Getting organized...or trying at least

I'm trying to organize more stuff in my life. I've spent a significant amount of time lately gathering together a lot of things I find interesting... recipes, home improvement projects, pet stuff, and more. So, thanks to my wonderful friend, Jenni, I've discovered Evernote, a great organization tool. I have it synced on my home computer, my work computer and my phone. I love it. Lately, I've been using it to save recipes. I love to cook and follow foodie blogs so Evernote has been a great place to save the delicious looking recipes I find.

I was a slow adapter, but am finding it more and more useful. So much so that I am even considering upgrading from their free account to their premium account. The only reason I haven't is that the premium account is $45 and I haven't yet decided if its worth it to me yet. I like it, but I haven't decided yet if I'm just having a moment of excitement or am really ready to upgrade and be a full adapter.

Jenni raves about it. So much so that she was featured on their blog for how she uses it. (She saves like her entire life in Evernote. I'm not kidding.)

I am seeking more ways to be organized in my life. And more hobbies. And more interesting things to post about. Does anyone have great ideas? I'm sure I can save them in Evernote for future inspiration!

Oh and Jenni, here's to you, friend!

Road Trip, Solo Style

This past week I hit the road and drove to Nebraska. A seven-hour drive to Lincoln, mostly through the fields of rural Iowa doesn't necessarily sound like the greatest time, but I learned something about myself on the way. When I'm really tired and really stressed out, a nice quiet drive with just me and an audio book does the trick.

While my stay was short and sweet, it was sweet. I went to visit a dear friend and celebrate her forth-coming marriage with her because, for many un-moveable reasons, I can't attend her wedding. Her mother said to when hearing that I was willing to drive that far for a bridal shower, "You must really think highly of Becky." She was right. I do.

It was wonderful to spend a short, but precious amount of time with my friend. Our time together made me think about relationships and the importance of maintaining them. Some people are always there for you. And those people I always try to be there for.

On the way back, I took a route that brought me not across rural interstates, but across rural back roads, allowing me to make a quick stop on the way back in the tiny town of Ringsted, Iowa, population 400. There, I visited another dear friend, who is a pastor at the Lutheran church in this tiny town. It was wonderful and uplifting to hear her tales of ministering to these people-- a ministry that is constant. To those who saw us come into the local bar and grill for a slice of pizza for dinner, she was simply, "Pastor" and several people stopped to chat with her.

Quick Review: "The Last Child" by John Hart

As I often write about the books I read on here, I will say, my road-side companion was, "The Last Child"  by John Hart.

Here's the synopsis:

A year after 12-year-old Alyssa Merrimon disappeared on her way home from the library in an unnamed rural North Carolina town, her twin brother, Johnny, continues to search the town, street by street, even visiting the homes of known sex offenders, in this chilling novel from Edgar-winner Hart (Down River). Det. Clyde Hunt, the lead cop on Alyssa's case, keeps a watchful eye on Johnny and his mother, who has deteriorated since Alyssa's abduction and her husband's departure soon afterward. When a second girl is snatched, Johnny is even more determined to find his sister, convinced that the perpetrator is the same person who took Alyssa. But what he unearths is more sinister than anyone imagined, sending shock waves through the community and putting Johnny's own life in danger. Despite a tendency to dip into melodrama, Hart spins an impressively layered tale of broken families and secrets that can kill.

I am not quite yet done with it, but, will say, with only a bit left, I'm giving it a 2.5. It's a decent read, but fairly predictable and the characters, all are a bit flat. Had I not needed the company for my more than 14 hours in the car, I would have given up on it. But, now I'm nearly done and I suppose, I should learn what happens.

I'll also provide the caveat that as far as mystery-thrillers go, I tend to like something with a bit more "thrill" to them than "The Last Child" provides. It's more of a read for someone who likes a straight-up police investigation. Those who like that type of story may be more drawn to this particular book.

And my second caveat is that I've been listening to this on audio and the guy who is reading it is starting to get on my nerves... maybe that is making my score fall a bit lower, too. But really, I think it's not a bad book (not really bad), just not my kind of book. 

None the less, it was a good companion and I'm glad for that. Does it seem silly that I'm already dreaming of a new road trip just so I can enjoy another quiet get away, even, for this extrovert, all alone? I might just love that idea.

Cat and Dolphins Playing Together

I came across this adorable video today. I share it because if my cat ever met a dolphin, I think he would do the exact same thing.

Twins Baseball!

Soon it will be baseball season. Friday, April 1 marks the official start of Major League Baseball. I'll loyally be cheering on the Twins again all season. I can't wait! My parents have tickets for the Twins home opener on April 8. I'm quite jealous, but am glad they are generous and will share many of their season tickets with me (as they always do).

Highlights of the start of the year include:

• Justin Morneau is back and hopefully will remain concussion free!
• Joe Nathan is back and again will be our closer. (Last season was a little rough.)
• I feel like we are still in the honeymoon stage with Target Field.
• I will again do my damnedest to get on the jumbotron, one of my goals in life.
• Kramzcuks's polish sausage and brats are a main food attraction
• Beautiful, sunny weather out at the ballpark!
• Outdoor baseball! Outdoor baseball! Outdoor baseball!
• Summer baseball road trip with Jillian in the works!

Baseball season! Best six months of the year!Happy baseball season!!!

Cute Drake Bulldog Video

Maybe I love my alma mater a little too much. Or maybe I work too much with our development office at my job so I just love what a unique way this giving message is presented. Whatever it may be, this video is ridiculously adorable and worth sharing.

Feed My Starving Children

Today I spent a couple hours volunteering for Feed My Starving Children with my friend Mary.

It was a great opportunity to give back and for a small amount of my time, along with the time of several others, make a big impact for a lot of very hungry kids in Haiti.

Here's a bit about the organization from their website:

Feed My Starving Children is a non-profit Christian organization committed to feeding God’s starving children hungry in body and spirit. The approach is simple: children and adults hand-pack meals formulated specially for starving children, and we ship the meals to nearly 70 countries around the world.

It's pretty amazing how a small bag with about four ingredients, chicken stock, vegetables, soy and rice, can help impoverished, malnourished children receive a healthy, nutritional meals they need.

One of the great joys of the volunteering was that I got to do it with a group of kids. That's part of what makes volunteering with Feed My Starving Children great-- it's a way that kids can volunteer and make a big impact, too.

I could really say a lot of great things about this organization, but I think it really speaks for itself. The volunteer list is apparently normally quite long, but to learn more about volunteer opportunities, go to their website.

Fainting Laura, Fainting Goats

So something that a lot of people don't know about me is that I faint... a lot. It's not really abnormal for me.

I was only six or seven years old the first time I fainted. It was because I was trying to jump up on the counter to sit and I hit my head on an open cupboard. It hurt. I fainted.

That's become a frequent occurrence in my life. Pain makes me faint. So does low blood sugar. So does blood rushing to my head. So do a lot of other random things.

Last night I fainted... really out of nowhere. I'm not sure what brought it on, but I could feel the rush and fuzziness in my head, much like a rapid, deep injection of anesthesia. I immediately crouched down in a ball place my head down, resting on my arms and let it pass. I was home alone so I don't know exactly how long I laid alone on my living room floor in the fetal position, but I would guess only a few minutes.

It was a very deep fainting incident and my head was woozy enough that I had to go immediately to bed. Needless to say, I fell asleep quickly and slept deeply for a solid nine hours. Maybe my body was telling me it is time to sleep.

When I got to work today, I told the story to my friend Jenni, who has heard of my fainting tales before. Jenni even got a visual aid of how I curled up last night to protect myself from the inevitable, which led another co-worker to come up behind us and say "What are you doing?!?!" We all laughed and I explained my visual aid.

Jenni, the mother of three, responded to today's story by saying, "How are on earth are you going to have kids?" My answer was simply, "Drugs. Lots of drugs."

After I told Jenni how I fainted again last night, she said she was going to start calling me a Fainting Goat. I hadn't known goats were known for fainting, but, of course, I was able to find a fun video of it to share from YouTube.



While I'm at it, I have a few funny stories to go along with my fainting.

The Fishing Boat Incident

I fainted on a fishing boat in the middle of the lake once (with my head between my legs, not sprawled across the boat or anything). I had caught a rusty fishing hook in my hand after jerking to hard on the line and saw a bit of blood and panicked. My mom got so wound up trying to save me (I was probably between 10 and 12 at the time), she almost knocked the boat over. We went to town and I got a tetanus shot and as fine.

The Postman and the Ambulance

Once, in college, I fainted from the blood rushing to my head while I got up from a nap. I was woken up suddenly from a knock at the door. It was the mailman with a package I needed to sign for my roommate. I could feel myself getting dizzy from the blood rushing to my head, but tried to force myself to sign for the package.

It didn't work. I fell straight backward and hit my head on the kitchen floor, breaking a wooden barrette that was holding my hair back, which led to a bit of bleeding from the back of my head (very minor we found out.)

The mailman came in, called 911 and some other girls who lived in my apartment revived me. We called one of my roommates, who was across the street at her boyfriends, and then my other roommate came in and said, "What the hell happened to you?"

We ended up having paramedics come, who because I was dizzy and had a cut on my head all thought it was best to bring me to the hospital. So I had my one and only ambulance ride. Meghann (my roommate) rode in the front of the ambulance, Melissa (my other roommate) drove behind us so we could have a ride home. I was in the back with cute paramedics and oxygen. I was, quite honestly, happy as a lark (minus feeling like a complete dope.)

The best part of the story is that when Meghann called my dad to tell him what happened, all he said was, "Oh, that's Laura for you!"

Let it Snow Slideshow

What a weekend! Between 15 and 20 inches of snow across the Twin Cities metro area. I took a few photos to capture the insanity! You can also view them by going to my Flickr account, choose Sets, choose 2010 Winter Blizzard.

I will say, the craziest thing of the weekend is that the Metrodome's roof collapsed. Check this out! New stadium? Yes, please!

The Art of Making Out

I love this.


Via: OnlineDating Blog

What Dreams May Come

So my dear friend Kari and I have a mutual fascination with dreams. It's a bond for us. We like to analyze our dreams together. For her birthday a couple years ago, I gave her a copy of a dream book I found at Borders (where I am a very, very part-time bookseller). It was by Pamela Ball. So now we joke that we need to consult Pamela Ball every time we have a dream that needs interpreting. So, as a tribute to Kari, and just because I think dreams are really interesting, I'll regularly tag posts related to dream themes.

Because I know no more scientific way to go about this (or am simply too lazy, more honestly), I"m going to use the website Dream Moods as my reference point for commentary on dreams in this blog. The only reason for choosing this site is because it was the first site that Google found. Thanks Google.

Last night I had many dreams about coworkers. The interpretation from Dream Moods seems pretty accurate to where I am at right now:

Coworker

To see your coworkers in your dream, highlights aspects of your waking relationship with them, including difficulties/support. It signifies your ambition, struggles and competitive nature. If the coworkers in your dream are not your actual coworkers, then they may pertain to some psychological business that you need to work on. Work-related dreams can also often be linked to stress at work.

This is not related to my dreams from last night, but here are a few other funny elements I've had in dreams in recent memory.

Hot Dogs

Several months ago I had a dream about a friend of mine walking around the office building handing out hot dogs. The analysis is about what one might expect it to be.

To see or eat a hot dog in your dream, is phallic symbol representing masculinity, sexual energy, and vigor.

Spaceship

I had a recent dream that really frightened and amused me. It involved my sister and I being attacked by a spaceship that was shooting green lasers at us.

To see a spaceship in your dream, symbolizes your creative mind. It denotes a spiritual journey into the unknown and signals self-development and self-awareness. Alternatively, the dream suggests that you need to take on a different perspective, no matter how bizarre or unusual it may be.

I guess I'll take the nod toward creative energies as a positive.

I wonder what I'll dream about tonight. No matter what it is, I know that if it is especially interesting, I'll wake up and think, "Oh, I must tell Kari!"

Why I love Black Friday

I love Black Friday because...

• I love finding deals. And I always find something good.
• I like to get up at 5 a.m. and shop. It's the only time I like to get up at 5 a.m.
• It's a good excuse to drink two lattes in one morning.
• It gives me a good start on my holiday shopping.
• I can always find a gift for myself and I will only buy it on sale so I don't feel guilty.
• I like the holidays.

Call me crazy, but I love the rush of the crowds. Some people run with the bulls. I get up early, go out in the freezing cold and run with the deal hunters. And I love every minute of it.