10 blocks west

After looking through almost 100 houses in two months, we found our future home. As of today we are the proud owners of a house just 10 blocks west of where we currently live. The location is beyond perfect for us. It's our style with old wood floors, built-ins, a fireplace and multiple sunrooms. The kitchen is big, the basement is unfinished and there's potential for a third floor expansion. While it's move-in ready, we won't be packing up until after we sell our current house. Instead, we'll take the time to make the house ours with various electrical and paint projects. It's exciting and scary to see all the potential the house has and to know it's just a matter of getting it done. Luckily we have many years ahead of us!

This house-buying experience vastly contrasted to our last house purchase. The market was quite a bit different six years ago. The day our house was put on the market, we walked through and within hours put in our final offer (above asking price due to multiple offers). What a whirlwind! Without the pressure this time around, we saw the house a few times before deciding it could be our future home. Negotiations were settled upon and today we closed. We feel very lucky in both cases to find such beautiful properties. Now we just have to unload the first one!

For anyone interested, check out www.4618wentworth.com!

Hooplas, Camping and more

It is so convenient that Trevor's 30th birthday fell smack in the middle of Labor Day weekend. Thanks to summer hours and flex time, we were both able to take Friday off without using a vacation day. To start things off right, we headed to the State Fair to indulge in fried goodness. The day began with a blackberry milk shake at the Dairy Building, as close as you can get to our daily smoothie. We met up with family to check out our pickles on display. After 5 hours, our bellies were filled with corn on the cob, cheese curds, turkey sandwiches, pronto pups, fried pickles and cookies. Even though the food was spectacular, the best part of the day was the Giant Slide. You really can't beat six adults racing down on burlap sacks!(Pictured left to right: Sam, Sara, Scott, Jennifer, Rebecca, Trevor)

After a short recovery nap, we got the party started. Trevor's favorite people made it over to celebrate the big day. A bonfire, dance party and wrestling match with a gigantic monkey helped make the event a success. Thanks to all who participated - this was the first party that ended with less alcohol than started. We really appreciate it!

The festivities continued with a family lunch at French Meadow, another recovery nap, and a trip to Nerstrand Big Woods camp sites. We got a walk-in site, which was great. Ted Cooks was on the menu along with essential s'mores, gourmet style. Cheddar was a huge disturbance protector and fended off the evil wind/squirrels by his growling. After camping, the Friedpeople had to return to Chicago. But we continued celebrating with a romantic dinner at Solera, a walk to the Hennepin bridge and a movie in the theater (The Hangover - highly recommended)!

Last up was a barbeque in the park on Monday. Many yard games were played, including mega-golf, bocce ball, and speedminton. All of which Trevor (surprisingly) won. That's what happens when you turn 30!

Mt. Waverley

How does a 15 hour flight trump a 3.5 hour flight? The DC777-200LR. My biggest learning from my recent trip to Australia is that traveling BusinessElite is definitely the way to go. Not only does your seat fully recline, the food, drinks and service are better, but you also get to use the express lanes through customs! I might not be home if it weren't for the BreezeWay (tm).

We had a day and a half of free time before starting work Monday morning. After getting settled into our apartment, we took a stroll into the town of Glen Waverley. On the small street, there were multiple Asian restaurants and grocery stores. We filled ourselves with Thai and bought our first round of groceries. We took the 30 minute MetLink into Melbourne for some quick site seeing. After strolling the Yarra river and nearby botanical gardens, we walked through the city and found a restaurant in South Gate. I tried char-grilled kangaroo, it was good. Sunday we drove to Dandendong National Park, did some hiking and tasted wine at a wonderful little winery. The rest of the week was spent at the plant or at our apartment. I won't bore you with those details. Thursday night the team took us to the sea for dinner and dessert. It was beautiful!

Though my time was quick, it definitely gave me a view into the country and intensified my desire to explore further. Now I just need to figure out how to get another BuinessElite ticket!

Bled and Beyond

The town of Bled sits adjacent to a shining blue lake with a church on an island and a clifftop castle. Nothing gets more picturesque, especially with the Julian Alps in the background. You can't help but be relaxed surrounded by such beauty. We arrived mid-morning and spent the day in the town walking up the cliff and around lake. Again the weather was not very cooperative, but certainly didn't keep us indoors. It was easy to convince Scott to join in our afternoon ritual of coffee and beers. We also introduced him to the delicious Bosnian meat, cevapcici. With a great night under our belts, we took the next day to explore the national park. We visited both Bohinj Lake and a nearby waterfall before lunch. Then we drove back to Vintnar Gorge with it's crushing rapids and winding wooden paths and bridges. Both were sights to be seen! We spent our last evening with pizza and wine on the balcony with cards.

We are currently home after a quick jaunt in Amsterdam. The trip has been incredible and we thank everyone at home who helped us take this journey. We feel so lucky to have been able to explore such beautiful countries for so long. It is highly recommended!

The city we can't spell or pronounce

After a morning drive and train ride, we arrived in Ljubljana mid-afternoon. It was raining so we opted for a taxi to bring us and our luggage to our hotel, a huge splurge. After getting settled, we walked four blocks to try and find Scott at his hotel. We found out he was off spelunking a nearby cave so we hunkered down out of the rain for our afternoon beer and coffee. We were able to find a cafe with dark beer on tap where we relaxed until meeting Scott for dinner. The next day we visited the castle on the hill. Trevor led a wonderful walking tour through the city checking out various sites. Our dinner that night was one of the best through the trip. It was just off the beaten path serving local cuisine. Ljubljana was a cute city with an old town filled with new shops. It had less hustle and bustle than the rest of our trip, but we think it was because of the weather.

Plitvice Lakes

The weather has gone from perfect to not so much. The rain and mist have become never-ending, but our smiles continued thanks to Plitvice Lakes. The national park is a series of lakes connected by ever changing waterfalls. The paths wind through the park over the water with a natural feel. We spent hours walking up and down the various elevations awed by the beauty in all directions. The water is crystal clear and filled with hundreds of trout, probably because there is no fishing or swimming allowed within the park. It is nothing like anything we have ever seen before, and highly recommended!

The Adriatic Islands

Our first stop was on the island of Korcula for two nights. The bus ride over was much better than the one to Dubrovnik. It was air conditioned and we got to ride a bus ferry - so exciting!! The island is quite a bit like a miniature Dubrovnik, but more peaceful and quaint. The old town is surrounded by walls and a beautiful promenade that we took advantage of for afternoon coffees and drinks. The pine trees hang over us and the water creating a gorgeous view. Most of our time was spent strolling the city, shopping and swimming off the rocks.
Next we took an early morning catamaran to Hvar, known as the party island. Mostly because it is a port town that attracts yachts and mega-yachts. We saw one with four levels, a crane and a full staff. We had three nights to occupy. Our room had a balcony overlooking the sea, beautiful as always. The first day was filled with relaxing on the rocks, swimming, shopping, hiking to the castle and wine. Unfortunately when we went to watch the sunset, we encountered a fight with a man beating another man with a rock in the head. It was VERY disturbing, but the sunset helped calm us. The second day we took an excurison to Vis which included a trip to the green cave and blue cave. Wow - the blue cave was awesome! It just glowed. Our last full day we ended up taking a water taxi to one of the Palenki islands, Palmasana. This was yet another peaceful island where we got the best mussels and finally a good, dark Croatian beer, mmmm!

Currently we are off the islands in the city of Split. We took full advantage of our time so far and visited the Diocleatian Palace, a Chagall exhibit and a great lunch. Tomorrow we are driving off to Plitvice Lakes for our last night in Croatia.

Dubrovnik

The bus ride from Mostar to Dubrovnik took longer than expected due to the multiple passport control stops (Bosnia to Croatia, Croatia to Bosnia and Bosnia to Croatia again). Old Town is huge and magnificent! Enclosed by towering walls and marble floors, the walk around the city walls has been the highlight of the trip. Our first full day was spent on the neighboring island of Lokrum, a national park. It was far more secluded than the busy streets of the Old City (especially with the overload of cruise shippers). The island is full of rocks to sunbathe, Adriatic water to cool off in and trails of pine trees everywhere. It also had the added bonus of no smoking on the island, excellent. We rented a car on the second day and drove to Montenegro. The freedom of hitting the curvy seaside roads and exploring Kotor and Saint Stefan was marvelous. Today is our last day in Dubrovnik. We found some hidden rocks outside the walls of the Old City with deep water to splash in. The pictures will not do justice of the beauty surrounding us. We are excited to head to the next couple islands as we explore the coast.

Thanks for keeping up with us, and as always, we would love to hear how everyone is back home.

A Minute in Mostar

We got to Mostar earlier than expected but the ride through the mountains was gorgeous (of course Rebecca slept through half of it). It reminded us a little of Sweetbriar with the green hills and river below. We stayed outside of Mostar's Old Town, small and quaint. The Old Bridge, Stari Most, was quite a sight and we were able to catch a guy jump off the 70 feet! The river is beautiful, ice cold, we could barely keep our toes in, probably as cold as the Kawishiwi in May. We tried the local wine...interesting. Our highlight was finding a rooftop terrace and watching the sunset.

The Valley of Sarajevo

We are wrapping up our time in Sarajevo before a day in Mostar and then on to Croatia. The city is not at all what we expected (not sure what that was though). It is nestled in a green valley with a fabulous Old Town next to a river. Originally we had a trek planned, but it ended up getting cancelled last minute. No worries, even though it would have been beautiful, we created our own voyage. With much help from a local taxi driver (who spoke no English), a foreign announcement was made on the loud speakers of a bus directing us toward our stop. It was a gorgeous view of the town and surrounding hillside. Other than our spontaneous non-trek, we have filled up on loads of meat. Yep pretty much just meat, mostly seasoned ground beef, lamb, or both. Delicious and incredibly filling!

Architecture of Budapest

It is our last night in Budapest and have loved every minute of it. The first day we spent our time in Buda on Castle Hill which had beautiful views of the Chain Bridge and all of Pest. It rained a lot! Being unprepared for the rain didn't stop us from walking all over, sopping. We even made it back over to Pest and saw Parliament, which was gorgeous. In the evening we went to see Romeo and Juliet ballet at the opera. Unfortunately our seats were so good we only saw half of it. For dinner we sat outside wrapped in blankets and had their famous paprika chicken. Jet lag kept us in bed longer than expected until we jumped up and went to the market and Vaci Utca. Following shopping, we relaxed in the Szechenyi baths. They were extraordinary, except that Rebecca got locked in a bathroom stall which was completely traumatizing. We walked back along Andrassy street and marveled at all the gorgeous buildings. All in all, the goulash, gelato and beer are superb and the buildings of Budapest are worth the journey alone.

Note: We think we saw Luke Wilson at the Heathrow Airport.

The Fabulousness of Turning 30

It took awhile to get here but I made it to 30 years. As the momentus occasion approached, I never felt any fear or had a problem with the age. I really thought it wouldn't be any different than years past. Overall, I still feel I'm right. Although over the past week, nothing could have been better. Trevor was BHE and treated me as a queen. (Saturday) It all started at the Bulldog NE for a lively dinner with 17 friends. We divulged in Belgians, burgers and cupcakes. The night progressed down the street at Nye's with jag bombs and more friends. Despite the snow enduced towings, it was fun for all! (Sunday) To help Sybil celebrate her birthday as well, we had delicious greek cuisine at the Med Cruise Cafe. (Monday) The big day was spent with free yoga and fondue at the Melting Pot. (Tuesday) Trevor seared ahi tuna after our massages. (Thursday) More snow fell but we were able to make it to my parents house for my traditional birthday lamb dinner. The festivities continued in Wisconsin for a weekend away from the cities. Jennifer, Trevor and I met Sara and Scott at a secluded cabin. There was delicious meals encompanied by cookie cake, martinis and presents. We opted for snowboarding at Cascade Mountain for most of the day Saturday. We skipped the lesson but thoroughly enjoyed tumbling down the slopes and off the lift gracefully. It was quite wearing, but completely worth it! Luckily we had a hot tub to soak away our pain. Spending the weekend with my favorite people was the perfect end to a perfect celebration.

Christmas in January

Instead of a typical holiday season with mounds of presents, we decided to limit the gifts and book a trip to Mexico. What an excellent decision! We spent four nights at the Hyatt Regency in Cancun. The weather was gorgeous!

It's amazing how easy it is to get out of bed when the sun is shining and you don't have to go to work. Every morning we rose early to catch some rays before filling up at the free breakfast buffet. Once the sun wore us out, we took a stroll in the city for guac, quesadillas and cervezas. Then it was back to our balcony for games before heading to dinner and calling it a day.

It was time well spent swimming in the ocean, reading in the sun and ordering drinks at the swim-up bar. I love Christmas!

History is made

Today Barack Obama became the President of the United States of America. Goosebumps rise whenever I think about the signficance of the day. We have been waiting for this change for too long. I have an overwhelming sense of hope and I am proud to be an American!

Today should be a National Holiday.

Benefits of a small pooch

Cheddar had a rough start to the week. He threw up 1-2 times daily until we took him to the vet. Like all dogs, Cheddar HATES the vet. Even while there are no doctors in the room, he wiggles around on the examination table impatiently. This time he was only forced to get his temperature checked (mind you it was via his behind). They prescribed wet food and a medication like pepcid for a week. He's already much better.

On the way home, we looked over the bill and saw they only prescribed 2 pills to him. That's because he's so small he only has to take 1/4 of a pill per day!

Let your voice be heard

Vote!

Cabintastic

Once the bugs die off and the river warms, we spend more time up north at the cabin. We started the season off with a weekend trip to join Autumn, MacKenzie and the rest of the Axner/Wyckoff crew. A visit by a bat in the wood stove led us to tell fun ghost stories. Our next trip was a combination of visiting the Engels at Aspen Lodge and trip into the BWCA. It was the first time Cheddar ventured onto canoe waters. The paddle into camp was sunny and trouble free, perfect. On the way back, the wind picked up and Cheddar decided to jump ship. Luckily he was hooked into his life jacket for easy recovery. Aspen Lodge was filled with our usual skinny dip, cribbage and good food.

After two family trips, we took a bunch of friends up with us for the weekend. We spent our time playing lots of games while the dogs ran wild. Lastly, we had a chill weekend with the Becketts. With cold weather approaching, we cuddled up near the fire for some much needed relaxation.

The Circle of Life

Over the past couple of months, Rebecca's Nana and Trevor's Grandpa Jim passed away. Even though both grandparents led long and fulfilling lives, it was hard to say goodbye. Dealing with death prompted thoughts of getting old and the next stage of our life. As difficult as it is to move on, it's comforting to know that these changes also bring new, wonderful people into the world.

Here's to all our friends and family with new additions and to our grandparents for reminding us to cherish every part of life.

Sweet Sweet Sweetbriar

Our good friend Casey has a cabin in northern California on the Sacramento river. This was our second visit to this picturesque retreat. Sweetbriar consists of a series of old family cabins nestled along a fish filled, rapid paced, cold water river just south of Mount Shasta. Most of the week was spent lounging riverside and eating good food. We ate, showered, slept and played outdoors. With such beautiful trees and mountains surrounding us, it is the perfect vacation.

Our crew consisted of Casey, Tina, Sean, Becky, and Ben. Casey's parents joined us for a portion of the trip as well. They were extremely generous with delicious home-cooked dinners. Beyond swimming and tubing in the river near the cabin, we also took a couple half-day trips. Due to the haze from the nearby fires, we took one afternoon to shop around Mt. Shasta city where Rebecca picked up some great earrings and clothes.

Once the haze cleared, we spent an afternoon jumping the Sims cliffs, a secluded stretch of the Sacramento river. Casey led Sean, Becky and us for a swim up the rapids to a nearby waterfall. Though it was very cold, it was a great swim.

Another day was spent at a mountain reservoir. Castle Lake is a beautiful, deep, clear lake with mountains on all sides and more cliffs for jumping. We hiked a mile around the lake and ate a picnic lunch. After our sandwiches had settled, we swam across the lake to jump off some cliffs.

Sweetbriar provided us again with much needed relaxation, beautiful landscapes, and good company. We hope to be back soon!

Mah-keese

As you all know, I (Rebecca) currently support a system called MQIS for General Mills plants. MQIS is an acronym for Manufacturing Quality Information Systems. The system is used for a variety of data entry and reporting needs. To help broaden my knowledge base, I was recently sent to Irapuato, Mexico to help with the start-up of the new taco lines and implementation of MQIS. When introduced to MQIS, our Spanish friends referred to it as one word, pronounced Mah-keese (similar to Matisse). I'm petitioning to rename my team.

Onto the trip....Our descent into Leon, Mexico was accompanied by a picturesque sunset to the west and storm clouds penetrating the mountains to the north. It was quite beautiful. Pete, my co-worker, and I picked up the car and took a 45 minute drive southeast into the neighboring city of Irapuato. With an elevation of over a mile, Irapuato is 3.5 hours northwest of Mexico City. It's a smaller city, but large enough to host a General Mils plant, a Con Agra plant, a Coca-Cola plant and much more. Our days were spent at the plant in a large conference room setting up data and training the trainers. For lunch, the plant provided us with a variety of food including Dominoes pizza and chilaquiles. With our limited free time, we were able to take a tour of the new taco lines (still in the construction phase) and the neighboring Green Giant lines.

The time at the plant was constructive. Most days we were able to finish by 6pm. Our after hours schedule was determined on day one. After returning to the hotel, we split up to work-out, study, swim, and raid the grocery store of interesting Mexican treats. We met for dinner around 7:30. The first night we ate at the hotel. Despite the electronic 80s jams playing in the background, it was a pleasant evening. Vaishali, another co-worker, ordered a beer Michelada style. I was nervous for her due to our experience in Guatemala, but it was quite good! The second night we ended up at an Italian restaurant in a mall. Again, quite good, but not very cultural. Our final night in Irapuato surpassed all expectations. Pete visited Irapuato in the past and brought us to Panteon Torino (The Bull Fighters Cemetary). The restaurant is designed to look like the inside of a stadium with the liquor lined up behind the bar in the "stands". Through dinner we were serenaded by mariachi which made the meal more enjoyable. After a couple shots of tequila (served alongside tomato juice and lemon juice), the bull arrived. The bull danced through the restaurant inviting all to join along. Once everyone was roused, a stage was set up for bullfighting. We each took our turns to be the Forcados waving a red cape trying to distract a fellow patron running back and forth with bull horns held up to their head. It was quite adventurous. We had one more night in Mexico, but had to stay near the airport in Silao due to early flight times and thus had dinner at Applebees.

Even though we weren't able to fully experience all Irapuato has to offer, the trip was an excellent experience. If I ever end up in the city again, I'll be sure to see more sights and hopefully have another shot at Panteon Torino.