon​e?​
yes

[​[​2011:​ Your BIRTH​DAY!​]​]​
Did you have a cake?
No

Did you have a party​?​
No, just dinner

Did you get any prese​nts?​
A couple

{2011}

Did you go on any vacat​ions?​
Trip to Chicago, geez, that reminds me to finish the video I started 5 months ago.

Would​ you chang​e anyth​ing about​ yours​elf now?
Yes, I would be a much better cook! lol

[​[​2011:​ Wrap UP:​]​]​
Was 2011 a good year?​
Not a great year

Do you think​ 2012 will top 2011?
I sure hope so!

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)
 

The week before Christmas we had our staff holiday party at a giant restaurant/bar near our school.  It was a party that started during Happy Hour and there was an appetizer buffet set up, courtesy of our school’s Sunshine Committee.  I stayed for a couple of hours before leaving to meet some of my HS girlfriends for a late sushi dinner (separate post on that coming up next!).  I

Some pics from the party….. I work with a bunch of really great people ;)
Kristi and Haley
Vickie, Heidi, Megan, Megan and Janine
MRC Girls and Jaminie
Todd
Bobbie, Sarah, Teresa, Todd, Cynthia, Haley, Jill and Cindy
Barn, Lynne, Judi, Melissa, and Lynnell
Myrna and Heidi

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)
 

Things that made me happy this week:

1. Steak Dinner on New Year’s Eve

2. Champagne

3. Watching the GND make a Giant Snowman

4. Jared Allen gets 22 sacks!!! And sets new Vikings franchise record

5. Sushi dinner for Traditional Japanese New Year

6.  Sauer Family Foosball Tournament

7. Timberwolves Beat reigning NBA Champs, Dallas Mavericks

8. Being back into the groove at school and having really good lessons

9. Discovering my photos are all over Tumblr Blogs

10. Gummy Bears

11. Giving this blog a much-needed new look

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)
 

This blog needed a major Facelift and I think I had about zero creativity in 2011.

Need to work on it in 2012 but here is a start!

PS There is so much html behind the scenes of this blog and it is tricky to monkey with.  I have no idea how my blog turned white but I’ll take it! lol

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Christmas is usually a busy time of year but can you imagine what it would be like to have a Christmas birthday?? My neighbor, Darrell, was born on Christmas Day.  Black Baby Jesus!! lol Every year on Christmas night he and Denise throw a birthday party at their house and invite a bunch of friends and family.  This year was extra special because Darrell turned 40!
A few photos I took that night….
Blowing out candles…
Darrell Blowing out 40th Candles
The birthday boy and his daughter Breanna
Breanna and Darrell Christmas 2011
Birthday Boy with his old homeboy (yes, he put on the Vikes jersey just for this photo!)
Darrell and Ru Christmas 2011
Denise, me and Shannon (ugg, I hate flash!)
Denise Kristi Shannon Christ 2011
A few others from the night…
Tyana with Boys Christmas 2011
Darrell and Drake Christmas 2011
Jere and Dawn Christmas 2011
Jere and Mason Christmas 2011
It was a fun night but kind of low-key compared to past years. We ate and drank a little, talked a lot.
Good times!

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)
 

I am already all over the place since I posted Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, but posts will not be in chronological order and will definitely be retrospective.

So here we go with Christmas 2011…..
Santa Globe
My cousin Zach and his family
Zach and Family Christmas 2011
Me and my Aunt Carol (my mom’s youngest sister & #8 of 8)
Kristi and Carol Christmas 2011
MacKenzie and her boyfriend
MacKenzie and Cody Christmas 2011
Carol and Chris
Carol and Chris Christmas 2011
Carol has a Santa collection, here are a few of them

For Christmas dinner we went to my in-laws where we had roasted duck. After presents, etc we came home and relaxed before heading next door for Darrell’s Annual Birthday Celebration (he is a Christmas Baby). Separate post on that to follow…
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