Baby Wolf

I created a website for all the latest and greatest news on Baby Wolf. Check it out here.


And as of yesterday, there are only two months left until he's due!!! Everything is still going smoothly, although my feet are getting harder and harder to access and washing dishes at the sink is turning into a challenge (go go gadget arms!). 


Lots to do still on getting Baby Wolf's room ready and gathering supplies, but we couldn't be more excited to meet this little guy. He's a pretty active little thing and if his latest movements are any indication, he has a great future as either a member of Riverdance, a ninja or a soccer player. Eric says his wild in utero activity means he'll be taking after me - look out world!


Anyone care to guess his actual arrival date?

A New Chapter

I always knew that 28 was going to be a big year for me - and so it is. Eric and I are expecting the birth of our first child on July 8th. As long as he (yes he) isn't late, I will still be 28 years old. If I'm 29 when he arrives, I think I'll be okay too.


Things have been going well so far and I don't take for granted that it's been fairly easy for me. No morning sickness at all and there are times when I actually forget that I'm pregnant. But then the little guy gives me a judo chop and I remember with a smile. 


This has been one of the most amazing experiences of my life so far and every day I am in awe at the creation of this little life. There is much to do and lots to prepare for, but Eric and I couldn't be happier to continue on this journey.

What I Did On My Summer Vacation, er, I mean Life

  This summer has been a busy one for Eric and me. It was the first full summer in our new house and that left us with plenty of outdoor projects to tackle. The garden ended up being enormously successful - almost too much so, as we had to fashion extra tomato cages and twine and stakes to keep the plants standing upright. As a result, we've been gorging ourselves on several different varieties of fresh heirloom tomatoes - they just might be my favorite food. That and cheese.

  We were also able to finally get our first gas grill, thanks to my parents chipping in on it for Eric's birthday. It is probably my favorite thing ever. Next to my iPhone. I expect to start grilling pretty much everything we eat now - can you grill spaghetti? :) 

   Also this summer I was able to spend a weekend in Memphis, where my parents now live as well my sister, her husband and their four children. Three of my siblings and I flew in to Memphis as a birthday surprise for my Mother - and the look on her face as she encountered us in the middle of Costco was priceless.

   We also took an amazing 3,500 mile trip out to Utah and back for my youngest sister's wedding, managing to stop through many state and national parks on the way to and fro. Although the intent was to camp each night, the weather had other plans and we were only able to camp one night of the trip - although the gorgeousness of the Tetons more than made up for that.

    But our camping desires would not be vanquished, so for Eric's birthday we went up north to Minnesota's border with Canada over Labor Day weekend for a few gloriously perfect days of solitude. I say solitude because we were practically the only ones at Zippel Bay State Park. But we didn't mind that one bit.

    Other summer adventures included concerts (Patty Griffin, Amos Lee and Brandi Carlile), many trips to the Farmer's Market, bike rides, making jam and pickles, and celebrating Spain's World Cup Victory with Eric and my parents for my 28th!!! birthday.

    Over the last week, the weather has started to cool off a bit, which means the imminent undertaking of an extensive (and expensive!) furnace replacement project. It seems after 61 years of chugging along it's time to have it replaced. But hopefully the Fall will also bring with it more campfires, more tomatoes, more family adventures and especially more grilling.


P.S. Check out my latest contribution to Finance and Commerce HERE.
P.P.S. And for my latest experiment chronicling my life in daily photos, check out The Day-ly View.

Day-ly View

I'll admit it. I've been totally lax in updating this blog. My apologies to all. 

Since I am now 28!!! I am going to try to get back in the habit of writing, and that includes writing on this blog. The last year has been one of the most eventful and crazy of my life and my goal in this 28!!!th year is to refocus my attention on the things that I love and that make me who I am.

Why all the !!!s behind 28!!!? All I know is that my fingers keep finding the exclamation key after the 2 and the 8 come together. 28!!! See? It happened again! 

Ever since I can remember I have wanted to be 28!!! I have thought of this age as a magical and wonderful age where things would really fall into place and happen for me. Yes, this sounds a little hokey, but I think we can only judge that in retrospect. Maybe this really will be the year that I look back and say, "Man, when I was 28!!! things really fell into place and happened for me." Will I say this because it was inevitable or will I say this because I made it happen? Who knows, but either way it works, right?

As part of this 28!!!th year, I decided it would be interesting to try to capture at least one picture a day. For this initiative I've started a new additional blog called 'Day-ly View' (http://daylyview.blogspot.com/), where I will post these pictures. I've invited Eric to post photos there as well, so it should be pretty interesting. If you'd like to part of this experiment as well, let me know and I will send you the email address where you can publish photos right to the site. The more the merrier!

Anyone else have any ideas on how to make 28!!! the best year EVER?

Twins On The Brain

Eric and I went to the second-ever Twin's game at the new Target Field a couple of weeks ago. And even though it rained almost the entire game and even though the Twins lost in a heart breaker, we had so so so much fun. I finally get what everyone was saying about part of the magic of baseball has to do with being outside.

The view of downtown was incredible, the food lived up to the hype and I don't remember the last time I saw that many people so happy to be at a losing sporting event. We've officially caught the Twin's fever and these days even Harper is sporting a Twin's bandanna around his neck. Go Twins!

And on a related note, here's my latest contribution to Finance & Commerce:

Finance & Commerce

Association update: Stadium game not over yet

by Patty Day, Minneapolis Builders Exchange, Guest Commentary

As Twins open beautiful new stadium, Vikings, Saints still vying for new home

With the long-anticipated opening of Target Field and the start of baseball season, Twins fever is in the air. Water coolers are abuzz with baseball chatter and residents are flocking to the new stadium with a new sense of pride for the beautiful (and earth-friendly) sports venue. Other local sports teams are attempting to cash in on these feelings of good will by pitching their own visions of new sports arenas in Minneapolis and St. Paul.

Read the whole article HERE.

And if you're still hungry for more about the Twins, you should definitely watch this:

Latest Article

Click here for a link to my latest Finance & Commerce contribution, which was published March 30th.

P.S. Work on the house continues - updates and photos coming soon!

2010 Winter Adventure

Here's a few photos from Eric and my trip up to Alexandria, Minnesota, last month for a dog sled ride. Enjoy!

Pants-On-The-Ground Monday

I can't get enough of all this "Pants on the Ground" business. How about you?

P.S. Go Vikes!

P.P.S. Sorry Jeff.

Still Writing...

Since I've been asked recently whether I am getting the chance to write at all these days, I thought I'd post a link to my latest writing efforts. At the moment, I am getting the chance to write an article every other month for the one of the big business newspapers in the the twin cities. It's been fun to test out my writing chops a bit, and I'm really looking forward to doing more of this type of thing in the future.

Here it is!

Prospero Ano

Since I have no idea where I'll be over the next few days, I thought I'd go ahead and post some New Year's well wishes to all of you. It's been a year full of momentous life changing events, and it's finally come to an end. Eric's new job, buying a house, moving, travels, funerals, pregnancies (not mine!), and lessons learned. The list seems small in comparison to the amount of memories and life crammed into the past year.

I wish you all the best for the new year. May you experience everything life has to offer. May your dreams be realized. And may you all find more love than you know what to do with. :)

And to ring in the new year, here's a mash-up of 2009's top 25 songs. Enjoy!

Must Be Santa

"Must be Santa" song + Bob Dylan + Polka + Wig = Merry Christmas Everyone!

For those who like something a little less crazy, check out "White Christmas" by Snowden on this website. I can't get over the beauty of this song. (Just push the play button, you won't regret it!)

And for more awesome Christmas music picks, go HERE. (Gotta love NPR)

And for some festive Christmas music streaming, go HERE. (Yes I am obsessed with NPR, okay?)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Singing Bird

It's been a while since I've been to a concert. Even longer since I've had my jaw drop open in awe at something. Both happened this week at a much anticipated (by me) Andrew Bird concert held at a local Episcopalian cathedral. The combination of music and echo and hallowed space made for a unique and breathtaking event.

We were crammed into the pews, but no one cared. It was negative something outside (does it matter much after -1?), but no one cared. It started late, but no one cared.

I was so moved by the intense passion he displayed and by his ability to layer sound after sound after sound, creating a rich, overwhelming sound. He used large horns to project the sound (versus a traditional P.A. system), which added to the whimsy and mysticalness of it.

To be moved by a single person putting all of their talent on display confidently and unabashedly is moving. What a wonderful memory.

And It's Not Even Halloween...

Could someone please tell the weather makers that it's too early for 2 inches of snow?! Here's hoping that this is just a fluke and not the beginning of a long and early winter season. Brrrrr......

Below are photos of my house and car on Monday morning when I left for work:

New Home Glow

Buying a new home (or an old 1924 one like I did) is a bit like getting a new puppy. It is such a wonderful day the day you get the puppy and you make big plans for how you're going to walk it everyday and train it perfectly and feed it the best food. You throw all your effort into the puppy and every spare moment is spent consumed with the puppy and the new happiness it has brought into your life. As time goes on, you still do your best to exercise it and groom it and teach it new tricks and commands, but you get busy. And before you know it, you have a middle-aged dog who has taken over half of the couch and is looking at you like, 'Could we talk about my diet and exercise regime because I have some concerns.'

Eric and I have thrown ourselves into our new house and we love it. Our social calendar is filled with trips to Home Depot and building shelves and unpacking boxes. We've made a master list of all the things we hope to do to the house in the short-term and we have some big ideas for the long-term. Our dinner discussions are filled with what needs to be fixed and what are dreams for the house are. And we are happy.

But it is funny to me to talk to those who have owned homes for a long time - especially those who have owned the same home for a long time. They are like the older dog owners who shake their heads at the new puppy owners. They say, 'Yeah, I said I was going to do that to my house too, but it's been 20 years and it's still on my to-do list,' or 'You don't have to do everything at once - it doesn't have to be perfect.' Well to them I say, 'Don't rain on my parade.'

I love working with my hands and putting the love and care into something I own. It makes me happy to make plans and have dreams and to finally be carving out a small place in the world for my family. And I'm so glad that I get to spend so much time with Eric doing it. So let me have my enthusiasm and my big ideas. We'll probably slow down eventually, but I'm in no rush to do it.

And yes, Harper, I promise I will use some of that new enthusiasm to take you on more walks. So quit looking at me like that...

Happy Bunnies

I came across this AMAZING video today and just had to share it here. (thanks Dooce!) The song is beautiful, the animation is amazing, and who doesn't just LOVE bunnies? (I'm raising my hand right now.) Also, if you can believe it, this is just a video made by a fan of the song, not a video put out by the musicians. Some dude spent a ton of time doing this for the love of the music, which is really inspiring. So, here's to a happy bunny tune:

P.S. And a happy, happy birthday to a fabulous mom. :)

P.P.S. If you're interested in more great, new music, check out this site: NPR's All Song's Considered 'Best Music of 2009 (So Far)'.

Two Weeks - Grizzly Bear from Gabe Askew on Vimeo.

Swans a Swimming

Since the bathroom picture on the last post didn't quite capture the beautiful elegance of our shower screen swans, I thought I'd post a better one for your enjoyment:

And can't you just picture this happening the next time Eric takes a bath...

And for those of you playing 'Where's Harper', here's a larger photo:

Before and During

My life pretty much revolves around our new house these days. (I'm sure this is a big surprise to most of you.) My schedule usually goes like this:

1. wake up

2. stumble around the house looking for an outfit because I have no clue where anything is

3. go to work

4. do some boring work stuff

5. drive home and try to remember where we live (I ended up at our old apartment by accident last week)

6. eat some junky fast food because cooking would require me to spend valuable time not working on the house

7. work on the house

8. have Eric pry me away from whatever I'm working on (I get in the zone, okay?)

9. shower after first checking the bath tub for scary bugs

10. go to bed

Things are coming along, albeit slowly. Eric and I have taken to saying at least twice a night: "Everything always takes longer than you think it's going to." But slowly, the house is coming together and seeing the results of all our hard work is heartening. I'm no where near putting pictures of these results online, however, but here are a few befores and durings for you to feast on. (And a special thanks to Biggie and Mom for driving up a couple weeks ago to help out!)

Our living room - notice the lace curtains. This room has been painted and is pretty close to being complete.

The Dining Room - more lace curtains.

The kitchen - oh boy, what can I say? This will be replaced at some point, but for now, we've spiced up the cabinets a bit and bleached EVERYTHING.

The Bathroom - I'm not sure if you can tell from this photo, but there are swans on that glass. Yup. Swans.

Our Bedroom - This room was sanded by Biggie and then painted bright blue. We haven't managed to get to the green room or the purple room yet, but it's sort of nice to be able to refer to the rooms this way, so we might just leave them for a bit.

Mom glossing our kitchen cabinets.

Eric and Biggie working on the bedroom

Me painting the horrible kitchen cabinets.

Eric - he's a taping machine.

Can you spot Harper in this one? He's doing what he does best - looking mopey and lying around.

Turning 27

A belated thank you to everyone who made a fuss over me on my birthday a few weeks ago. The last few weeks have been consumed by the house and the moving, but I wanted to back up a bit and make sure I let you all know how grateful I am for the presents and well wishes. I think it's wonderful that we all get one day a year to spoil the ones we love, and you all did a great job for me!

P.S. Pictures and updates of the progress on the new house coming soon.

Isn't that a fabulous scarf? (Thanks Mom & Dad)

Harper doing a little jig for me.

The obligatory birthday photo. (Didn't Eric do a great job at picking out this blouse?)

The grounds at our dinner destination in Wisconsin.

Me and my amazing (and handsome) husband in a gorgeous valley in Wisconsin, where we had dinner. You couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day!

No Rain, No Rainbow

I have much to cover since my last post, but not enough energy at the moment to do it justice, so instead I will post a video that I found extremely satisfying. I finally get what Sarah Palin's trying to say! (see my confusion here).

Stay tuned for updates on the new house and how Harper is convinced that the air intake grate is going to eat him...

Service with a Smile

With all the recent Michael Jackson coverage and trying to navigate the paperwork nightmare of buying a house, I almost forgot that I have a birthday coming up. It wasn't until I received an email from my mom that I realized that, oh, right, it's next week. Thanks mom for the reminder!

So along with this birthday comes the renewing of my driver's license. And I realized this funny fact: This (Minnesota) is the first state I've ever lived in long enough for my driver's license to actually expire. So today I made the trip down to the DMV to ceremoniously recognize the commitment I've made to the great state of Minnesota. And it was delightful.

Though you might think I'm being a bit sarcastic, I'm actually quite serious. The place was filled with a myriad of cultures and colors and ages and basically contained a perfect representation of the United States. And since people watching is one of my favorite activities, it was quite a thrill. I eavesdropped on the Brazilians sitting ahead of me and laughed at the mixed race couple's exuberant children. When I was finally called to the window, I was greeted by the most delightful Middle Eastern woman. She acted incredulous when I answered that I was in fact over 21 years old, so I wouldn't be needing a special driver's license. That in fact, I'm turning 27! And she went on and on about how wonderful and cute my drivers license photo was. I could have hugged her.

So a special thank you to the Minneapolis DMV for turning my annoyed-at-having-to-renew-my-drivers-license frown into a smile in just under an hour. The pleasure was all mine.