Archive | outdoors. RSS feed for this section

a request.

6 Apr
There has been a request.  A request for a post.  A post about music.
Here is some musical insight into Lindsay, as well as an embarrassing story in bad taste.
I’ll be the first to admit that my taste in music in my high school days was pretty horrid at times.  After a steady diet of Garth Brooks and Reba McIntire throughout my early years [who gave Reba lip-sync “concerts” in the tobacco strip house with her playschool microphone?  this girl.], I went pop for a time … but not necessarily to the good stuff.  I won’t tell you how much money I paid to see Ricky Martin in concert my 9th grade year.  [Okay.  I will.  $80.]  I was in love with Ricky Martin ever since he sang ‘Copa de la Vida’ at the Grammy’s in, oh, 1999ish?
I was in the midst of my Spanish classes and I loved his Spanish albums from that point on.  I listened to him bunches, and then saw the Livin’ la Vida Loca tour in Milwaukee.  [I will maintain that his early Spanish albums are better than the English ones that followed.  Does that help my case at all?] My dad was such a good sport, toting four high school girls to the Bradley Center to see Ricky Martin.  [He didn’t actually attend but dropped us off and picked us up following.]  I think we even took signs that we held up to the car windows – “Ricky Martin bound!” and the like.  [ugh.  embarrassed.  the things we do when we’re 15.]  When I was at that point in my life, I probably would tell you that the concert was awesome.  I remember there was confetti and free Armani perfume samples.  Currently, I can’t say that Ricky Martin is on my playlist any too often.
It’s on days like this – sun shining, flip-flops on, and sitting outside on the patio of the Stillwater Public Library overlooking the flooded St. Croix river – that I wish the radio in my car worked.  I think there is no better sign of spring than country music and the windows down.  Even if it’s still a bit too cold, I’ll put the window down and the heat on to turn the music up louder.  Country music is ultimately my roots and my default.  
That’s not to say I didn’t go through a huge Lady Gaga phase while on internship.  Matchbox Twenty is probably my favorite of all time.  Josh Groban and Michael Buble rank pretty high.  Taylor Swift goes on repeat quite a bit lately.  I think Darius Rucker and the Zac Brown Band know me too well as every song seems to apply to my life.  Keith Urban is dreamy.  And I would pay more than $80 to see Snow Patrol in concert.  LOVE them.  Unfortunate for me that they’re based across the ocean.  [Nearly half of my “25 most played songs” playlist on iTunes are Snow Patrol.]  
I’m not too eclectic and pretty mainstream when it comes to what’s on my ipod, but I’m always up for suggestions to make me more musically hip like you.  Who is your favorite right now?  What should I listen to so we can become better friends?

the things I dream about.

31 Mar
Last week, I had this really wacky dream.  I was somehow cast to be the substitute on a hockey team.  [Note: I can’t skate even the tiniest bit.]  The game was in overtime [Is it even called overtime in hockey?  Hint at how little I know about this sport I play in my dreams.] and time is going in super slow motion.  As people skate about the rink, I think to myself, “Which goal is ours?  Did it switch?  I don’t remember …” as I search wildly for any kind of clues.  Suddenly – or as suddenly as things go in slow motion – the puck is in my possession.  *insert naughty word*  WHICH GOAL IS MY TEAM’S?  *insert naughty word*  I still don’t know so I take my best guess.  Naturally, I guessed wrong.  The team lost on my account.  I woke up feeling absolutely terrible and being reminded why I cannot bear to play competitive team sports; I fear I will let people down.  [Hello, Enneagram #2.]
While that is apparently what I dream of while wrapped in my warm quilts at night, not quite where I intend this blog post to dawdle.  [Unless you want to hear about my dream of yellow shoes made of jell-o.  That’s a classic.]  Here are the other things I dream of, while my eyes are still open –
A hammock between two trees.  Wherever I end up once my time is seminary is spent, may there be two trees close enough together to match the length of my Mexico hammock.  Please, God, please.  [I may need to invest in these to hang it more securely.  Right now, it’s always a guessing game of how quickly the hammock with drape to the-butt-touching-ground height with slippery rope.]
Time to get lost in a book.  [A friend posted this on facebook.  It is wonderfully written, and captures my childhood love affair with books; a love affair I hope to rekindle once not a full-time student.  If you’re a reader – or if you date one/are married to one, certainly click on over.]
That my thesis would write itself OR at least give me the time and energy to do so.
My future craft room.  Seriously.  

snowshoeing.

29 Jan
My January class was over [as of yesterday morning].  
The temperature outside was 30 degrees.  
I had an afternoon free and was ready for a new adventure.
proof.
I went snowshoeing yesterday with four classmates.  I was worried it might be yet another disaster – that’s what happens when Lindsay tries new winter sports.  Disasters.  (I’m still embarrassed about this ski outing a year ago.  *shaking head*)  For this outing, I remained on my two feet the entire time; in fact, Joel was the only one to hit the ground, and I think most of those falls were intentional.  And it was super fun.  I’ll be watching the end-of-season clearances to see if I can find myself a decent pair to own.  [And until then, who wants to go again?!]

We went to the Elm Creek Park Reserve in Maple Grove, rented snowshoes for $5, and made our way out on the trails for a couple hours.  It was wonderful to leave the city for a bit as we crossed tributaries, meandered about on a frozen pond, forged our way through thorny bushes, and walked the groomed paths.

Joel – the troll under the bridge [naturally] – attacks us.

  

links for the wkend.

28 Jan
Here are some of my favorite finds from the week —
This made me so excited.  Now I can make my own scratch-off cards!  (I will admit that I found this tutorial over my lunch today.  I went snowshoeing and then had the supplies – under the Joanne Fabrics clause of my no-buy January – in my possession by 5pm.  I have attempted.  And it works.  Gloriously.  The wheels of creativity in Lindsay’s head are spinning.)
Do you like Nutella?  I think I first experienced Nutella while in Greece and since then, cannot purchase a jar because I eat it.  (I realize that’s the purpose.)  How easy and delicious does this homemade version look?  And how pretty packaged in mason jars.
The St.Paul Winter Carnival begins this weekend.  Who doesn’t want to sit in a chair made of ice?
Are you cleaning at all this weekend?  Maybe the bathroom?  Just grab your Kool-Aid!
Happy weekend-ing!

Plunge.

26 Jan
I made the jump to commit myself to a plunge.  
[What?]
Today I registered for the Polar Bear Plunge.
I am volunteering to jump into a frigid Lake Calhoun in Minneapolis on March 5 while wearing some absurd outfit (which is tbd).  I’m joining my friend, Sara’s, team and I think it’s going to be fun.  She’s the seasoned expert, taking the plunge last year too.  Sara and I do a lot of crazy stuff together, so really, this is just par for the course.

Crazy stuff.  Exhibit A.

The plunge is a fundraiser for the Special Olympics in Minnesota so it’s all for a good cause.  Feeling moved to support me with my jump into a frozen lake in the middle of winter in Minnesota?  You can click here to find information about donating to the organization!

skiing part two.

28 Feb

Cross-country style.  
It was family fun ski day for Grace this afternoon.  I woke up super excited about the outing this morning.  A group of over fifty of us caravanned an hour and a half northeast to Andes Tower Hills.  Most of the participants, adults and children alike, opted for the downhill version of skiing, while four of us decided to hit the cross-country trails.  It was the perfect afternoon for skiing … sunny, warm, and delightful.
Two of my coworkers, Karen and Tammy, along with Julie, a congregation member, and I made our way to the trails.  It was a great adventure.  We all fell down a few times and had many good laughs.  We stuck to the easy trails but still found one hill we couldn’t conquer while traveling forward on our skis.  Sideways we went.
Alongside the hour and a half on the trails, other highlights of the day included:
… Two giant bananas, Chiquita and Dole, skiing and handing out oranges, pleading with people to eat oranges, not bananas.  Seriously.  Two grown men in banana suits over their winter clothes with sombreros.  Classic.  
… A confirmand approached me while in the ski lodge.  “Hey, Lindsay, remember that sermon you preached?  Uh, you know, I think it was Lent.  Uh, last week.  Yeah.  Last week.”  He hands me a dime.  “You know how we’re supposed to share our gifts?  Here.”  Even if it was a complete joke, it shows he was listening.  best. sermon. feedback. ever.
… caramel cashew trail mix from Target that Tammy brought along for snacking.  nummy.