New Years Wish.....

Well the end of the year is here. It is a time to look back and remember the past 365 days. Through my eyes, I can say with confidence, what a year it has been! This past year I have had the opportunity to experience more, see more, taste more, and most importantly live more. For me to distinguish what the"best" was, is hard question to answer. I just remember that I enjoyed everything that I experienced and every experience was unique.

At last count I went to about 60 different performances ranging from local bands to professional dance companies. In addition to attended several major events ranging from family or friend gatherings to marathons to food tasting benefits. Oh and I can't forget all the different restaurants that were visited to taste their different foods...yum.

For me to look back...I feel that the underlining theme of 2007, is to live life well. I have learned that to enjoy life you just have to have the right attitude, relish in the small pleasures, and enjoy the people around you. This past year I didn't travel to the far ends of the earth or spend crazy amounts of money to attend lavish events. But what I did do was attend many activities that were cheap or free, with in a 100 mile radius of Saint Paul, and continued to build a better relationship with loved ones.

My plan for 2008 is to use the past year as a spring board and not a hammock. I want to continue do more, learn more, experience more, love more, and most importantly live more.

Until our paths cross, I wish everyone hope, health, and happiness. Make the upcoming year the best year of your life.

Holiday Weekend...

It was a great weekend! My parents came down to visit, as well as to attend the the musical, "Don't hug me on Christmas."
First things first....the logistics. My parents stayed in the Hilton in downtown Minneapolis (I always forget that there are nice motels here in town.) It was the typical upscale motel in a great location (with even a beautiful fitness center).
We went to Masa to eat dinner. This was my first time there...my thoughts were that it is a very beautiful, contemporary style restaurant that has great service with average food. (Would I go there again....yes). While we were eating we were able to watch portions of the holidazzle parade that was taking place outside.
Off to the musical..."Don't hug me on Christmas" was being performed in the Hennipen Stages Theater. This was a night of firsts because I had never been to this venue. It was very intimate setting with about 200 seats and a small stage in the front for the performers. The premise of the musical is this....it takes place in Bunyan Bay, Minnesota, on Christmas Eve. Cantankerous bar owner Gunner Johnson gets in an argument with his wife, Clara, tells her he's skipping Christmas, storms out, goes snowmobiling across the lake, falls through the ice on his skidoo and goes into a coma. He then comes back in his dream where he's visited by the folk legend, Sven Yorgensen, who plays the ghost of Christmas past, present, and future. Sven takes Gunner (Scrooge) on a journey similar to that in Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol.
It was a fun filled show with plenty of slapstick humor to put you in a good mood. If you haven't seen it I would recommend it, especially if you are not a fan of the traditional Christmas shows.

Triple Threat....

Well were to begin....there has been alot going on in the past few days. The activities began on Thursday, we went to the Taste of the Cultures sponsored by Cub Foods. It was held at the Crowne Plaza in downtown Saint Paul. The venue was a typical motel ballroom, with great views of Kellogg Park (very pretty with the x-mas lights on the trees). The room itself had the different food booths along the perimeter and in the center a stage were different cultural performances were taking place thru-out the evening.


The food samples being handed out, tasted good, and covered all the different continents. My favorite was a suprise....Russian.....prepared by the Moscow on the Hill restaurant. It was a chicken blini (ground chicken with spices wrapped in a crepe) served warm. Beautiful!!! I think I ate 4 of them. Of the rest of the food samples there was nothing out of the ordinary nor was there anything that made my palate remember it later on.


Friday night...Tracy's Holiday Party for work was held at the Varsity Club in Dinkytown. It was a great time! For starters the venue happened to be my favorite place to see a show and I was excited to see how it would be decorated and laid out for a non-musical event. After first glance, I wasn't disappointed, it was decorated with the typical holiday decor, but in a formal, quirky way (nice job!). They also had an old fashion photo booth that we were able to take several pictures in (see left). I thought that was an innovative way to remember the evening and event, I am sure that it was a crowd favorite.



The food options available were "heavy" appetizers that were catered by The Loring Pasta Bar (average). The entertainment was a cover band named Orange Whip, I was surprised by them. They had a nice sound and covered alot of different musical bases. All in all it was a fun time and it was nice to meet some of Tracy's co-workers. Thanks Weber Shandwick!

Sunday....British Commercials....Thanks to Tracy's parents they invited us to the Walker Art Center to watch the commercials. My take on the commercials were that they were not all that funny, as I first thought before the showing. (Of course there were a few, but nothing different then watching the half time show during the superbowl. ) But I thought that the majority of the commercials were more serious in nature. The type that may cause a smile or chuckle now and then. I was also surprised by the length. Many of the commercials were more of a short film about a product they were advertising. Very well directed and performed.
My final though was that I enjoyed how brutally honest they were. In particular, one about anorexia, or driving a gas guzzler vehicle or another about the repercussions of drunk driving and the people it effects. They leave nothing for the imagination. Well done.

Zenon...

Last Saturday night Tracy and I went to the Zenon Dance Company's fall show, which was held at the Guthrie. Before I give my thoughts about the show, if you haven't gone to the new Guthrie yet, you need to put it on your list of things to do. Pretty Cool.

Back to Zenon. This is going to be quick and easy....it was great. They performed 5 pieces, of the 5, I really enjoyed 3 of them. They were very artistically done, professionally choreographed, and beautifully performed. The 2 that I didn't enjoy were pieces, in my opinion, done for the masses. They would be something that you might have seen on TV...Pretty forgettable.

None the less. It was a great performance. I was able to see some good friends and enjoy the Guthrie Theater.

First Snow!!!!

...."It has arrived," she said. I agreed with the woman I crossed paths with this morning, while on a walk. As I walked in the opposite direction, I chucked to myself about the "it has arrived" comment. It is almost as if the apocalypse had started or that chicken little was right and the sky did fall. No matter how you look at it. The first snow fall of the year is here.

I enjoy the snow and everything it brings. The holidays, skiing, colder weather, ice fishing and maybe the most important a reminder to slow down. It is a time of the year to reflect, take stock of the good things in your life, and to live in the moment.

This morning after coming back from the walk. I took my winter clothes off, warmed up, ate a warm piece of banana bread (thanks to Tracy!), looked out the window and thought of nothing. This is exactly what I should be doing.