An Eventful Weekend

Sorry to bore some (most) of you with lists of what I've been up to lately (which is what much of my recent blogging has been), but that is somewhat the purpose of this blog - for me, anyway. I hope to get into some more reflections/thoughts soon, but I've simply been too BUSY to do it! Here's what the last week looked like:

• A nice, low-key Fourth at the cabin with my parents and family friends.
• Quick three-day work week (LOVE short work weeks)
• Took Friday off to judge Miss Northwest. It was the 75th Annual Water Carnival, so they did a nice job of getting many former queens to come back for the evening. All of the judges were past Miss Northwests, and we had fun reminiscing about our favorite parts of our reigns. (Side note: judging is a VERY interesting endeavour. I feel much more at peace with the pageants I didn't win having now served on the other side of things. Judges all are opinionated in their own ways, and even judges can be curious as to who the winner will actually be! When you have evenly matched contestants and a panel that doesn't speak at all about their leanings, it makes for an interesting outcome - which I think is how it should be)
• Went to a cabin on Saturday with friends from high school and their wives. I love, love, love those people. So fun to ride on the boat and attempt to wake board (unsuccessfully - still mad about that....) and laugh, laugh, laugh.
• Went to my cabin Saturday night with my mom and sister. Had a good time chatting, eating, and watching (sleeping through) a movie. Sunday was spent cleaning and I ran a few errands to spruce up the cabin in preparation for many, many weeks straight of guests. So fun!

So, it was an eventful weekend. It was also eventful on the home front - I came home to find the boy had gotten stitches after a run-in with a Mastiff! His five-pound frame looked like a yummy snack to the hundred pound dog! His bad haircut now looks even worse where they shaved his head and neck to do the stitching. He's lucky to be alive, and I'm beginning to think he actually is a cat - with nine lives and all!

Hope you all are getting every single ounce out of summer that you can! It's going to be gone before we know it!!

Holy Cow

I had another weekend worthy of bullet points. If I don't slow down, I may age four years in the next three months! And speaking of aging, I actually change my digits this week! It promises to be an insanely busy week (I am so dreading looking at the week ahead after the busy weekend), but I have my birthday to look forward to!

This weekend consisted of: Thrice concert (HOT and fun), day at the cabin with family and Welps (no kneeboarding, but we kayaked until we wanted our arms to fall off), Welcome Team at church (always love it), helping with food at a grad party (so many great conversations jammed into one day), too many late nights (complete with runs to McDonald's for soft serve), and mornings that were obnoxiously early (BLECH I HATE GETTING UP). I may be in bed at 7 tonight.

First Cabin Trip

(I need to do a better job of real time blogging....)

Last Thursday I took a spur-of-the-moment trip to the cabin to get the renters checked out! It's all mine again!! They were supposed to get moved out by this coming weekend, but they found another place to live and decided to leave early, which was perfect. Now I don't feel a crunch for time in getting them out of the place and getting my stuff ready for summer - especially with the traveling I have coming up this weekend. So the timing on that was great, and even though I had to drive to Brainerd and back in the same night, I was SO HAPPY to be making the first cabin trip!!

I'm thankful for how clean and orderly the renters left the cabin. I'm thankful I had renters so that I could be more financially able to keep the cabin. I'm thankful that the cabin schedule for the summer is getting so full (contact me if you want to spend any time there!!). I'm thankful for my family who will help me get everything in order on Memorial Day Weekend, and for how they love the cabin just as much as I do. I'm thankful for safe trips back and forth each weekend, and for all the great memories we make there! YAY, CABIN SEASON!!

Every Time

My new territory for work has parts of Anoka and Coon Rapids in it. Seriously, every time I start driving on Hwy 10 West I want to merge onto Hwy 169 North and KEEP GOING UNTIL I GET TO THE CABIN.

Every time.

And then I remember that someone else is living there right now, so I just get back to work and think about next summer. CAN'T WAIT.

Part of my itch to go to the cabin was because it had been so long since I had been on a road trip (and let me tell you - I LOVE ROAD TRIPS), but going to Green Bay for the Vikings game last weekend helped to quench that thirst a little bit. Mostly because I had my little sister laughing the HARDEST I have ever seen her laugh EVER on the ride over there.....she had tears dripping off her chin. It was AWESOME. And so fun. ........ ......... and now I want to do it again! That's the problem with road trips.....they are so fun that I just want to do them all the time! Especially when the weather is SO PERFECTLY FALLISH like it has been for the last few days.

I got another little fix this weekend as I drove to camp for a perfect fall weekend at Quilt Retreat. I felt accomplished, even though my sewing machine broke halfway through, and we had a great time of catching up with friends and relaxing. It's not the cabin, but it definitely ranks up there as one of my most favoriteist places on earth ever. ever. Loved it.

Hope you were all able to enjoy the weekend, as well! (can you tell it is bloggy catch-up night for me?!.....)

The Land of Landlords

I've officially entered the Land of Landlords.

Part of the craziness of this week has to do with the fact that I found a renter for my cabin from Labor Day thru Memorial Day. It all happened in exactly a week, but it feels like it has been a month.

Last Tuesday night I decided to place an ad in the Brainerd paper, and by this Tuesday night I had received 10-15 calls, been to the cabin twice, shown it to four possible renters, and gotten a commitment from a nice family with a talkative seven-year-old.

I have many thoughts and emotions about renting the cabin, including...

.....THANKFUL finding a renter took ONE WEEK!
.....grateful that the financial burden of heating a house I don't live in will be taken care of for nine months.
.....excited to be completely free and clear of any debt, and keeping me from being there ever again!
.....a little sad that someone else will be enjoying my (what I think is a) great home.
.....glad that people will be keeping an eye on anything needing attention at the house during the winter months, and that I trust the renters I have to do a good job of this.
.....scared of how long the to do list is when you are a landlord.
.....exhausted from making decisions.
.....confused by making decisions.
.....tired of fielding phone calls (note to self: don't buy a two week ad next year. It may only take one week to find a renter).
.....overwhelmed by the timeline of getting things at the house ready and my personal effects completely moved out.
.....anxious that this will be a stressful experience.
.....hopeful that this will be a good experience.

I feel like I'm embarking on some interesting experiment. I'd appreciate any and all prayers as I wrap up the pre-renting process (repairs, lease, installing phone, internet, TV) and as I enter the actual Land of Landlords.

Final Count

When everyone was settled and tucked in at the cabin this weekend, the final count was nine adults, one seven-month-old, and three dogs. You may think that it was a crazy, insane weekend, but it was actually very relaxing. It was too cold to play on the lake (hello 60 degrees at noon on July 18?!?!? – although the sun did peek through later in the afternoon) so we just enjoyed lazy mornings, yard games, bonfires, a few movies, chatting, and late nights.

LOVE THE CABIN.

I’ve also reached the point in the summer where I can count my remaining trips to the cabin on one hand. BOO.

Me Likey

Today was a really great day:

• I FINALLY closed on my refinancing. Now I will save money, which makes me happy.
• I had to go to Brainerd for the closing, so I took the day off work and read on the dock ALL DAY. It was sunny and mild. PERFECT.
• Went over to the neighbors' and sat in their new hot tub with the girls for awhile.
• I came up with plans and dreams for the cabin. Most likely none of them will ever happen, but it is fun to dream.
• Went running for the first time since the 5K in May. I barely ran 2 miles (and I am in a 5K next week....ugh...) but I didn't have a problem with my foot, so that is good news.
• I love having friends at the cabin, but I also like a day there by myself. It is such a retreat for me.
• Great time in the car on the way there and back listening to interviews, music, and chatting on the phone.

Today was much needed after a crazy-busy weekend including a wedding, watching a triathlon, playing at the cabin, going to church, a picnic with friends, and only six-seven hours of sleep. Now I feel rested, refreshed, and ready for the week. Now if I only could never work another Monday in my life....

Birthday Week 2009

Oh, it was a very fun week! Here is a list of some EXCELLENT things from the week:

• Went to LaCrosse last Friday for my sister's graduation from Residency. We ate at Fridays where they have AMAZING Jack Daniels menu items. YUM!
• We "celebrated" Father's Day there and Dad is pretty EXCITED about our gift to him (motorcycle rental for a day).
• We also celebrated my birthday where my sisters announced their gift to me: tickets to the SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE TOUR!
• The next day there was a picnic for my sister's graduation where we learned to play croquet. New favorite yard game!
• That night we went to a banquet for my sister's graduation. SUCH an accomplishment!
• I then ate Chicken McNuggets at midnight on the way home......to stay awake. And because I wanted too. And because they are delicious and I hadn't had any in SO LONG.
• I was on Welcome Team for church, which I totally love!
• Four people got baptized after church
• Then we had a picnic on that very hot day, where we played sand volleyball until I wanted to pass out, and it was SO FUN
• Monday night was spent helping some best good friends move back just a few blocks away! YAY! The night was gorgeous and a bunch of us stuck around to eat and laugh and it was good times had by all.
• Tuesday was the Twins game: DOME DOG, fun friends, Mauer went 4 for 4, and we won!
• Wednesday was kickball: my team surprised me with a cake and a gorgeous card!
• We also happened to beat the only other undefeated team in the league that night, so now we are in first place!
• Thursday (my actual birthday) started with leftover cake for breakfast!
• Had a very productive day at work, for good measure
• PANCHO VILLA for my birthday dinner! Thoughtful friends, great food!
• Received beautiful flowers from my aunt
• Lazy day off on Friday (finishing up work from the week and getting ready to head to the cabin)
• Basketball friends at the cabin - they also surprised me with a cake (complete with sparkler-candles)!
• S'mores, bonfires, late night board games, yard games, grilling, and ABSOLUTELY PERFECT WEATHER...
• Learned to knee board (my friends brought knee boards instead of wake boards, so that is what I learned, and I liked it!)
• We also had JET SKIS for the weekend!! MY FAVORITE!!!

Can't think of much else. Needless to say it was a FANTASTIC Birthday Week!! My thanks to everyone who went the extra mile with surprises and kind words and coming out to celebrate with me! I feel BLESSED. I also feel older, because all this activity has left me EXHAUSTED!!

First Trip Observations

Made my first trip to the CABIN today!! Here are some observations I made:

• Gas is $.13 cheaper in the cities than near Brainerd. Good to know. I will need to keep an eye on this as the summer goes on.
• The colors on the drive are currently brown and grey. Soon (I hope) they will be GREEN and GREENER.
• There is still ice on the lake.
• I also saw a loon on the lake. I LOVE hearing their call. They must like COLD water.
• The gas tank on my new car is significantly smaller than the tank on the car I was driving last summer.
• There is a small (or possibly large) community of MICE living in the cabin. Oy vey. I need to remedy that over the next month. I didn't SEE any mice, but there was PLENTY OF EVIDENCE. Grr.

Overall the trip to the cabin was great! There is so much cleaning to be done, though....

Looking Forward

Haven't been blogging much lately. Haven't really been in the mood. Haven't really been in the mood for anything. Kinda in a funk. Much of the funk is due to my sadness over the fact that one of my favorite best friends won't be living in the same state as me anymore. (Don't get me wrong, it's exciting for them and all, but it is also sad. I love her! Her husband is great! Her baby is the bestest ever! I want to be around for everything going on in their lives. But alas, we will have to invest in webcams.) Combine that with the probable stress fracture in my left foot, annual reviews at work, and the dreary weather (until today).....it's just been.....blah.

BUT.

There is something I am EXTREMELY EXCITED about.

IT'S ALMOST CABIN TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I (thankfully) worked a conference today, so I was done at noon. I had heard on the radio that the Lake Home and Cabin Show was going on this weekend in Minneapolis, so I took the extra time I had this afternoon and headed over there. It was fun to browse and dream and scheme. I seriously CAN'T WAIT to head up to the cabin!!!

There are definitely times when I get a little stressed about owning a home - especially one that I don't live in! But the anticipation of spending quality time up there with friends and family, and all by myself, makes the stress seem insignificant. I always pray that the cabin will be a blessing to everyone who takes the time to head up there, because it is a big blessing to me. And I'm so excited to share it!! BRING ON THE SPRING!

Brutal

You might recall how I'm very excited about fall.

There's just one small detail I forgot about.

ALLERGIES!

I seriously wanted to scratch my face off all weekend. All I had at the cabin to take was Benadryl, so I spent the weekend in a tired haze. I also could barley breath thanks to the congestion, and my eyes, nose, throat (FACE IN GENERAL) never. stopped. itching!

I'm doing a little better now, thanks to rain, cooler weather, and better meds. I just forgot how brutal my allergies can be, and how being up north on a dry, windy weekend magnifies it all. Oh well. Still very excited about fall, especially with the gorgeous temps and FOOTBALL right around the corner!!!