A snowy relaxing weekend in Niobrara

Involved a nice long but very very cold and snowy 8 mile run on country roads. The making of some very scrumptious Pioneer Women Cinnamon Rolls,

A few small updates to our mud room,


Destruction and painting of this very 70’s bathroom,

And relaxing by the fire with a glass of wine after a long day of snowshoeing. Perfection.

Special Snow Delivery

I have this amazing friend who is always up for any new adventure and encourages me to step outside my comfort zone. He is a huge fan of snow shoeing so had me intrigued. To ensure I didn’t back out I receive a text a few days ago similar to this “I am near Scheels I am going to stop in and get you snow shoes” Perfect! As I know I wouldn’t have made the drive anytime soon. He then proceeded to send me the following photos.


Of course I chose the pink and purple ones! And as luck would have it those are the ones he recommended anyway. It was a fun treat to come home to a big box waiting by my back door. Cannot wait to try these out along with my new Carhartt gear this weekend!!

*I probably should have purchased that pink helmet shown in the background as afraid I may break a limb with this endeavor.

Am I a Farm Girl now?

I needed cold weather gear. It’s arctic here. Negative digits (or single digits at best) and crazy winds. Not good I am telling you.
Wednesday
9°F
Mostly sunny and frigid
-3°F
*Forecast on weather.com
On the plus side we were blessed with a nice round (or several rounds in Niobrara) of snow so everything looks pretty and sparkly white. I am dying to get out and breathe in the fresh air. But doing so requires major layering. A quick stop at Tractor Supply netted the following articles of clothing.



Your eyes are not deceiving you. I purchased Carhartt products. Who would’ve guessed? Definitely not I! But they are so darn warm and comfy and indestructible so perfect for outdoor adventures like sledding, snow shoeing, photography, etc…especially in the wild wild west known as Niobrara. Wearing them makes me feel like I should be going out to feed the cattle and the horses though…Maybe the Pioneer Woman will let me come visit her ranch so I can get my fix and also cook up scrumptious meals from her cookbook.



*Last two images from Pioneer Woman
To prevent total loss of girlyness I do plan to purchase these Sorel boots to complete the ensemble if only I can find a place that still has my size.

Power and Light District – Kansas City

I had never been to Power and Light before and I love it! Cannot wait to go back in February with my siblings for the Jamie Johnson and Kid Rock concert!! We started at The Flying Saucer. I decided to try out an Around the World Beer Flight.


Overall I enjoyed most of the beers – should have chosen the German flight instead. Then the girls headed off to this very cool movie theater.

To watch True Grit while the guys watched football. Great Western movie and a glass of wine is a perfect way to spend a cold winter afternoon with girlfriends.


Anyone have a favorite bar/restaurant in this area? Gathering ideas for our next visit.

Kansas City Chiefs Playoff

Sadly the Chiefs didn’t quite pull off a win but we still enjoyed the playoff game. The weather was frigid as you can tell from our many layers and snow.



But when surrounded by great company you can tolerate cold weather.





Lucky for me my cousin scored us tickets for the Sky Box so I was not forced to endure the brutal temps during the game. Instead I had a bird’s eye view of the game.


And the neat tricks orchestrated by the Chiefs fans.


Can’t wait for next year to cheer for the Chiefs again…

Totten Tigers Success Story

*Sorry about the blurry camera phone picture and the awkwardness of the photo
Ok so nothing really that dramatic but I am pleased to report that the Totten Tigers had our final weigh in yesterday for the Hold the Holidays Challenge and we succeeded and won a prize!

(Don’t worry the guys chose a different color)We went from 903-891. So not only did we hold our weight like required but we lost an additional 12 pounds as a team. One member lost 7, so the rest of us really just lost a pound (probably the soda and pizza or the donated pint of blood...) but hey it works! Now I need to get motivated and actually lose some weight. Goodbye Holidays hello Half Marathons!

Donate Blood Today

My company has a blood drive every few months and allows us to donate blood during work hours. It is a great way to help save lives and encourage more donations. I just finished my donation a few minutes ago. Feels great to know I may help save someone’s life, even in such a small way. One pint of blood can save up to three lives! Hope you consider donating to the Red Cross as well when you have the opportunity.

Festival of San Fermin

Another 2011 goal is to travel. I absolutely love travel and experiencing new places and new cultures. I slacked for a bit but seem to be back in the groove. Beyond your typical US destinations and a Mexico trip I have plans for a summer France/Spain adventure. As you may have guessed by the title the plan is for this to include a little running with the Bulls!!!

Anyone else have this on their bucket list? Or even better have you participated? Or am I insane?

2011 Fitness Goals

I am not big on New Year’s Resolutions. But I do have a few goals for 2011 - I figure if I share them I will then be held accountable. I just signed up for the Lincoln Half Marathon in May, I also plan to run the Council Bluffs Half Marathon, and the Omaha Half Marathon. A trifecta of sorts. All of these with my favorite running partners!

And hopefully the Army Ten Miler in October. But my largest and toughest goal for 2011 is to finally run a full marathon – to quit talking about it and just do it. I am thinking the Honolulu Marathon in December?

Anyone know much about this marathon? Or have any better ideas? The full needs to be somewhere fun and late fall/early winter due to all the summer half marathons. I would also like to throw a triathlon into the mix.

And as painful as this is for me (not physically painful just brutal as I don’t enjoy it) I really really need to work on lifting weights at least twice a week. And sticking with a fitness routine and not dropping days when life gets hectic.

Ringing in 2011

Hope everyone had a great time ringing in 2011 and is now ready to start a fresh year. At the last minute (partially spurred by a $9.50 tree bargain at Wal-Mart) I decided down with the Christmas decorations and up with New Year’s Eve decorations.





It was quite fun and festive. But resulted in only one craft project being completed – the tablecloth. May still make the cute star headbands for next year. We did have a great time ringing in the New Year in the comforts of home and just enjoying each other’s company.

And enjoying our little family tradition of Aebleskiverat midnight (A Danish pancakes my great-grandmother used to make us).


Now it’s time to set a few 2011 goals.