Happy Easter

Easter is such a fun holiday filled with bunnies, pastel colors, brunch, and family! One reason that I love Easter is because it is like an unofficial start to Spring.

This Easter was extra special for Matt and I as we got to host our first family holiday. We hosted some of Matt's aunts and uncles for an Easter luncheon and it was wonderful. I love entertaining and having people over. I also love cooking and playing with all of my kitchen stuff.

Today for our Easter luncheon I made the following...Ham, cheesy potatoes, egg bake, scalloped corn, coffee cake, fruit salad, rolls, chocolate chip cookies and brownie bites. It was so much fun and I think every enjoyed themselves.

I was reminded once again today how wonderful our family is. We have so much fun together and really enjoy each other's company. It is so nice to catch up on whatever is doing, chat, eat, relax and just enjoy spending time together. Friends come and go but family is always there. The best part about my situation is that my family are my friends. I am truly blessed in that respect.

I really hope I get to host another holiday as I had a truly wonderful time hosting family for Easter.

I really hope to I get to host more holidays soon as I really enjoy it.

Update 1: New Job

I am currently in my last few days at my current job. Hard to believe after 3 1/2 years, 4 busy seasons, and countless hours, travel, and stress... I am on to a new opportunity. This decision was not the easiest to make but I know that I am doing the right thing for my family.

My new job will be at a private company working in internal audit so that means I still get to do what I love to do, audit, but I get to have a normal schedule and something they like to call work/life balance. I am looking forward to a regular schedule. I do have to commute for my new job but there is a commuter bus that I can ride. I am looking forward to 40 minutes each way in a bus where I can read, play on my phone, relax, nap, etc. Definitely looking forward to this new opportunity.

I loved my job in public accounting but it is time for a change. I will be sure to keep you all posted as I start this new journey.

Quick update....

There is a reason behind my lack of blogging recently....LOTS going on.

Here are a few highlights which I will fill you in on later when I have more time...

1) New job
2) Bathroom tile project
3) Training officially started for them SGK 3-Day walk
4) Entry way and laundry room tile projects
5) Kitchen backsplash

Lots to fill you in on which I hope to do later today or tomorrow! :)

58.69% of the way there....

I have raised $1,350 of my required $2,300 for the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure. That is 58.69% of my fundraising goal in just two months! I am so thankful for all of my friends and family who have donated toward my goal as I definitely could not do this without your support.

I am currently at a little over 25 weeks until the big walk. The official training starts at 24 weeks which is quickly approaching. The 24 week training guide suggests/requires 5 day/week workouts. Three days of walking and 2 days of cross training. I am going to use biking and Zumba as my cross training workouts.

I am glad the donations are rolling in and now I just need to put my mind to training and the whole thing will be a huge success!

Day in Mankato with my Hubby

Matt and I were able to spend the day together in Mankato today. Due to my work and travel schedule, Matt and I haven't been able to spend a lot of time together recently, so we took advantage of a Saturday together.

Our day started with breakfast at the local bagel shop. The bagel shop is our favorite places in Owatonna. It is a nice local place to enjoy a quick, delicious breakfast together.

After breakfast, we drove to Mankato. The drive over was a great opportunity for us to catch up on what we are up to and things that are going on. 45 minutes of conversation with each other was great. Once we got to Mankato, we drove around and looked at the homes that Matt is working on. It is always fun to see the progress they are making and the great homes that he gets to work on.

Following the tour of the home Matt is working on, we enjoyed some shopping without much luck. We did a lot of looking and purchased a few small things for the house. Shopping is something that Matt and I love to do together. It is always a great time.

After shopping, we went to Mt. Kato for a snow tubing for a company function. It was a lot of fun. It was all man made snow which made the conditions rather slippery, but we made the best out of the situation. I did not like to go down the hill by myself because I would get turned around and end up speeding down the hill backwards, so Matt and I would go down together which was so fun!!

A Week in Iowa!

Traveling is a large part of my job as an auditor. It is a rare occasion that my work brings me somewhere that is close to family and friends. This last week I was in Cedar Rapids, Iowa for work which was great as it meant that I got to spend time with this little man....

I had an absolute blast hanging out with my brother, Robert, sister in law, Jeni, and my wonderful nephew Aiden. It was so nice to spend a week surrounded by my wonderful family! It was so fun to play hide'n'seek, puzzles, and other fun things with my nephew who I don't see nearly enough. It was a great time. I hope to be back in the area soon to be able to spend time with them again.

Thanks to Robert, Jeni and Aiden for their hospitality.

Never a dull moment....

It is a gorgeous day in Minnesota for the middle of February. Sunny, mid-40s and just absolutely beautiful!! Since I am in the midst of training for the 3-Day, my Saturdays are normally devoted to long walks. Today, I went on a 5 mile training walk with my two training buddies, Tucker and Abby.

Today was definitely not a boring walk by any means. At the beginning of our walk, a stray dog would not leave us alone. Tucker did not like this dog at all and neither did Abby as she was pawing at my leg for me to pick her up. The strange dog had his fur up and was not friendly. I was definitely scared of this dog and he had us cornered. After about 5 minutes, he finally left us alone and we were on our way.

After about 3 1/2 miles, we were met by two other dogs. These two were really friendly and just wanted to play with us. Tucker enjoyed their company as did Abby. However, these dogs wanted to come with us so I stayed near their home until their owner came out to get them. When their owner came out, he quickly apologized and gave Tucker tons of attention. Right after he stopped petting Tucker, Tucker went over and started to hump his dog.....awkward!

Definitely the highlight of the walk was neither of these two stories but rather when we are about 1 mile from our house and Tucker lifts his leg to pee and Abby is underneath him resulting in Tucker peeing all over Abby's head. Needless to say, I will be giving Abby a bath tonight.

Probably one of the most eventful walks I've had yet but it was still a great walk. Only 188 days until the big walk!