NEW blog header!

In my attempts to enlighten my otherwise math-filled life of teaching, I love taking, editing and playing with photos. Let's be honest, we all know I would rather be a photographer if I could find a way to make it pay for this traveling lifestyle I have come to know and love. My latest work comes in the form of my blog header...basically just because I was bored and wanting a change. So if you are reading this in an RSS reader, click on over to check it out!

p.s. Photo credits for the actual picture go to my lovely roommate.

The Waiting Is the Hardest Part

The waiting is the hardest part,
Everyday you see one more Yankee,
You take it on faith, you take it to the field,
The waiting is the hardest part.

While reading yesterday's postseason breakdown in the New York Times, one section particularly stuck out to me. Embedded with wisdom from these Tom Petty lyrics, the article mentions that, of the 13 metropolitan areas with teams in the NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB, Minneapolis - St. Paul has the longest active streak without a championship. The last time we won a championship? 1991 World Series. I WAS FOUR!

I mean....1991, great. But it's 2010. Minnesota sports fans need something to believe in again - we need a reason to remember why we built a new stadium to brave the elements of April and October in Minnesota. We need a reason to remember why we signed Joe Mauer to the largest contract held by a non-Yankee in all of Major League Baseball. We need a reason to defend our state when we try to claim "No, really, not every sports team in Minnesota chokes when the stakes get high."

That being said, let's get it done tonight Twins. Go out there and show those stinking Yankees that baseball isn't just a game for over-paid and over-rated jerks from the Bronx. After all....we have this little tidbit on our sides:

Two of the last four World Series have been won by teams that opened a new ballpark that season. The 2006 St. Louis Cardinals clinched their championship that October at the new Busch Stadium, and the Yankees won the World Series in 2009 to cap their first season at the new Yankee Stadium.

GO TWINS!

#14 - Throw someone a surprise party.

At 58 items long, sometimes my life list seems a bit daunting. However, other times the items on my list are so much fun to complete, I forget I even wrote them on it in the first place!

Such was the case last week as Tara, Catie and I planned a surprise engagement dinner for our friends Angie & Caleb. I have known Caleb & Angie since I tutored math with Caleb in college at University of Wisconsin - La Crosse, so when they announced their engagement at the opening school assembly I was so excited for them!! After planning out the logistics, we decided to throw them a small engagement party dinner with just a few friends.

To add to the element of surprise (and get them to the restaurant) we wrote them a poem with instructions about the night, colored it, cut it up into pieces and gave each of them half the pieces. Assembling the project took more time than anticipated...but it was a fun way to get them excited for a night they were not really expecting.

{I should have been a primary teacher}

After they showed up at our restaurant of choice, Granada Faro, we had a great night celebrating together and enjoying delicious food. I just love surprises, so the whole night was super fun :) Hooray for friends and completing life list items.

The whole group at dinner. Kristin, Tara, Angie, Caleb, Octavio, Catie and Scott.