Wow

It's been 7 months since I posted anything? I didn't get 2:15 in Madison, or even run the half. I hurt my ankle and ran the 10K instead. We're having a baby girl in February, I quit my job and I'm starting a new one on Monday, and I am somewhat into yoga now. Nothing else of interest to report!

Madison

Training for the Madison half started this week.

I will hit 2:15.
I will hit 2:15.
I will hit 2:15.
I will hit 2:15.

I will not die young of preventable fattiness.

2011 - year of firsts

First time flying a plane.
First time traveling to Asia.
First time snorkeling.
Finished first half marathon.
First promotion. While I think it was mostly to keep me around after the buyout, I'm happy with it.
First time seeing dolphins in the wild.
First time turning 30.
First time kegging beer.
First time completing a master's degree.
First time buying a house... in Minnesota.
First time surviving a brutal Minnesota winter.

I thought there were more, but oh well.

In 2012... first kid?

KC trip

I just took a quick 1-day trip to KC. Friends were getting married and had their reception at Boulevard. It was really great to catch up with people, but the trip was far too short. I did manage to work in trips to Cancun Fiesta Fresh, Glace, and Chez Elle, and drove around most of the old haunts (Westport notwithstanding, due to the art fest). I flew in, and, for traveling alone, the MSP->KC direct flight is totally worth it. I probably would have spent as much in gas driving.

The really odd thing is that, this time, it doesn't feel like home anymore. The last visit, we had moved away more recently, and it felt like we were going home. This time, it definitively felt like I was visiting, and not that it was home. It was weird. I didn't expect that change to happen so quickly. It took years before Ames didn't feel like home anymore. KC felt like a strange place where I somehow knew how to get around. I'm not quite sure how to describe it, but yeah. Very odd feeling.

Still, great visit.

Being alone is weird. Really weird. But I am managing so far. At least it's only for 10 weeks. 10 weeks kind of seems like a long time though, eh? At least I have had lots of distractions so far... but that may be drying up in a few weeks.

Home

There's food in the food fridge and beer in the beer fridge. The desk is assembled (though I always seem to end up with a couple extra pieces whenever I do that). The TV and DVD player and internet are set up. The dishes are put away. The bookshelves are full of books. There's laundry in the laundry room, toiletries in the bathrooms, beds in the bedrooms (one of them is even made). China in the china cabinet. Dirty dishes in the sink. Most of our stuff has been dispositioned, if not put away yet. Tools in the garage. Couches in the basement. The bar is set up. We've had a board game night and a movie night. It's starting to feel like home.

Not too bad for our fifth day in the house.

We're near pretty much everything in the city, and that rocks. A short list:
-bus stop on our block
-Yeti Records 2 blocks away
-Bakery 2 blocks away
-Bookstore 2 blocks away
-vintage clothing store 2 blocks away
-neighborhood farmer's market 1 mile away
-community gardens in our neighborhood
-~1 mile from a coffee shop, Anodyne Coffee
-~1 mile from The Lowbrow, a great scratch kitchen restaurant
-~1 mile from Sun Street Breads, an amazing scratch bakery
-~1 mile to lake calhoun and the others in that system
-~1.5 miles from a grocery store, Lunds
-3 blocks to I-35W
-~1 mile to the lyn-lake area, a little further to Uptown
-~3 miles to downtown
-and still only about 20 minutes to work for me

All things are appearing to be awesome so far. I never would have thought it was possible when first moving here, but Minneapolis... I love you so hard.

Minneapolitan

Well, assuming nothing goes horribly wrong (always a dicey proposition whenever I bring it up), we are buying a house. We still have inspection, post inspection negotiations, etc to go, but our offer has been accepted. After hunting for a while, we found a house that was the right combination of price, condition, location, and amenities, and it has a lot of gorgeous old woodwork that is in remarkable good shape. It has a two car attached garage that opens into a street, not an alleyway. Most houses in our price range have a detached one car garage without an automatic opener, so this was a good find. It is on a main street, which is a turn off for some people, but here it means that our street will *always* be plowed promptly, which is a big plus. It has a completely fenced in back yard with a nice, relatively new fence, also a rarity at our price point. It has a kind of 70s basement, but it's large and finished. It is close to Lyn-Lake, Uptown, and the lakes, which is pretty much perfect location wise. It's about a 20 minute drive to work for me, less than half of my KC commute, and there is a bus stop *on our block* for Rikki to grab a bus to work. Northern Brewer is opening its Minneapolis store roughly 2 miles to the south this fall. It has a smallish driveway and sidewalk (less shoveling), and a smallish but decent back yard (less mowing, enough space to have a small garden). Walk score of 77 is totally respectable. It's in a safe neighborhood. Inspection is next Friday. We asked for a long close because we need to run out our lease, but the sellers accepted. I am more than a little excited. It's all looking good so far.