#68 - Travel to Croatia

In March we took an amazing trip to Croatia, Slovenia, and Montenegro. The scenery was absolutely breathtaking. The only thing that could have made it better was spring (aka green grass and leaves on the trees). There were definitely perks going in the offseason - discounted prices to stay in the Old City of Dubrovnik, no crowds, pictures without random people in them!) The picture to the left is our view out the bathroom window!

Dado - what can I say about Dado?!? His name became a swear word. Apparently, we broke their car - and had to pay for it - $1,000. RIDICULOUS!!!!! We just sucked it up and paid for it (we didn't know what else to do!) UGHHH....DADO!!!!

I would definitely go again although there are other places I want to see first.

#73 - Visit Skocjan Caves in Slovenia

The caves were cool! Big open caverns, a lot of stalagtites, stalagmites and columns. Although pictures were illegal I did take a few! There was a bridge that was 45 meters above the river water below - it freaked Becca out a little bit :) A nice stop on the car ride to Bled! And it is a part of the UNESCO World Heritage list so there is one check for us!

#46 - Attend a Church service in another language

After a LONG LONG walk around Lake Bled in Slovenia we finally made it to the Church in Bled (about 8 minutes late!) It was very interesting to go to a service where everything that is going on is understood but no idea the actual words that they were saying. We could recite the prayers/responses in English! I'm very glad we went to the Mass in another language.

#82 - Try 50 New Restaurants

8. The Liffey, St. Paul - A post-Swarm option for us since we didn't get to the game early enough to go before (Friday night games in the SNOW are definitely not fun!) Since it was a post-game "event" night (or maybe the main kitchen was closed) we were only able to order off of a small menu - not as cool but that's alright. The food wasn't anything spectacularly amazing. We got a few items and shared them all to get a little taste of everything. The atmosphere was nice but it was actually pretty empty/dead for a Friday night.

#24 - Take A Community Education Class

Jill and I took a watercolor class through Lakeville Community Ed. It was SO much fun. At first I was a little leary. At the first class we had to go around the room to introduce ourselves. Everybody else at the class wanted to learn watercolor for an activity to do after they retire (so we definitely were not going to be meeting any single guys at this class!) We had to learn patience during this class - you have to know when to stop - you have to wait while it dries - most importantly, you have to learn how to mix color (which I started liking more and more towards the end!)

I definitely would take another class. I think next time it would be fun to do an acrylic or oil paint class (even if it would be REALLY expensive to buy more paint and brushes and whatnot).

See pictures below (sorry the pictures aren't the best!)

The first class was a lesson on trees, snow and shadow. Second class was rocks, mountain and more trees.
In the third class we used masking fluid to make snowdrop flowers (top picture from class - bottom made at home).
The fourth class we used ink to outline the barn and then dropped in color.
Since the barn was such a quick painting we also were able to bring in a picture of our own to paint. I went with a picture of the Grand Canal in Venice, also using ink and dropping in color.

In the last class, we did a water picture with both still and moving water and using all colors (I have to give credit to our instructor on the birds - I had such a hard time with those!)

#7 - Knit/Crochet A Scarf

With the FREEZING cold temperatures lately I decided I needed to finally finish my scarf. I stayed up really late to finish the thing so that I could wear it to work the next day (as the snow was falling). It's wonderfully warm and really really fuzzy. I love the underlying yarn. I almost wish I had made it without the furryness. Maybe I can convince Jill to make me some gloves without the furry using the cool yarn!

#2 - Get someone else to do the list with me

Yippee!! Jill has made her own list! Check it out here: http://jillslist101in1001.blogspot.com/

Picture to come soon :)

#19 - Read 25 Non-Fiction Books

4. The Butterfly Garden by Chip St. Clair ( 02/14/08 ) - Fascinating book. The book is a memoir about St. Clair’s life - his father was on the Top 10 Most Wanted List for murdering children. His childhood was incredibly abusive but his ability to overcome everything and help others who are in similar situations is inspiring. (Thanks for the book Becca!)

#19 - Read 25 Non-Fiction Books

3. Million Little Pieces by James Frey ( 12/23/08 ) - I debated on whether or not this should be considered a non-fiction but decided to let it slide anyway. Oddly, I was very fascinated by this book. I originally didn’t think that I would enjoy it. The writing style was completly different from anything I have ever read. I do recommend it though. I will have to read his next book to see how it compares.

#19 - Read 25 Non-Fiction Books

2. Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert (12/03/08 ) - This is a great book. I really enjoyed it and it makes me want to go on the same journey that she did….to visit Indonesia and India, spend time with a medicine man and a guru. What an experience that would be!

#19 - Read 25 Non-Fiction Books

1. Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom ( 11/02/08 ) - I’ve read this book before but really wanted to read it again. I started reading it for the second time right after I found out my Grandma was about to pass away. It was perfect timing and really made me think about and value the time and memories I had with her. Morrie's advice and wisdom was perfect.

#56 - Attempt to Ski (cross country and downhill)

So the adventure began with cross country skiing. We headed to Cleary Lake where they have very nice groomed ski trails. We got our skis rented, somehow got clipped into the skis and headed out on the trails. It was freezing cold but a ton of fun. It is definitely a new winter hobby. It's a great workout - but luckily I wasn't sore the next day!



The "hills" on the trail were a little more tricky. Most people wouldn't consider them hills but to Jill and I...they were HUGE! I think I only wiped out once the whole time but there were a few near falls :)

#82 - Try 50 New Restaurants

7. Mancini’s, St. Paul - Another pre-Swarm game dinner. We went a little higher class this time I ordered the chicken (go BRAVO STICKER) with a baked potato. The bread - amazingly goodly buttery delicious. AND I saw JM hanging on the wall (thanks for showing me Andie) AND we got to sit near a senator with an incredible HOT (and when I say HOT I mean HOT) sweater. Golf themed with the entire golfer depicted on the sweater. Wow.

#82 - Try 50 New Restaurants

6. Tom Reid’s Hockey City Pub, St. Paul - Well. Since we go to all the Swarm games (since we ARE season ticket holders) we decided to try a different restaurant before each game - and this week it was Tom Reid’s. Hmm…well this was the start of a really tipsy evening. When we got into the restaurant we found a both (it was overrun with Vulcans!) and it took a really long time to get service. There was a small menu (maybe it was an event menu?) so I just ordered a burger. Nothing too exciting. I would much rather eat at McGovern’s.

#82 - Try 50 New Restaurants

5. Zelo, Minneapolis - We went to eat a REALLY quick dinner here before watching Spring Awakening at the Orpheum. The food was very good. Since we were in such a hurry we started by sharing the Bruschetta Sampler - Avocado, Wild Mushroom, and Roasted Sweet Peppers and Mozarella. So tasty. My favorite was, of course, the Avocado. We then shared a Wood Grilled Chicken and Artichoke Flatbread and a Molinari Sicilian Sausage Pizza. Both were extremely tasty and hit the spot.

#82 - Try 50 New Restaurants

4. Black Sea Restaurant, St. Paul - Character. This place has great Character. From the owner cleaning the tables, taking the ordering, making the food, and serving the food….it doesn’t get much better. It was a busy place…with only 7 tables in the place seating was hard to come by. Luckily people were about to leave right as we arrived. We sat and were squished in once everyone arrived. Appetizers - Sarma (cabbage rolls, olives, feta, tomatoes) and Hummus with pitas. I ordered the Tavuk Doner (rotisserie chicken gyro). It was SO delicious. Jill and Amy had orange tea and Iskender Kebabs (beef/lamb gyros), Kat had Acili Kofte Kebab (spicy Turkish meatballs) with Turkish coffee after dinner and Andie had Tavuk Sis Kebab (marinated chicken kebab). Everybody enjoyed their food. After dinner we of course couldn’t pass ice cream by so we went to the Grand Old Creamery. Ice cream was of course delicious (Peppermint BonBon and Chocolate Fudge Brownie) but my favorite part was the waffle cone. Wow was that tasty.

#82 - Try 50 New Restaurants

3. The Buffet @ Mystic Lake Casino, Shakopee - Holy crapload of food. I literally cannot breathe right now. Dessert section….nothing to write home about. We pretty much left most of it sitting on the table. I'm not sure I would necessarily go again unless we had a coupon or discount or something of that sort. (P.S. I HATE the smokiness in Mystic...blah!)

#82 - Try 50 New Restaurants

2. Panino Brothers, Apple Valley - Good. Recommended. HUGE servings. We decided to go here for dinner after looking through our dining club cards (a coupon never hurts!) Jill and I each got different ones and then split them. There were definitely leftovers from this meal.

#82 - Try 50 New Restaurants

1. Skywaters, Minneapolis - Special meal prepared by executive chef. Very fun (and I ate an Orchid!)

See more detailed description HERE!

#45 - Start a Tradition

On Monday we held the first annual Mother/Daughter near Christmas time event. It was a blast I think everyone enjoyed themselves. We started out with dinner at the townhouse. The attendees: Jaime and Becky, Jill and Rita, Andrea and Mary, Becca and Diane, and Amy (we were without Amy’s Mom who was at the choir concert). For dinner we had BBQ pork sandwiches, broccoli grape salad, raspberry jello salad and an INTENSE dessert (that was SO cute in the shape of a snowman with earmuffs and all!)

After dinner we headed to downtown Minneapolis for the Tonic Sol-Fa concert. All I can say is I LOVE JARED! He is cute and his deep bass voice….so sexy I was disappointed though….none of my three favorite songs were sung NO JOSEPH’S SONG, NO GOODNIGHT, and most importantly…NO KING OF GLORY.

Overall the night gets a very high rating. I think everyone had a great time and would definitely be willing to go again next year!