He's a definite keeper

As if I needed another reminder of why I'm the most blessed wife in the world, today Jamie just upped the ante. See these?

These little beauties were personally delivered with an irrisistable smile, warm hug, and a super-sexy kiss yesterday afternoon by none other than my favorite hubby himself! And ya wanna know why? He said, "Just because I thought you'd like them." [let's just pause for a moment while I finish melting and pick myself up from the floor where I'd just landed in a mushy pile]

Yessirree - the verdict is in and I'm falling in love with him all over again. Yep. Thank you, Heavenly Father! I sure like this man you made.

Only in Minnesota...

...do you see people actually wearing these hats out in public and not as a joke...

...when you ride roller coasters and a giant ferris wheel in the middle of winter...

...and stand over the old home plate of Metropolitan Stadium...

...before hanging out with Woody...

...then visit "Fallingwater," Frank Llyod Wright's house at Mill Run in Pennsylvania...

...and take in the Circus...

...while you gaze in wonder at the LEGO wall and life-size sculptures made entirely of LEGOs...

...and see Bob Harper (Biggest Loser trainer) draw a huge crowd of fans in the Microsoft Store...

 

...and ride a log through the woods past Paul Bunyan and his blue ox, Babe...

 

...all before enjoying zesty mouthwatering barbeque with your sweetheart on a fun weekend escape...

Yep. Saturday was a fun-filled day spent exploring the Mall of America with my favorite husband. And ya wanna know sumthin'? He's gets even more fun to date the longer we're married. Thank God for Saturday escapes and carefree dates.

Elegant pork

Tonight was an evening of firsts. For the first time in awhile, we went on a date all dressed up. And boy, let me tell ya, did Jamie look nice! Last night was even better, when Jamie came home from working a concert event looking super spiffy in his tux...but that's a tale for another time :)

When we got to Des Moines, we met up with friends at the Marriott and headed up to the ballroom on the third floor for Iowa's 25th Annual Taste of Elegance, a whole event and competition centered around elegant pork cuisine.

Once inside, we collected our drink tickets and program and headed straight for the first chef's table where we sampled "Stuffed Porc Paupilette with an Apricot Gastrique on a Bed of Risotto Duxelle" - and enjoyed every bite. Later in the evening we were pleased to find out Kevn Moore from The Cellar in Fort Dodge, Iowa, the mastermind behind this dish, won third place overall. We kept track...

The place was packed and table space was at a premium. We were fortunate to find a tall table and were amazed and entertained by the array of guests and friends who shared our table with us. We were almost speachless when Iowa's First Lady, Chris Branstad, and Lt. Governor, Kim Reynolds asked to share the table with us, and moments later they were joined by their husbands, Terry and Kevin.

After sampling all 12 pork masterpieces and clapping for all the awards, we chatted for a bit in the lobby before calling it a night and heading home. Thanks to great friends, we had a great night. Let's double-date again!

[Update] See who's "helping" me with this blog? Yep. He's rather happy. Warm lap. A little rub behind the ears. What more could a cat want?

Oops! He's gone. Guess he really wanted Jamie and I was just the warm lap he needed while waiting for the person he really wanted. Oh well. Good night!

Good times, good friends

This afternoon was filled with lots of fun, chatter, and crafting, and great girl-time. Today friends came over and we had a Valentine-making party. The table was strewn with supplies, ideas flowed, and cinnamon rolls and M&Ms helped fuel the creativity.

A few trial cards were sacrificed at the beginning to pave the way for spectacular results the rest of the afternoon.

These are just a few of the great cards we had fun making today.

The best part was the friendship. I'm very blessed to have such great friends who also enjoy crafting too! We're already thinking ahead for ideas the next crafting party and looking forward to doing this again.

Curiosity and the cat

See this guy? He thought the pile of tickets we were bundling last week was worthy of a good pounce or two.

But after the first warning to leave them alone, any time he caught us looking at him, Casper immediately struck an innocent pose. "See?? I'm not doing anything? Honest!"

Then this weekend we were busy packing up Christmas decorations and putting away the trees. Guess who wanted to be in on all the action? Check out all the places in the last day and a half he just had to investigate.

We've been careful to double-check every box before closing it just in case "someone" decided to hide when we weren't looking. So far so good. The cat's still roaming around and finding other places to stick his nose. We don't want the saying, curiosity killed the cat, to come true. If only the cat took the friendly warnings more serious! It's for his own good.