Nach HAUSE

The night before my trip to MN, I stayed up all night. Primarily, I I wanted to take care of the ever-mounting to-do list that keeps my teeth grinding. Then there was the Twins game that was on at 1AM. and last, the possibility that if i stayed up all night it would help my Jet lag so I wouldn't waste precious time in MN being sleepy like i did in New York. I was so busy following the Twins game that when it got really good in the 8th I realized I needed to go to the airport very soon and I hadn't even packed or showered! Since I only get internet in one corner of the apartment, I spent the next 20 minutes running from one end to the other getting ready while never taking my eye off the ESPN gamecast and ear off the At Bat radiocast. By the end of the game I was late to the airport and standing in my internet corner with my coat on waiting for the final out… and the Twins beat the Yankees! What a great note to start my vacation with.

I got amazing sleep on the plane only interrupted by conversation with a Russian wedding singer on his way to Iowa at the Amsterdam airport. Since he only knew Russian and German I had fun chatting with him until he got creepy and I ditched him when he got stuck in security.

Wednesday I met some peeps at Famous Dave's, a Minnesota based BBQ restaurant. It's not my favorite place to eat while in MN but after the Blue Smoke with Naman i can't get pulled pork off the brain! I wanted to stay out but I was sooo tired, even after having a coffee. Driving home I thought about stopping at the Page place in order to avoid sleeping at an off-ramp like a truck driver but luckily I made it all the way to White Bear Lake.

Thursday I went to the gym with my mother. She has lost almost 25lbs since Thanksgiving, she looks really great and I'm proud of all of her hard work! After the gym I got in some Kat time and then had a tasty dinner with my parents in St Paul. I met up with my Ernst & Young Peer Advisor and all around fun guy Chad at a White Bear Lake townie bar (and I mean that in the most endearing way). I continued my tradition of getting pull-tabs for my coworkers. Here's what I do: I buy a pull-tab for every one of my work friends and before I pull them off I write a name on each one. If it's a winner, the person whose name is on it gets the prize. for the first time ever in my pull-tab history, someone won. Congratulations Annette on your prize of two American dollars!

Friday was the big day! On Thursday night we were antsy like kids on Christmas Eve. I started the day with a haircut so I could look good for the Twins. I've been seeing the same hair gal for about nine years and so I had total faith when I asked for something "fun" and let her do her thing. She went short with bangs. Great job Missy! Next, I met the Page family for a veggie burger and locally brewed beverage at the Bulldog before heading to the field. I was so excited to spend the second year in a row with the baby Pages and this time even Mama Page came! 

Don't mind the rockette leg, I cropped most of it out

Max did a great job on our seats and they were exactly where I wanted them, along the 3rd base line (for sun purposes) and only a few rows back.The weather was amazing because when you cheer for a good team, good things happen to you. My mom snagged a ticket at the last minute and hung out with us at our awesome seats. The Twinkies ended up winning and after the game we went to my favorite karaoke bar from college, which is nowhere near as fun as I remember. 

My favorite part is the kid behind us

Saturday Max and I had dinner with the Gaalswyks before going in for another round of Twins, this time with a less happy ending. Continuing my streak of karaoke we met the Simmons' at the uptown VFW (making it my 3rd VWF appearance behind Mitchell, SD with Jen's mom and Boston with Jessica's Nana). Rebecca and I performed as back-up dancers and received an immense amount of compliments on our unrehearsed yet synced dance moves. Even though I have been thousands of miles away for years, we are still basically the same person. While we were at the VFW, USA beat the World.

and that's how Sunday snuck up on me! In between everything I was running around trying to get errands done and it was not as successful as I had hoped. Sunday, I had to buckle down to take care of business so Max hung out with me while I did my taxes which made them less painful. 

I had a really fantastic time in MN and was sad to leave. Although busier than NYC, I felt more relaxed in MN and got to eat my mom's delicious food (she even made us Chex Mix on Sunday!) When I was finally alone in the security line I was sad because I won't be back in MN for many months. As much as I love New York and love Berlin my bi-monthly midwestern visits are a hard habit to break.

Returning to Berlin I still bummed until I hopped on my bike to go grilling at Melissa's. As soon as I was bumping down the path smelling the lilacs and ringing my bell I was happy to be back. Melissa made an awesome welcome home dinner and we caught up having not seen each other in a whopping five days.

My next USA trip is a long way off but I have a fun month coming up with two of my favorite people coming to visit!