I should probably do this, don't you think?

http://www.30before30project.com/

stay posted to see my list (I'm starting to write it today)

Oats

I was pleasantly surprised by McDonald's new oatmeal- I love it! Even before I ordered I was planning to look up the Nutrition Facts just to see how much sugar was in it- because what oatmeal is good without a little sugar? To my surprise the Nutrition Facts were already listed on the container (I appreciate that) and while 32 g of sugar and 57 g of carbs is kind of a lot I think the good amount of fiber and whole grain balances it out enough for me not to feel guilty! And I love cranberries, so they had me at hello. Ronald- if you're reading this I'll take more free coupons- thanks!

29

Last Friday at 7:50 am I began the first day of the last year of my twenties.
I'm Ok with that.

It was a wonderful birthday weekend because I got to enjoy not only a lot of wonderful food but also because I got to be with so many of my favorite people!

Believe it or not I have no pictures to share but here is what we did in words:

Friday Night:
had a local cheese & local pork plate with wine at Lincoln Wine Bar in Mt. Vernon
had 2 small plates and wine at Zins in downtown Cedar Rapids
had another cheese plate at Daniel Arthur's in Cedar Rapids (our go-to celebration spot) while listening to the sweet ballads of a Norah Jones-esque live musician

Saturday:
had brunch & bottomless mimosas (yay!) with Mom, Dad, Jason and the boys at Granite City where Cale presented me with an awesome built-all-by-himself gift
strolled and browsed downtown Iowa City shops with Mom and Dad
enjoyed refreshing drinks at Java House
had amazing seats for the Iowa vs. Michigan basketball game at Carver
met friends for sushi & drinks at Takanami in Iowa City
hung out with Kay, Tom & the dogs (Angus and Xena) at our house

Sunday:
Absolutely nothing. Perfect!

Texas Sized Super Bowl Fun

Here are some pictures from our trip to Ft. Worth/Dallas for the 2011 Super Bowl Festivities.

In no particular order we: went to a rodeo, watched live ESPN broadcasts at Sun Dance Square, explored the Ft. Worth stockyards, partook in fun activities at the NFL Experience, saw celebrities Jennifer Aniston, Adam Sandler and Snoop, saw Rodney Atkins & Clay Walker concerts, drank margaritas and ate awesome food at Joe T. Garcias (I love that the menu only had 2 options!) and last but not least celebrated the Packers winning the Super Bowl! WHOO HOO! We decided not to fork over the thousands of dollars to actually go to the game but we sure celebrated with all the fans before and after!

We had an amazing trip with our friends despite the freezing weather and snow that greeted us. We made the most of every minute and have many hilarious memories to tide us over until we can get together again.

Our Next Adventure

Our next adventure takes us to Dallas for the Super Bowl! We don't know yet if we'll splurge (that seems like a understatement) on actual tickets but we are definitly going to party with old friends and have a Texas sized blast! Good friends of ours moved to the Dallas area last year and right away Mike thought we should take the annual Super Bowl party down there for the big event. Even better, and as fate would have it the Packers are in the Super Bowl! It couldn't have worked out better!

More to come!

November, December & January Ketchup

November:

-We celebrated Mike's bday, he got a snow blower and is very, very excited about it.

-We celebrated my niece Ayla's 4th birthday and Jessie & I treated her to a fun sleepover (her first) party at my house where we: baked cookies, went shopping & out for pizza, snuggled on the couch and watched movies and had pancakes (her favorite food) for breakfast.

We also had a wonderful Thanksgiving with both of our families and Xena even got a giant bone from my parent's butcher to keep her busy and very happy.

In December we had my office Christmas party at Riverside Casino and I was in charge of the entire event (part of my job I like). It was a fun party and I even won a massage as one of the prize give-aways which I totally think I deserved! It kind of felt like I was planning another wedding reception and spending someone else's money was really fun!

We also decorated the house for Christmas (my fave time of year!) and continued our tradition of going to cut down our own tree (though none were big enough so we went with a Frasier fir that was already cut down but still AT the tree farm so that still counts doesn't it?)

Christmas with our families was wonderful as usual and I could hardly contain my excitement over the gift I planned for Mike....a surprise trip and tickets to the Packers vs. Bears game on January 2nd! He was so surprised and excited! The game was awesome and freezing cold (-5) and the Packers beat the Bears to make it to the playoffs! We saw Urlacher eating at the same restaurant as us (Lombardi's in Appleton) the night before the game which was kind of cool, too. Mike ended up getting sick while we were there but he rallied for the game thank goodness!

In December we also celebrated Chris' golden 30th birthday with surprise party planned by Jessie. It was so much fun and he was truly surprised!





One other fun thing we did in December was dress up in ugly Christmas sweaters and go to a local Rough Riders hockey game. Our outfits were a hit!

Road Trip with Ma & Pa- To Green Bay

In October (yes, I'm still catching up with posts for the past 3 months) Mike & I cashed in our Christmas present from Mom & Dad for 2010- a road trip adventure to wherever our hearts desired! Well, we all know where Mike's heart lies, right in Lambeau Field of course! And we thought it would be a great choice to pick a Packers game road trip to Green Bay, especially because Dad (a since-childhood Packer fan) hadn't witnessed a game at Lambeau- ever- as he only got to see them back when they played in Milwaukee (sorry Dad, if that dates you a bit!)

We hit the road to Green Bay enjoying local Wisconsin beer and cheese curds along the way. In no time at all we were exploring Green Bay and enjoying delish food at Brett Favre's Steakhouse.

Up and at 'em early Sunday morning for their game against the Miami Dolphins; we were some of the first fans to arrive to the stadium! We had an awesome spot and enjoyed a tailgate breakfast, catch, wandering & shopping the Packer Pro Shop.

Even though the Pack couldn't pull off a win (so close in overtime!) that day we had a blast! Thanks Mom & Dad for a great trip!