I'm making a difference...

While watching the news this morning, I was thinking about what an awesome organization the Red Cross is. They are always right on the scene of any catastrophe or disaster, helping the people who need it right away. Whether it's a flood, hurricane, tornado, drought, war, or bridge collapse...there they are. Then I was thinking that I should find a way to start donating to the Red Cross. Disasters can happen to anyone, anywhere.

Later today I happened upon a button on MSN Messenger that explained the little "i'm" icon I've been seeing next to a few people's names on messenger. And it is so fantastic! You can add this little icon next to your messenger screen name and every time you start a conversation, money will be donated to a cause that matters to you! So, I picked the American Red Cross, and now I am able to make a difference every time I am online. Cool! You can check it out for yourself here.

It's My Birthday!

It's my birthday today! And I did a lot of birthday eating. Josh and I went to Nichole's Fine Pastries downtown for lunch. My sandwich was yummy, and my tiramisu was great. I will have to go back there for some treats later. At work, I got some birthday brownies, and some butterscotch cheesecake bars. Then, Josh and I went to dinner at Paradiso! But I didn't have to wear the sombrero and worry about getting lice. We even got some fried ice cream. It was delicious. Now I think I better go on a long jog to work off all the birthday calories! But I'm not going to. Anyway, here are the pretty flowers that Josh surprised me with after work today. I love flowers. Someday I will grow enough flowers in my garden to make pretty bouquets of my own. Let the celebrating continue!

Wedding Fever

Four days til the wedding of the year! I've been spending some time checking out other wedding photographer's websites lately, and it's making me excited to be a part of a wedding again. This time though, I won't be taking the pictures. "Always the photographer, never the bridesmaid" is how it's been lately. But not this weekend! One of my best friends of all time, Kierstan, is getting married and I get to be a bridesmaid. Yay! I'm excited to have that honor and get to be a part of Kierstan and Nic's special day. I'll plan to post some pictures from the event next week with an update!

Lutsen

On Friday, we met up with family at Sir Benedict's Tavern...our favorite place to eat in Duluth. From there, we traveled up the North Shore to Lutsen to stay at Caribou Highlands. I just love the North Shore. If they built a Target in Grand Marais, I would move up there. Anyway, the guys all went fishing out on Lake Superior with Capt. Tom of North Coast Charters. The girls went to Grand Marais to do some shopping. And guess what they have in Grand Marais? Another Sivertson gallery. I just love that place. Anyway, we had some good clean family fun. I wish the weekend was longer so I could have time to do more things while in Lutsen.

Two Harbors

Josh and I stayed at a hotel in Two Harbors on Thursday night. It started to storm just as we were walking to the car from the aquarium, so we headed to our hotel. On the way there, we saw a giant tree that had blown over and fallen right on the hood of a car driving down London Road! The people were okay, but were stuck in the car. Pretty scary. Anyway, so we got to our hotel room, and I opened the curtains and found a big graveyard! It was just like that commercial for hotels.com or whatever except for the creepy guys in the graveyard. It was pretty funny. When the storm cleared, we ate some dinner at Betty's Pies (yum!) and then took some pics down by the harbor. It is just so pretty there.

Aquarium

Last week, Josh and I took a couple days off of work and headed over to Duluth to celebrate our anniversary. We did the typical Duluth things...stroll through Canal Park, eat at Grandma's Saloon, check out my favorite gallery (Sivertson) and we decided to check out the Great Lakes Aquarium. They had an exhibit on seahorses going on. We were pretty happy that we paid the money to go. We had a lot of fun looking at the fish, taking weird pictures, touching lake sturgeon and learning about fantastic seahorses. I was excited to get a picture of myself with a moose...even though it was fake...it was the closest I'll get to seeing a real one I'm afraid. If you're in Duluth, go check it out for yourself!

Hello New Shoes, Bye-Bye Blues?

I believe myself to be a shoe person. Whenever I am in a place that sells shoes, I must look to see if there is something that catches my fancy. And of course, there is usually a pair or two that I assure myself would be fantastic on my feet. But alas...they don't have my size. Or alas...they don't have the right color. Or most likely, alas...they don't fit!
I have a hard time believing that I have such disfigured feet that shoes should not be expected to be made to fit them. I have normal feet. They're not huge, nor are they tiny. They're not really narrow, nor are they very wide. So why is it that only skater shoes feel tailored to my foot? (Side note...my all-time favorite shoes were my blue Etnies...so comfy, yet they look particularly silly with a dress.)
So many lovely shoes to look at on the shelves, yet I know how the story goes. They feel fantastic in the store, they don't hurt when you wear them around the house, and then as soon as you take them to the streets, your feet are crying in pain. Why does this happen every time? My tried and true brown shoes are looking past their prime...way past. So I am on the hunt for replacements. My advice: if you find a fantastic pair of shoes, spend the extra money upfront and buy two pair! I wish I did.
Today I put on a fabulous looking pair of fancy new brown wedges. They looked great. But by lunch time, I could barely stand to have them on my feet. Why oh why did it happen again? I am convinced that fancy shoes are parallel to point ballet slippers. They look beautiful on the outside, but are evil foot-destroyers on the inside. I just don't know how the ballerinas do it. Do other women just have feet so calloused that it doesn't hurt to wear feminine shoes?
For now I will keep to my marshmellow-like Croc-wannabes and flip flops until I learn the secrets of bearing the pain of beautiful shoes.

P.S. I still love the optimism of Paolo Nutini's "New Shoes"