All Business Like.

this post is for Thursday, March 10.

Today I rocked out my new fleece with the business logo on it. I love fleeces, but now that I have one sporting the Hass Inspections logo, I love them even more. Need a home inspection? Let me know, I know of a great home inspector!

New Beginnings.

this post is for Wednesday, March 9.

Today is the first day of Lent. I have decided to really take part in the lenten season, for many reasons. But tonight was a special day. My Mom became a member of my Dad's church. She had her first communion and now has a place to call her home church. It was a great evening of service, dinner, and reception. The cake above was made by my Grandma (my Mom's mom), and it was great!

Wishing it was warm..

this post is for Tuesday, March 8.

I am wishing for it to be warm and the snow to melt, so much, that I went out and bought sandles. I figured, if I buy them, the weather will be more "springy." Now I must admit, it was snowing and the wind was blowing tonight, so not sure how close we are to this "warmer" weather.

Gerbs, Part II.

This post is for Monday, March 7.

Gerb flowers, take 2. Yes, I did get a new bunch of flowers at work, but they are still for the same reason as the last set. I am sad to report that the flowers from last week were all wilted and pretty much dead, so the florist sent me new ones! Yeay me!

All Sorts of Goodness.

This post is for Sunday, March 6.

I love to decorate cakes, but when I found out about "cake pops," I found a new love. Nothing like cake and frosting in a ball on a stick, all decorated! I have taken the wilton cake deco classes, which have been super fun, but I think I am going to dabble in this art to see where it will take me.

I see you.

This post is for Saturday, March 5.

Today I went to a pancake breakfast with my parents and we brought my Grandma along. In front of her house, she has a deer statue. I thought it was funny that only the head was sticking out. Hopefully our snow count for the winter is nearing its end.. but we'll see.

The Life of a Dog.

this post is for Friday, March 4.

When I grow up, I want to be just like my beagle. Nothing like lounging out on a huge fluffy pillow to spend a Friday afternoon!

Gerbs, My Fav.

this post is for Thursday, March 3.

I was very lucky to get flowers from my hubby today. I love love love gerbs, so this was a very nice surprise to my day.

I have the fever..

this post is for Wednesday, March 2.

Yes, this is a picture of Justin Bieber, on the movie screen. I am very happy to say that I attended this movie, and it was awesome. A co-worker and I went to the 3D, Directors Fan Cut version and it was a blast. I got the fever, for Justin Bieber :)

Sweet, Peppers!

this post is for Tuesday, March 1.

I LOVE peppers. Last year, when I was in Oregon, I found these same small, sweet peppers. I loved them so much that I actually brought 2 bags home with me on the airplane. Needless to say security thought I was somewhat wierd, but hey, I wanted them. I was so exicted when I saw them at Sam's club this year!

Zonnked Out.

this post is for Monday, February 28.

Want to see what an almost 2 year old, completely zonked out Springer Spaniel looks like? Look above. Dutchess was so tired from this past weekend, she laid right next to me, head and arms hanging off of the couch. Lights out.

Best Fur-Friends.

this post is for Sunday, February 27.

This weekend, we doggy sat for a co-workers dog. It was a ton of fun. Usally Dutchess has a counterpart around somewhere, but my Dad has taken custody of my Beagle for the winter, so Dutchess has been all by herself unless someone comes to visit. All weekend Dutchess and Chimmi played like they were life-time friends. We even joked they were boyfriend and girlfriend! :)

Amazing How People Give.

this post is for Saturday, February 26.

The committee and myself did a purse / jewelry drive for the fundraiser we have at the end of March. One of the hotels that donated rocked it out. The pticutre above is kind of hard to depict its exact contents, but it is some awesome jewelry that is going to look awesome in some great purses!

Let's Get Ready to Bowl!

this post is for Friday, February 25.

I haven't bowled in years. I was so excited to finally get to bowl. Needless to say, my first round, sucked. We got through those 10 frames and moved on. Then came the 2nd set of frames. As you can see, I was doing pretty great. (I am the first "j) We got to the 6th frame, where # 4 was 9, and #5 was a spare - and whata know.. our hour was up! I soo was going to win, but time was up. Oh well, guess I need to go back!

Patience is Key.

this post is for Thursday, February 24.

Some things just really, really excite me - and let me tell you, this excites me. Before I registered for my wedding, I saw these dish sets at Macy's. I wanted a complete set in the worst way, but 40.00 a set (remember a set is 1 plate, 1 bowl, 1 salad plate, 1 mug) and wanting 12.. was going to be out of my budget. Over the years, I had managed to collect 5 sets. When I went to open a set, it was chipped. My husband took it back, to find out they were discontinued!
Now not is all lost - I wasn't overly happy when he called me to tell me this while he was standing at the counter trying to figure out what to do. Long story short, I now have 11 sets in total and didn't pay 40.00 a set! Now.. to find that 1 last set..

She was a Beauty.

this post is for Wednesday, February 23.

Because it is Wednesday and there is nothing exciting going on that is newsworthy, I thought I would remember a very awesome pet. Rosie was our families golden for many many years. I want to think 13, but could have been 14. She passed in 2006. I am a huge animal lover, so you show me a big fluffy dog and my heart melts.

It's Loud.

this post is for Tuesday, February 22.

You know you use your credit card too much when this is what gets sent to you as a reward. Now, I must admit I have had the same credit card for 8 years now.. I am very excited for my bluray player and sound system!

Pretty Purse.

This post is for Monday, February 21.

I am approximately 1 month away from the event I am co-chairing. Above is one of the purses that we are highlighting on our Facebook page and the start to the many more we will be showcasing. The above pic is of the awesome purse and wallet donated from Three Rivers Decorating, along with a scarf and jewelry set I am donating! :)
PS - Happy Birthday to my big bro! Hope you have a great one!

Trevi.

this post is for Sunday, February 20.

I have some of the most uneventful Sundays! I think that is a good thing though :)
The above pic is of the Trevi Fountain in Rome, Italy. Tradition is to throw a coin over your shoulder across your body and make a wish. I did that when I was there in September, and my wish came true!

And Then, There was Light.

this post is for Saturday, February 19.

24 hours later from our Menards shopping trip.. #1.. the basement has many outlets, lights, and wires placed. There is still alot left to do with the wiring, but where the guys got to was a great start. What excites me the most, is my outlet in my foyer. Who knew that 1 single outlet in a 10x6' space would excite someone so much. You don't realize all the places you need outlets until you have to vacuum! PS, if you build a house, don't forget to put an outlet in your foyer entry way.. And for those counting, between my dad, my husband and myself, there were 3 trips to menards today, bringing the weekend total so far to 4.

Spend Big Money at..

this post is for Friday, February 18.

Some may think that Friday nights are for movies, restaurants, bars, going out.. but when you are kinda boring like us, you spend your evening at Menards. Oh, I love this place. We are in the process of "finishing" our basement. I would say that we are very far from the finish, more like, 1 mile in to a marathon. My Dad is coming up tomorrow to help put in the electrical, so we went to get things to start the project. I estimate that the Menards visits will total 3 times over the next couple of days :)

Diet Busters.

Don't get me wrong, I love these things.. but oh, they do a number on my diet. I told myself today, I was going to be good, but somehow.. these boxes ended up in kitchen from out of the freezer.. hmm, I wonder how that happened. I love love love them..so good, but so bad for my diet! Back to the freezer they go!

Donations, Donations, Donations!!

this post is for Wednesday, February 16.

As I am prepping for one of my bigger events of the year, I spent time gathering the donations we have received to start inventorying. The next month will be busy narrowing down sponsorships and getting tons more purses and things to fill them! If you want to donate or be a sponsor, let me know!

Old School Love.

this post is for Tuesday, Feburary 15.

For valentine's day, we didn't do a whole lot, other than cook steaks and have Kreik (only the best belgium beer!) for a low key night. We thought that everyone was going to be out on Monday, so we celebrated our "movie date" today. We did it old school style - back row of the cheap seats to see a movie set to be on DVD in like 2 weeks. Arm around eachother, maybe a smooch or two.. happy valentine's day, its the old school love!

A Crazy Little Thing Called Love.

I have an awesome husband! Yes, I had that heart-melting feeling when I got these today. Sure Valentine's day is one of those holidays created by Hallmark, but I still love this day. It started off by getting one of those old-school valentines from a co-worker, which was awesome, then these flowers arrived! Ooohh.. Ahhh. :) It made my cube smell awesome! Thanks Babe! Love you!

Fargo Needs This!

this post is for Sunday, February 13.

One of my favoritest things to do while in the Twin Cities is go to Trader Joes. Something about their natural and organic foods get me, and well, the 3 buck chuck. If Fargo were to get 1 business, I would love for one of these. Don't get me wrong, I shop at big box grocers, but sometimes it would be nice just to pop in, grab an item or two and be out in 5 minutes.

Kid at Heart

this post is for Saturday, February 12.

Today, we spent the afternoon and evening at Nickelodeon Universe at the Mall of America. We had a blast riding the rides, just like we were teenagers! Nothing like a great thrill. There are some super fun rides there. Our day was also spent shopping and just bumming around.

Bloom!

this post is for Friday, Febuary 11.

I promise, I didn't have this planned out as I blogged yesterday. This is bloom. Bloom (the name I choose!) is the plant that we brought back to life! This is what 2.5 years can do for a plant!
(for those at my work.. yes, this is the same plant!)

Blast from the Past.. Plant's Sister.. Reborn.

this post is for Thursday, February 10.

Today was one of those days I honestly gapped the taking a picture to showcase. But the thing is, it was an eventful day! I have to send huge thank you's to the ladies I met with at Flint Communications this afternoon. They gave me so much insight for my Purses & Pearls event! Now I just have to do what they suggested!!!
The pic I am going back in time too is.. the pic of my plant. A couple of christmas' ago, my manager at work got all of the girls christmas cactus'. I went on vacation sometime after getting my plant and I came back to it being "overwatered." This in turned left my plant to dwindle in life. I brought my plant home to my mom and she brought it back! This pic was taken on 5/2008. The next time I go home, I will get a picture of the plant to show all, it has came back! Since I named my bestie's plant.. "plant," I need a name for mine.. hmm, let me ponder.

Busy Busy!

My photo moment.. or moments of the day have been in front of a computer of sorts. Today was the day I decided to really get my rear-end in gear for all of the upcoming events in my life. I have spent a couple of hours promoting and organizing pieces of the Purses and Pearls event which is just over a month away.. (eek!) and then I started consulting about another event with an individual for June! If I didn't love my full-time, day job.. I seriously could make event planning in to one!

Pretty Wings.

Today my mom made a quick trip up to Fargo for an appointment and she brought some awesome stuff with her! My mom is a Close to my Heart scrapbooking consultant and she got me a ton of stuff from their new spring line called, Wings! It is a beautiful line of dark colors and butterflys. I am soooo excited to start using it! It was awesome to recieve these things after a day of having to have all of my ducks in a row workwise. All was great at the end of the day, but it was a great break to get to unwind and spend some time with her.

Basement Completion - Part 1

Round 1 of getting our basement completed has been finished. A big thank you to my husband for getting all of the stud walls and closets framed up. We are in no hurry to get our basement completely finished, but there are some parts that would be great to be done. First up, our office. Since we both have our own businesses, we felt we needed a space solely for that. It was very exciting today as my husband received a call for a home inspection tomorrow! (yeay!) Stay tuned as more "rounds" get completed!

SUPERBOWL..food.

this post is for Sunday, February 6.

I love to cook. Most of my closest friends know that as well. I love to have people over to our home to share this as well. Most of our closest friends know this too. Anytime we have people over, it is a feast. The picture above is the food after half-time. Everything was awesome and thank you to our guest that brought things too - sooo good!

Why didn't someone notify me of these sooner?!?!

this post is for Saturday, February 5.

Flannel sheets. Yes, the best thing ever! I am somewhat embarrassed to state that this is the first I have ever had flannel sheets. We received a set I think last year for Christmas, and always had intentions of putting them on our bed.. but didn't. What were we waiting for?!?! One would think that when it gets almost -40 that these were the thing you just put on your bed, but apparently we are behind the times. No worry, we learned our lesson!

Force.

this post is for Friday, February 4.

The Fargo Force hockey games are always a great time. It has been a couple of months since the last game we attended, so we thought it would be a great Friday night activity! The Force lost 2-1, but it was a great game.

49.

In less than 36 hours, the temperature has changed over 49 degrees. I think the high of today hit 30, or just around that. As much as I did not want my blog to showcase pictures of the weather.. when its COLD and blizzarding, we tend to hibernate. I am really, really hoping that the spring/summer/fall are nice, so my pictures can be of more "picturesque" things!

Burr. Part Deux.

this post is for Wednesday, February 2.

No explaination needed, it's that cold out. This was taken at 7:15 am. Oh, so cold.

Flashback #3 - Grain Bins

this post is for Tuesday, February 1.

I took this picture a couple of years ago for my Grandpa. To celebrate his birthday, I took pictures of their farm and made a book for him. The book was to let him see his farm whenever he wanted, as he was in a nursing home at the time. He passed a year ago and I felt as February became upon us, it would be great to remember him. I love the farm and everything that is there. I spent many days there as a child and it is such a freeing place that I could run and be a kid.

Who Doesn't Like Free?

As I hit the last day of January, I reflect on the past month of my Tastefully Simple business. This was one of the best months I have had in my 2 years in business. I am attributing it to the hours I spent actually working my business. As much as I wanted to believe that the product would sell itself, that wasn't always the case. People want things, but most of the time they have to be told they want it, and that is my job, to consult you on what you want. A large portion of my full-time job is consulting, so I took those same practices and applied them to the TS biz. The picture above is what a guest at my mystery party is receiving. That is a ton of stuff - for FREE! Think about it.. get what you want, for nothing :)

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year..

this post is for Sunday, January 30.

is not tax season :) My afternoon was spent helping my husband get all of his expenses over the past year all figured out, in addition to mine. Since both of us are now independent business owners, tax season will be just that more interesting. I personally hate doing anything in regards to my taxes, but thank goodness we have an amazing tax accountant. Each year she has pulled us some great numbers - so as we all go in to this time of the year, I wish you all the same luck!

Almost a Lion

this post is for Saturday, January 29.

We like to kid that Sage, my parents dog could almost be a lion. Sagey loves to just lay on snowbanks right after she plows in to them - hence the snow covered face. She is a pure bread golden retriever who is such a free spirit. You pet her once, you will be stuck for forever having a hand on her head. I love to come home to my parents just to come back to my roots, see the slower pace of live and just enjoy the view of my parents surroundings. They live just outside of Breckenridge and the river is just a block away. Many times there is some sort of wild life either in the field in front of their house or literally in their back yard. It is so peaceful out there.

SUN!

This picture really does not do any justice to how awesome the sun was today. Usally when we have sunshine in this part of the year, it is bitterly cold. Today, the sun was out and it was over 30 degrees! I came home to the driveway blocked again with snow and ice, but this time I didn't mind shoveling it out since it was so nice out. I cherish days like today as it could be awhile before we get this again.

mmmm..

this post is for Thursday, January 27.

Today was the first day of Cycle 2 of the 17 day diet. For the past 17 days, my food choices were somewhat limited. The picture I am showcasing is our supper! The protein of choice is a very lean pork and it was so good! As I venture in to cycle 2, wish me luck!  To complete my evening, we took our dog for a walk and it was so nice not to have to wear 8 layers of clothes. The high temp for today was close to 30 degrees!

Tickets! Come Get Your Tickets!

Hot off the press are the 2011 Purses and Pearls event tickets! My co-chair and I met tonight and she brought me this wonderful stack of tickets! We are only 2 months away from our event. Purses and Pearls is a social and silent auction of purses, jewelry, and tons of other donations. The next 2 months are going to be busy! We are going to try for purses and any donations we can get.. sponsors too! If you want to come to the event, help the American Cancer Society, or even donate, let me know!

In the Sky.. Oh, so High.

this post is for Tuesday, January 25.

I don't really know what prompted me to put this picture for today, but knowing I didn't have anything really super exciting go on today, and didn't want to talk about the weather, so I thought a blast from the past would be fun. I did go grocery shopping today, but I felt showcasing a picture of myself skydiving in 2002 is a great photo moment. I think about this picture, and wow, that almost 9 years ago. I don't know if I should be sad or happy it was that long ago. Blasts from my past make me think of everything great in my life and the awesome opportunities I have been given. I hope the next 9 years are just as fun!

PS - this is a small town somewhere in Virgina. When I jumped out of the plane, I could see Newport Beach. Simply gorgeous, and I would definitely skydive again!

For Sale!

this posting is for Monday, January 24.

No, I am not selling snow! This picture is of our lot in a beautiful development on the East side of the city we live in. It offically went back on the market today, for the 3rd time.. You know the saying "3rd times the charm?" Well, I really hope that saying is true because we would like to move on from this piece of property and move on to the next things in our life! (not exactly sure of those yet.. but it will be something I'm sure!)

If you would like info on this piece of property, let me know, I'll send you to my realtor - she's awesome!

Loved You Yesterday..

Since the weather outside is.. yes.. below zero, 20 to 30 mph wind gusts and blowing snow.. I decided it was going to be one of those days to stay inside. Well, for the most part, minus the trip to Menards to get a new facet for the rental house. (whoo hoo, make it 24 hours befor something happened!)
With being inside, I thought it was time to put another quote up in the house. (uppercase living on canvas) I absoluitely love this quote. As many couples have their ups and thier downs, this quote says it all. Even whne you have a bad "couples" day, you are stil reminded that, yes, we still love eachother. And yes, I love my husband dearly! We plan on hanging this canvas in our bedroom, so we are always reminded of eachothers love. aaahhh. :)

See ya in a Year!

this post is for January 22, 2010.

I said "see ya later" to a house that I lived in for almost 8 years. Today was the day we handed over the keys to our new renters. For some reason, it was really easy to hand those keys over, but as I think back, there were so many memories shared in that house. I think because we know that the house is still owned by us, it didn't make it so hard. Our family has plans for the house in the future, but we're going to enjoy knowing it is in someone else's hands for the time being (except when issues arise.) I hope the new renters will have some great memories in the house, because it sure is a cute one!

Kettle-Bell.

At the point I am at right at this minute, I wish I was saying "kettle-korn!" :) I am almost done with the first cycle of the 17 day diet. So to reward myself of actually lasting this long on a diet, not cheating.. not even once.. and actually losing weight, I thought.. Kettlebell. Exciting, I know! These things actually work. A couple of summers ago I did training with a personal trainer and this is what we used. My husband gave me the weird look when I asked him to pick one up for me today, but when I got home and showed him the 1 arm in the arm lay down, get back up again without touching your hand on the floor, and repeat.. that strange look went away and somewhat of an impressed one took over. I'm not starting til Monday, so along with the awesomeness of the 17 day diet and knowing I only have a couple days left of cycle 1 - AND the new kettlebell to use.. here is to being in shape!

PS- 80 millionth trip to vegas is exactly 3 months from today.. and yes, I am super excited about it, because thinking of 75 degree weather on a.. yes, almost -20 degree day.. warms me up!!

Keys. Keys.Keys.

this post is for Thursday, January 20.

Keys. The can mean alot to a person. The keys in the above picture hold quite a bit of memories to me. On Saturday, the house that I lived in throughout college, then with my husband, is now going to be rented to a young couple. As I prepped the keys and labeled where each one went, it was like a flood of memories dating back over 8 years. My parents and I bought the house in 2003 and spent almost 6 months completely flipping it in to a 1950's on the outside/2010 on the inside. Many many memories were created and shared there. I haven't had to say "see ya later" to the house yet.. but the bittersweet symphony has already started playing.