Travel » Mi Vida Ocupada

By the Bullets

Aug 032011

I am blog slacker lately!! Would you guess that I have been on vacation for the past two weeks?

I just read a shout-out to bloggers by one of my oldest blogging buddies, Nicole, stating that she misses our old blogging community. I agree! I know most of you are still out there and I am not as good about commenting now as I used to be either. Maybe Facebook is to blame for it all! lol. Anyway, Nicole’s post reminded me that I do indeed have this blog and that I should be posting three times a week. Gonna try to make it happen.

So what is new?

I am heading to Chicago for 5 days where I will spend time with family, tour the city, eat, eat, eat, and then I am going to see Sade in concert at the United Center. Can. Not. Wait. I will be there in less than 24 hrs from now.
I have been reading like crazy. Just finished Shadow of the Wind. Excellent book!
My stargazer lilies are gorgeous and so fragrant! Hoping to post photos of them before October ;)
Thinking of trading in my car again. Had a flat tire and another headlight go out this week. Just more signs that I should get rid of it. One of these days I promise I will blog about how I sued my car dealer in conciliation court and won a case against him and how it took me damn near a year to get the money he owed me. I’ve been meaning to blog about that. The car just serves as bad memories
August is here, can you believe it? I am back to work on Monday already. Glad I got a two week summer vacation!
Last year I was in Austin, Texas during the first week of August.
Two Years ago I was in Colorado during the first week of August.
This year I will be in Chicago the first week of August.
I guess I like to travel in August ;)
I have several other events to blog about so I will try to schedule some posts while I am on vacation

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)

Tuesday Top 10: Cities to Live In

Top 10, Travel 3 Responses »

May 032011

Sometimes I dream of living somewhere other than the Twin Cities. I actually do love living here but there are other cities that I think I would love to live in (given I earned as much $ and cost of living was comparable)

1. Austin, TX

2. San Diego, CA

3. Portland, OR

4. Seattle, WA

5. Tucson, AZ

6. Anywhere in Hawaii

7. Boulder, CO

8. Vancouver, BC

9. Santa Fe, NM

10. Anywhere along Gulf Coast in FL

11. Boston, MA

What cities would you love to live in?

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)

A Pleasant Mini-Vacation at Mystic Lake

Travel 5 Responses »

Jan 092011

A few months ago Mystic Lake Casino had us down to try their new Italian Steakhouse, Il Premio. We absolutely LOVED it. They recently invited us back to try the new winter holiday menu at the Buffet, which was also very good.

Since we had a ways to drive, they put us up in a luxurious room for the night and set us up with full treatments at the Spa. It was awesome!!

Suite Living Room at Mystic Lake Hotel ~ Prior Lake, MN

Suite Bedroom at Mystic Lake Hotel ~ Prior Lake, MN

Mosaic at Mystic Lake Hotel

Treatment Room at Mystic Lake Spa

Buffet at Mystic Lake Casino ~ Prior Lake, MN

Prime Rib at Mystic Lake Buffet ~ Prior Lake, MN

American Station at The Buffet at Mystic Lake

I love my job with the Twin Cities Restaurant Blog!!

We ate ourselves silly, relaxed & watched a movie, then spent most of the night playing Blackjack in the Casino….. it was a lot of fun!!

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)

The Snow Makes Me Want to Fly Away….

Great Outdoors & Weather, Travel 7 Responses »

Nov 132010

We had our first official snowfall overnight….. 6″ or so.

First Snowfall of the Season

Despite living in MN nearly my whole life, I am not one of those cheery winter people. Instead, the first sight of snow makes me want to pack my suitcase and head out of town. It would have to be a big suitcase because I wouldn’t want to come back until April or so! LOL

Where would I go right now if I had the time and money to head out of town???

Costa Rica

Tucson, AZ

Hawaii

Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico

Who’s with me??? Does the sight of snow make you want to fly somewhere warm too?? Where would you go right now??

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)

An Autumn Day in Taylor’s Falls…..

Great Outdoors & Weather, Photography, Travel 9 Responses »

Oct 102010

Last Sunday we went with some friends to Taylor’s Falls on the St Croix River (the border between MN and WI). We hiked the cliffs and had a picnic in the middle of the woods. It was fun! Oh, and of course I took a bunch of photos :)

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)

A Goodbye, Texas Sunset…..

Photography, Travel 4 Responses »

Aug 262010

I just realized I haven’t posted these sunset photos yet. I took them on the last official night I was in Austin. I saw the sky start to change color as I was driving west after having a wonderful pesto dinner at my friend Samantha’s house. I pulled over in a local Supermarket parking lot, found a cool palm tree for the shot and went to town with my camera.

Austin Sunset

And then I rode out of Texas with the sunset…….

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)

Fun at the Hula Hut!

Travel 1 Response »

Aug 212010

During the last week I was in Texas, I headed out to the Hula Hut for a late dinner with my pal Carolyn. Hula Hut is on Lake Austin, which is a section of the Colorado River that is dammed up to create the lake. I was out there last summer and had fish tacos for the first time ever. I have had countless fish tacos since then but Hula Hut will always be a special place to me ;) Of course I had the fish tacos again this year and will be writing a review soon.

Neon Sign @ Hula Hut ~ Austin, TX

Pier @ Hula Hut ~ Austin, TX

Dam at Lake Austin ~ View from Hula Hut

Hula Hut Deck ~ Austin, TX

Mango & Lime Frozen Margarita @ Hula Hut ~ Austin, TX

Sunset over Lake Austin

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)

Day Trip to San Antonio….

Friend Time, Travel, Video Blogs, Videos 2 Responses »

Aug 152010

A few weeks ago while still in Texas, I took a drive down to San Antonio with Chaitra and Linda one weekend. I had been to San Antonio once before (11 years ago) but really wanted to see the Riverwalk and Alamo once again. I am kind of bummed that I didn’t take any video footage at all while spending the whole summer in Texas, but I finally remembered to take some while in San Antonio. With the help of Animoto, I created this little video with some of my video footage and photos from that day. Hope you like!

PS The song is San Antonio Rose by Willie Nelson. A little too twangy for my taste but goes perfectly with the video!

PPS Click the smaller play button on the left side, as the big play button in the center will play the video in full screen and totally distort it

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)

Differences between Texas and Minnesota ~ My Observations

Random Thoughts & Updates, Travel 5 Responses »

Aug 102010

Howdy!

So, I finally made it back home to Minnesota for the long haul. It has been a whirlwind since I got back. I arrived home just before 2am on Saturday, got up a few hours later to help MSP shoot the wedding of Melissa, one of my friends from work (I was just practicing, this was Michelle‘s gig). I had Sunday off then went back to work bright and early Monday morn. A workshop for work, actually, and it is pretty fun.

Anyway, I still have a lot of photos to go through, etc before I start another run of blog posts but I had to sneak this one in real quick. After spending the summer in Texas, I started making a mental note of all the different things I noticed between my home state of MN and my home-away-from home, TX. Here is that list:

The sun rises earlier and stays out much later in St Paul (45′ Latitude) than it does in Austin (30’32″ latitude). I always knew this but it was so much more obvious this summer while in TX. The reason being that MN is so much further north and tilted closer to the sun. I love the longer days and missed it.
Students in Texas (probably all over the South) address their teacher as “Miss” or “Mister”……. without attaching their last name to it. It is not meant to be disrespectful, that is just how it is. That never happens in MN! It is almost always Ms ____ or Mr _____.
Teachers in Texas make FAR LESS than MN teachers. The salary only increases by $500 a year down there and there is no real raise for having a Masters degree. In MN you can make anywhere from $4-6k more per year by having a Masters, even more by having up to a PhD. I would have to work in Texas for 35 years to make what I am making in MN now. (Guess I am glad I teach in MN!)
There are a million panhandlers in Austin. One on every corner, seemed like. Not as common in the Twin Cities (although they do exist)
Everyone listens to country music in TX. Didn’t hear any heavy metal on the airwaves at all. Missed it! The jury is still out as to whether country music has grown on me. Its probably the only genre of music that is not in my repertoire.
Minnesotans and Texans each have distinct accents. Mine was very noticable to many people when I first got down there. I mean DOOOntcha knOOOOw I am from MinnEsOtAaaaa? but then I started to find myself saying ya’ll in the most Texan of ways. (But what do I know? I am practically hearing impaired. Damn heavy metal) Haven’t heard my accent? Watch an old video blog like this one. Haven’t done one of these in about a year now. That was when I broke my old camera. I still miss that G9
Just outside of Austin is the Factory of the most delicious ice cream, Blue Bell. I adore it with all my heart. Banana Pudding ice cream? With real bananas and vanilla wafers? Omg, The homemade Vanilla is pretty amazing too. You can find pints of it in yummy flavors everywhere you go. Trouble for ice cream addicts! I swear I only had a few pints total all summer ;)
The crickets in Texas are huge and black and they would probably destroy their smaller cousins in Minnesota. Those buggers are extremely loud and it is not pleasant at all when one finds its way into your hotel air conditioning unit and proceeds to chirp all night long. Why does that always seem peaceful in the movies? I used to feed crickets to my leopard geckos years ago when I bred them and they didn’t bother me as much.
There is road construction absolutely everywhere in MN this summer whereas I experienced only one patch of road construction that I found in Austin. Bad roads are usually a result of winter weather conditions.

I know there were so many more things I have thought of but since I didn’t write them down, some have escaped my thoughts. I will add more if I think of them……

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)

Sunset at the Oasis {2010 Version}

Friend Time, Great Outdoors & Weather, Travel 11 Responses »

Aug 052010

One of the coolest things to do in Austin is to head out to The Oasis on Lake Travis to see the sunset. Last year I made the trek all by myself but this year I had Carolyn and Chaitra to keep me company. We went together after dinner with the big group of work friends. It was such a beautiful night! The first in many that it was clear and not raining (it has been a very rainy summer down here in TX) although it was HOT…..

Enjoying the sunset (and the Frozen Margarita- which had a floater of Chambord)

The Oasis is Ginormous, with seating to fit over 1000. They are building a new addition right now as well, so I am sure it is going to be even more magnificent when it is done. Hopefully I will see it for myself next summer ;)

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)

Last Big Hurrah with Work Friends……

Friend Time, Travel No Responses »

Aug 052010

Last week several of the people who have been working on the projects down here in Texas went out for a Mexican dinner at Casa Chapala. Great food and great company! Many of these people either finished the project that they were working on last Friday or had plans to go out of town this week. So this was it, our last big group time. Chaitra also came along even though she didn’t work with us this summer (she is a teacher however!). I introduced her to Linda, Kiyana, and Ted weeks ago and she has been hanging with all of us ever since.

Teachers rock!! Especially those who teach math and career/technical education!

Yes, that is me with the sombrero! Of course I had to steal it off the wall for this photo but you only live once and I had to do it ;)

I will miss this group but hope to see them all again next summer!

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)

Brunch at Trudy’s North Star

Food and Drink, Friend Time, Travel No Responses »

Aug 052010

Got a group together one Sunday a few weeks ago for brunch at Trudy’s North Star. Trudy’s is a very popular Tex-Mex restaurant in Austin and the brunch was delicious! Read my review here.

Ted, Kiyana, Erik, Doris, me, Carolyn, Linda and Samantha

This is my buddy Erik and his girlfriend Doris who was visiting for the weekend from their home in Miami. We all loved her! Thank goodness for Facebook so we can stay in touch ;)

Later that night me, Carolyn, Erik and Doris went to Home Slice for NY Style Pizza. MMMMmmm! Very good (but not as good as Cossetta’s back home!)
<

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)

Dinner at the Clay Pit….

Friend Time, Travel 1 Response »

Aug 052010

One night last week I went with Kiyana, Linda, Ted and Chaitra to the Clay Pit, a fabulous Indian restaurant located in downtown Austin. This was my first experience eating Indian food and I really enjoyed it! Read my review here.

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)

These Boots were Made for Walking….

Photography, Travel 5 Responses »

Aug 042010

I went shopping a few weeks ago down on SoCo (South Congress St) with my friend Lee Ann and her teenage daughter. I saw a really cool display of boots in a vintage clothing store that were just begging for me to shoot them…….

Wall of Boots

These Boots were Made for Walking

Cowboy Boots

We spent a lot of time at the Art/Jewelry Flea Market. Local artists come and sell their hand-made goods. Here are a few things that I thought were really cool…..

These feathers are all natural, not dyed. They looked very Native to me and I thought they were gorgeous!

Beautiful Feather Wall Hanging

I also love pottery and thought these platters and piggies were pretty….

Pottery

I got a couple of cool thing for myself including two new glass pendants and a bracelet made of shell.

Last Nights in Austin (so sad!)

Friend Time, Travel 1 Response »

Jul 132010

The project that I was hired for in Austin was brought to a halt (mid-way) due to a legal issue. We got word toward the end of the third week that the project could not continue until things were worked out and that they were sending me and the other two who traveled back home that weekend (everyone else lives in Austin). I was very upset to hear this news, on many different levels. Fortunately I got to spend the last few nights in Austin with some friends, and eating at restaurants that I had on my list that I had not yet visited.

Thursday night at East Side Cafe with Linda, Charnay and Chaitra (Read my review here)

Friday night at Chuy’s with Summer and Chaitra

Later Friday night I drove out to Samantha’s place where she was having a Rock Band party. I had only tried Rock Band briefly once prior, but it was a lot of fun! On Saturday Samantha took me to Trudy’s for Brunch. Heavenly Mexican and Best brunch I have had all for $9.95. Review to come on that as well……

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)

Asian Feast (by the lovely Linda!)

Food and Drink, Friend Time, Travel 3 Responses »

Jul 092010

One of the best things about being in Austin this year is all the awesome friends I have made and hung out with. Last summer I did a lot of sight-seeing and dining alone while in Austin. This year it has been all about the social stuff. Last week the lovely Linda had a group of us over for a really great dinner. This week it was even better and even more fun!

Linda seriously amazes me with her cooking. This girl goes all-out!!

Here is the Asian Feast that she cooked for us (you couldn’t find better at a restaurant and ya’ll know I am a serious foodie)…..

General Tso’s Chicken

Some photos with my Austin peeps ;)

I will surely miss this group……

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)

Vino 100 & Trivia Night

Food and Drink, Friend Time, Travel 1 Response »

Jul 092010

If you are ever in the Austin area, I highly suggest stopping by Vino 100 in Round Rock, TX (just north of Austin) to try the sauce-less lasagna. O.M.G. The best lasagna ever (and I am usually a big fan of sauce but this was absolutely perfect without it. It had ground italian sausage, panchetta, sun dried tomato, ricotta and mozzarella.(Read my Review Here!). Tuesday night is Teacher Appreciation, get 20% off food. What a deal! Of course there is also a great selection of wines too ;)

Sauceless Lasagna at Vino 100 ~ Round Rock, TX

Samantha, me, Lauren, Summer and Carolyn. Teachers rock!

After dinner a group of us headed across the parking lot to Third Base, a place with a giant patio and Tuesday Night Trivia. Teams compete against each other for Gift Cards at the restaurant. Competition is fierce and the questions can be hard! There are 11 questions for each Category and around 8 categories a night. Some of the categories they have had the two times I played were Friends (tv show), Country Music, Sports, Infomercials, Sex Drugs & Rock N Roll, The Hangover (movie), 80′s Rock, Random Shit, etc. Fun stuff!

I love Tuesdays in Austin ;)

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)

Austin Hospitality

Food and Drink, Friend Time, Travel 4 Responses »

Jul 022010

I have met some really cool people these past couple of years while working in Austin. Recently I met Linda, another teacher who is working on a similar project as me. Linda invited me and a few others to her home on Wednesday for a home-cooked meal. I brought along my friend Chaitra who lives here in Austin. What a feast, and a beautiful one at that!

First the food pics:

Chicken Curry

Pad Thai

Fried Plantains

Now some of the people pics! We stayed up talking for hours after dinner. It was great :)

Me and Chaitra

Looking forward to hanging out and eating with these ladies again while I am down here :)

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)

Crape Myrtle Trees

Great Outdoors & Weather, Photography, Travel 6 Responses »

Jun 282010

How ya’ll doing?

Wanted to share some of these beautiful Crape Myrtle trees with you (just in case you live in the Northern parts where these beauties do not grow). They are blooming everywhere right now in Texas! Oh… have I mentioned publicly yet that I am in Texas for the summer?! Well, I am ;)