A new year, a new beginning

a-new-year-a-new-beginning-1So here we are in a new year. Do you see the new year as a new beginning? I know there’s always tons of chatter about resolutions and starting fresh, and sometimes I don’t buy into it, but usually it does feel good to see the year as a whole new beginning. Yeah, it’s pretty arbitrary, but, there’s something about seeing it as a fresh start that makes going through another year feel possible. It gives you motivation to go forward without feeling destined to repeat the year before.

So every year we do try to come up with little things to keep in mind through the year ahead, maybe goals, maybe hopes or dreams, or maybe just little mantras to keep our focus on an aspect of personal growth that has risen to the surface. This year I’m repeating these four words:securedownload-2 It’s time for me to stop rushing around, missing all that’s happening around me. Time to drive slower, to walk slower, to see the world for what it is each day and to take it in with awe. And it’s time for me to lose control, not in the go crazy and have no inhibitions sense, but in the sense of letting go of my control over every situation, letting go of perfection, giving the reigns to others (at least sometimes) and trusting in the bigger plans out there for me, for us.

So in the spirit of losing control, one of our favorite things over the holiday was a trip we took to Sky Zone with a bunch of friends. It’s a huge gym full of trampolines. There are even trampolines angled upright, so you can literally bounce off the walls. We jumped, we played jumping dodgeball, we jumped and flipped into a giant pile of foam blocks, and we jumped some more. And we couldn’t wipe those giddy, silly, gigantic smiles off our faces all night. It was that. much. fun.a-new-year-a-new-beginning Continue Reading →

Paddle Boarding in Minnesota

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I recently surprised Ellie with a stand-up paddle board (SUP) for her birthday.  Besides it being something that we have both talked about getting, I realized it was a great way to bring an essence of Hawaii to the 10,000+ lakes here in Minnesota.

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We also took a SUP tour when we were in the Turks and Caicos this summer. It’s a great way to see the water from a new angle.

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We decided to get a board that would be good on lakes as well as the ocean, so that we could potentially bring it with us on trips to Hawaii or Easter Island. To my surprise, there are a bunch of different styles of boards (including ones that pack easy and inflate). They run between a big range of prices, sizes, and weights.  I found the REI website to be the most useful in figuring out what style would work well for us. Another hurdle I had to overcome was how to transport the 10′ 6″ beast using our little Saturn without having to install roof racks.  That’s when I remembered that beach-bumbs on the North Shore of Oahu would have some sort of simple contraption with tie-downs to secure their long boards onto their rusted out hondas. After a little digging in the Amazon of products online, I found Wrap Rax from Block Surf. It’s basically 2 sets of tie-downs with solid padding that holds your board in place on top of your car.

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It only takes me about 5 minutes to get the straps tied down and the board on the car. I love the flexibility of this kit.  And (!) the kit says it can hold up to two long boards.  I guess I’ll just have to get another board for myself 🙂

The sport of Stand Up Paddling (or SUP) has become pretty big throughout the country. I always seem to run across interesting news articles about it, like this one: A musician recently paddled from Cuba to Florida.  He stood up nearly the entire 28 hour journey! The feat was done to bring awareness to international relations between the US and Cuba. Maybe next year both presidents should settle their differences over a paddle on the Mississippi.

Here’s the article:
Musician Paddles from Cuba to Key West

Al Vento: Brunch in Minneapolis

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Some friends of our introduced us to the weekend brunch buffet at Al Vento an italian restaurant in South Minneapolis. We sat down in a beautiful 3-season patio and gorged ourselves on their buffet that included: eggs florentine, meats, pasta, potatoes, salads, pancakes, crepes, pastries, and fruits. The bottomless glasses of Mimosa didn’t help either 🙂 Needless to say, I think I’ve found my new favorite brunch buffet in the Twin Cities.