Rocking the Twin Cities

Congratulations to Julia on a very successful trip to Minneapolis and St. Paul to meet and network with the faculty of the University of Minnesota. She hustled her butt off to make important and valuable connections that will definitely play a role in deciding where to attend in the fall. And, they are willing to do whatever it takes to lure her in and commit--including reimbursing her for all of her trip expenses! Score! Aside from Julia's many meetings and Benjamin patiently exploring on his own, they were able to go ice skating (outside, on the lake!), see some attractions, and enjoy the cuisine.

Before the trip, we finished the travel puzzle (thanks to Brenda for the puzzle!).

V-day, King's Speech, Little Women, and The Phoenix

President's weekend was fun and relaxing. Steven came home on Valentine's Day with Svanetian salt from Georgia. It is very distinct and delicious with salt, coriander, dill, fenugreek, red pepper, marigold, cumin, and garlic. Julia received chocolate covered strawberries from Benjamin, along with flowers (not pictured). Meme came over on Saturday and we went to see, "The King's Speech," at the National Theater. It was as good as the 2010 movie. Then we had dinner at home, including homemade sausage from Wagshal's. On Sunday, we saw "Little Women"--loved it!

On Monday, besides a trip to Wagshal's, our adventure was to go visit Julia at The Phoenix to see where she works and to meet her coworkers and the owner. The store is gorgeous and I predict my wardrobe, jewelry, and home/garden will be updating to a new chic level. I highly recommend this gem in Georgetown! (Mom, you would LOVE this store. Maybe, you could come over on a Monday when Julia is working, visit the store, and stay for dinner. Let's check our schedules!)

Puzzles and Trip to Tbilisi Georgia

Steven traveled to Tbilisi to deliver his procurement workshop material. Although it was a whirlwind trip, he met and made friends with some great like-minded people. Julia and I worked the week away, completed a puzzle, and started a new one (thanks to Brenda!). The cats did the usual...sleep and more sleep.

 

Quiet Before Mayhem

This past week was quiet but very busy. Julia is enjoying her new job at The Phoenix and still making time for dog walks here and there. Steven was feverishly preparing for his trip to Tbilisi, Georgia. He's presenting three sessions over a two-day workshop. We're praying for optimal sleep, hassle-free travel, health, and successful presentations. He leaves tonight and comes home on Friday. I had plenty of nutrition-related work to do and was happy to have the time to do it. Cuisine highlights included low-carb pumpkin pie and spaghetti squash lasagna.

Family Time and Artechouse

Laura came into town for the weekend! It was nice for us all to be together. The highlight was watching the old slides, photos, and videos that Tony digitized. I'm so glad that dad was a Kodak man and was really great about pulling out the camera to record our lives. We went to Artechouse Saturday afternoon. It was so-so, not anything spectacular or unusual; I wouldn't recommend it. Then we had dinner at L&T's--deep-fried chickens, flank steak, cauliflower, pineapple, and a bunch of roasted root vegetables. On Sunday we met the gang at Kathryn's indoor soccer game. Even though they lost, it was fun to watch!