Family Golf Weekend

Nathan and I spent last Friday and Saturday in Strum, WI with the Nesje/Seltun clan. It was fun, particularily the late night free-wheeling conversation around the fire with Nate's cousin.


I suck at golf. I don't ever play nor do I have much interest in it. That said, I don't suck nearly as much as you'd think. I might even be good at it if I played regularly or actually tried. I hit a drive that was 150 yards+ It makes a cool little *tink* sound when you hit the ball hard. I like that. However, the 4 year old on my team, Zack, was consistenly better at the game than me. And the 8 year old kicked my ass...

Zack, Mike's son, Mike, Ann (my mother-in-law), me and Nathan's cousin, Jay.

Yellow Rose, Paso Robles, CA

California Wedding

Over this past weekend, I was a guest at a wedding in Paso Robles. My friends Melanie and Aaron got hitched. The setting was incredibly beautiful. I can highly recommend a wine country tour in the fall. Rent a convertible for sure. Of course, I'm a happy camper anytime I get to say hello to Mama Ocean.

The beach at Morro Bay, CA

Stillwaters Vineyard, Paso Robles, CA

Proud to be an...?

I found myself barrelling down Hwy 101 in CA yesterday at 80 miles an hour while simultaneously talking on my cell phone and eating a cheeseburger. I've never felt more 'merican in my life.

Visit with Mom & Dad

We took my Mom and Dad to their first-ever game at the Metrodome for the 9/20 day game of the Twins vs. White Sox. Sadly, both teams were already out of play-off contention and it was likely the last time I'll ever see Torii Hunter in a Twins uniform. Not a very good game, but I think that the folks enjoyed the experience anyway. Nathan's parents joined us, too. Dad even wore my Twins cap :)

After the game, we took the whole group down to see the crews hauling the last of the I-35 bridge out of the Mississippi River. I still can't think about it with out getting this horrible knot in the pit of my stomach. Nathan and I were just a couple of bridges over when it fell. All of the debris is gone now, being carefully reassembled downstream by the NTSB. Now we can sit back and listen to the city, county and state politicians fight over the money to rebuild the bridge while we sit in awful traffic all the good god day long...

The joy of a good massage...

Our new friend, Dawn, stopped over with her massage table last night. She's awesome! I hope to be seeing a lot of her, not just as a massage therapist but as a friend. She's a definite all around and there's no question why she was Rookie of the Year at SOMS :)

Please give her your business if you can. Here's a link to her website: http://www.bodykneadswellness.com/main/bios.htm

Back to School

After nine years of gradually whittling away at the synapses that my brain worked so hard to create, I've decided to go back to school. I began my Masters in Nonprofit Management at Hamline University in St. Paul at the start of September. Alternately thrilled and terrified to be back in academic setting, it's going surprisingly well. The program is designed for non-traditional students (old) who already work (slave) in nonprofit organizations. I am only taking one night class a semester. Really I think that is all I could handle and still work full time. It has already proven challenging to keep up with the reading. Of course, it doesn't help that the first text book assigned is ungodly boring. Chapters on tax code and theory don't exactly keep one riveted. I am having to learn a whole new style of academic writing called APA Style. It is hard to wrap my brain around since 1) I haven't written a paper in nearly a decade and 2) I used MLA Style exclusively in my undergrad. But, it's good for me and I am thoroughly enjoying the classroom discussions. There's one blowhard in the bunch (no, it's not me) but the Prof does a good job of managing them. I've been working on an oral presentation for tomorrow night's class. Turns out, I'm a whiz at Powerpoint. Who knew?