happy to be outside

the weather as of late has been heavenly. reasons why like spring:

1. i no longer have to sprint like a mad person from car to house to avoid the cold.
2. i like walking around with my shoulders not close to my ears.
3. it's good running weather minus the slushy and muddy trails.
4. everything green and beautiful is about to bloom.
5. i like not wearing a winter jacket with all the accessories like mittens, a hat, and a scarf.

this past week we took our first walk outside for the spring season. it was wonderful. then on friday afternoon i was able to stroll around uptown with my friend Courtney. it's always fun chatting with her. then later that night curt and i enjoyed a chinese dinner in Excelsior and a frozen treat at Adele's Custard shop.

Ray and Birchwood Cafe

Check out Curt's blog! He summarized the weekend for us! Other highlights include a friday night home retreat with us watching Ray and enjoying fish and rice. I loved the movie and learned some interesting things about Ray Charles Robinson. Also, I am in love with Birchwood Cafe. We went there for dinner before the division 1 national swim meet on saturday. my kind of place...very relaxed, cheap, cool and healthy. The next time we visit Birchwood I would like to sample the desserts.

oh...we might be able to book a string trio (two violins and a cello) for the wedding ceremony! fun!

a farewell

we were able to attend the funeral for Justin Kukowski today and visitation yesterday. his life touched so many people that i was not surprised to see such a packed house. all week i was getting emotionally prepared for today. at times i was sad for the loss of life and his grieving family, but I also knew it was important to rejoice in his life of kindness and friendship. well, today was the most beautiful morning ever. the bright sunshine felt so warm against my face. yes it was very sad during the service, but the pastor's message and words from his best friend and family were so perfect and hopeful. i really liked the message of friends, family, and faith and how all three are held together with love. it was awesome.

to justin...thanks for being courageous during your fight with cancer, for being good to so many people, for befriending my siblings, and spreading God's message of love and hope.

March birthdays and the dress

we celebrated my sister's and mom's birthday this past wknd. we had lots of vietnamese food and of course birthday cake. the best part was digging out the awkward teen photos for the Mai kids. lots of fun memories.

it was also convenient because I got to model my wedding dress for my family while Curt hid in the basement. I love the dress and can't wait to get it fitted. it's a bit roomy in the chest and butt area. I also picked out my shoes!

menu choices

on friday i attended the last taste-testing with Shanna at Country Inn. We sampled a lot of fish options, steak, and turkey. It was really fun for me to experience the food and decorations ideas. based on findings from the taste tests, i think we are going to go with a chicken option... either the rolled chicked breast (with spinach and feta) or chicken wellington. we also have a solid pick with the grilled salmon. the salmon was delicious. for the vegetarians out there we will offer a veggie mexican lasagna. for the kids out there we will offer a chicken tenders and french fries meal. sorry folks...you have to be 12 and under to have the kids meal.

here are the notes from friday's taste-testing:
broiled pecan crusted walleye: makes me vomit, very hot for Shanna, interesting seasonings
char broiled salmon: Excellent
roasted turkey dinner: no
french roast turkey dinner: tastes like pork
classic sirloin steak: good
jerk mahi: good, a bit plain, very light tasting, my second favorite fish option

Needing Spring Break

It's been very busy at school. For the past two days I was in Brainerd for the state competition for Academic Decathlon. Lakeville placed 4th out of 9 teams and won 3rd place in the large school division. I had fun and so did the kids.

Anyway, it seems like the stress level for teachers is increasing while student motivation and attitude is going downhill. The month of March is always challenging. Kids and teachers alike really need time away.

Wedding news...not much to report here. My dress came in so I am excited to pick it up in Mankato. This friday I will be going to Country Inn to do a food tasting for the beef and seafood options. If you read Curt's blog then you know that we opened a Costco membership. I'm guessing that this is where we will buy some items needed for the wedding...like favors.

I'm trying to be diligent with keeping my fitness up for the triathlon. I'm still going to Lifetime to put some time in on the treadmill and the pool.

current wedding projects

1. I found an idea for a wedding card holder. It sounds like this could be a do-it-yourself project for Curt's mom or dad. brother in law Josh also said that he could give it a try.
2. I got in contact with the church organist/pianist. She is going to play for us. I am also looking into a violinist and some vocalists.
3. We are putting together a very rough plan for the ceremony...everything from the music to the readings, etc. I hope to email this off to Pastor Al by the end of the week.
4. I've been researching ideas for our wedding favors at different websites to do cost comparisons.
5. I should probably give my measurements to my mom so that she can have my reception garment made. I will be wearing a headpiece that resembles a flying saucer!
6. Finally, I should probably solidfy the person who will do flowers for us or contact a florist.

taste tests

we are looking forward to the taste testing session at our reception site this friday. Country inn and suites will be highlighting their seafood and beef options i believe. they offered a chicken tasting session which we were not able to attend, but Doug and Bev were nice enough to scope things out for us. The pictures were taken by them.

Bridge to Terabithia

Friday night was lots of fun! We had a very nice date in Chaska where we enjoyed dinner (Fish and Chips for me and some sort of mexican dish for Curt) at Paulys and then visited the newly renovated Chaska Rex theatre for the first time! Interesting facts: that was only my 2nd visit to Pauly's and my very 1st visit to the Rex.

Bridge to Terabithia was a great movie. I would highly recommend it. I read the book in one day on a Saturday morning/afternoon when I was like in 5th grade or something. So I had a hard time remembering the details of the plot. All I knew of the story was of a tragedy of some kind occurs. I won't reveal too much though.

It was Curt's idea to spend a night out on town. I got the invitation through email at work which totally made my day! It was fun to get home from school to see Curt primped for the date.

Curt's wild hair

Lately, quite a number of people have asked if Curt dyes his hair. The answer is no. His hair gets kind of frosty and knappy when he swims without a swimcap in a chlorinated pool. You are looking at before, during, and after pictures for Mom's 62 Haircut special.

another low key Saturday

we had carolyn, josh, and angie over for dinner on saturday. very low key. here are the pictures.

Happy Vietnamese New Year!

Well, Saturday was the new year for Vietnamese. My parents had us over for some food and sent us away with some gifts. The red envelope holds money, which is called Lucky Money when it is inside the red envelope. We also got some yummy sesame candy. It's one of my favorites and is kind of addicting.

Homemade pizza in St. Paul!

On friday night we went to Anton and Nicole's place to enjoy some pizza and a movie. And we forgot to take pictures! Oh well. It was really fun. We enjoyed some tea, mochi, cookies, and the movie Family Stone. In the picture I am modeling the scarf my friend Angie knit for me. It was taken while we were waiting at a traffic light in Chaska.

First conversation with Pastor Al

On Sunday we met with Pastor Al in Mankato. It was the first conversation we had with him as a couple to talk about marriage preparations. He started by asking us about our dating process. After sharing our story he then asked questions about finances, children, and creating a physical home. We had already discussed these things as early as a year ago so it was quite easy to share answers. We had a nice experience.

For me I was extra interested in talking about the design and timeline for the ceremony. I guess I kind of had it set in my mind that we would include two new testament readings and one old testament reading. In addition to the classic wedding instrumental music, I also would like to have an old hymn and contemporary worship song sung at the ceremony.

Finally we concluded the day with an evening meal consisting of a crock pot creation, salad, breadsticks, and a yummy chocolate dessert with Curt's family.

Skinny butter!

Fun weekend! We never made it to the Chaska boys swim meet, but you are looking at pictures from our time at Ichiban. The experience at Ichiban is like paying for a meal and a movie. It's very entertaining to have your meal prepared in front of you. Our cook moved with lightening speed which was quite impressive. But I was kind of bummed out when we missed out on the "fried rice beating heart" which we experienced at our last visit for Curt's birthday dinner. We walked away with some memorable phrases though..."more Saki!"..."skinny butter"..."i put pee (it was a single green pea) on your plate!". funny.

The pre-dinner bowling was also fun. I had a not so impressive score of 50. Curt bowled a 134.