Earth Day Run presented by Scheels and Central Minnesota Heart Center | St. Cloud, Minnesota 56301 | Friday, April 15, 2011 @ 12:00 PM

http://www.active.com/page/event_details.htm?event_id=1898616

Running for the earth!

Irish Traditions

My dad LOVES Corned Beef and Cabbage.  Me?  Not so much.   Growing up we had it every St. Patrick's Day.   But we always got the fatty version that gets boiled for an hour and is probably one of the worst things you will ever put into your mouth. 

I guess the Irish part of me was determined to make decent traditional Irish dinner. 

It actually was delicious. 

But isn't anything that's been in a brine and stewed for 6 hours?

I also made...

Soda Bread.

An Irish Salad.

Yes, those are beets.

And this Irish Cream Cake.

It was amazing.

It actually turned out to be a good meal.  Minus the beets... I still have "that" taste in my mouth.  Blair and Blaise actually ate some of it, so I must have done a decent job.  At least I impressed my dad, but it really doesn't take much.  His idea of culinary perfection is Pickled Herring (um, yuck)!

Kiss the cook.

After desert all of my favorite boys joined a band.

Rockband that is.

B and my dad make a pretty good two man drumming team don't you think?

I really miss...

...Montana.

Specifically Bozeman, Montana.

I miss always being able to see the mountains wherever you are.  I miss downtown. I miss the quaint bistros and coffee shops.  I miss being able to take my dog anywhere.  I miss fresh air.  I miss active people.

There really is nowhere else quite like it.

You know what else I miss?

The Ballantyne family.

Its not like we don't ever get to visit.  We do.  I just feel like its not enough.  We usually make it there for holidays and want to spend as much time with family as possible because we don't get to see them as often as we would like.

  Which means we don't get to spend that much time exploring Montana. 

Blair's family taught me what it means to have a really close family and its hard to be so far away from them.  Its especially hard on Blaise because he really misses his "Mary Grandma".

Love.

I'm planning a trip in June.  Spring in Montana is heaven.  If you've never been, I strongly suggest it.  Its been a few years since I've seen a Montana spring.

 When Blair and I started dating we used to hike to Palisade Falls after work. It was only 1 mile away from the house I was renting at the time.  I think its time we revisit it.

Beauty.

Moving to Montana was one of the best decisions that I have ever made.  It changed who I am as a person.  I met the love of my life there.  My son was born there.  I really miss it!

God Bless Texas...

...and the the best sister and friend in the world.

Love her!

I really, really LOVE her!

So my awesome sister flew me down to Texas last Thursday for a long weekend.  It was so nice to be able to spend some quality time with her.  We spent way to much of our lives resenting each other. But being adults has found us some common ground and we are closer then ever.  In fact, I consider her to be my best friend.  This is the way it should have been all along.  I must admit, my sister is pretty rad!

You know what else is rad?

70-80 degree weather in March!

Oh, and this amazing mall in Houston called the Galleria that contains every major fashion house you can think of.  Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Prada, YSL, Valentino, yeah I could go on forever.  I was in heaven.  Too bad my wallet wasn't up for as much shopping as I was.

I'm not going to lie...  I did get a FEW things.

After we left Houston, we headed to Alto, Texas.  This is the town in east Texas that my sister lives in.  Its pretty close to the Louisiana border.  When you go during Mardi Gras you'll see lots of this:

It can get a little ridiculous.  And comical.

This is my Brother-In-Law Doug (and Bella).

Love him too.

He is an apiarist (a bee farmer and honey producer).  I must say its a very interesting way to make a living.  You wouldn't believe how dependent the world is on bees.  I got to spend some time with Doug on the job.

That is a $550 queen bee.  Isn't she cute?

I no longer have a fear of bees.

Since I was in Texas I decided I needed to have some "real" Texan experiences.  As if all the Cajun food wasn't enough.  Yeah, I put frog legs, catfish, and craw fish into my mouth.

 Guess what the "thing" to do in Texas is right now?

Wild Boar Hunting.

Its a girls sport.

I do realize how over dressed I am for this.  I was one of those "now or never" moments and I didn't have time to change.  I didn't have the heart to stab it with a knife or slit its throat after the dog took it down (which is how they do it there).  And I know its looks cruel to hold it by its ears like that but I REALLY did not want to get bit by that thing.  They are VERY aggressive and a huge problem in Texas.



I had a great trip, and made many great memories!  I will definitely be going back! 

Thanks for everything Marissa and Doug!  I miss you already!  Love you!