Heads-up: Be sure you have a few spare minutes for this post – it’s a little, I mean a lot, longer than the rest of ‘em! :)

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I know, I know – it’s been a long time. The last blog post I wrote was six months ago! It was all about our life-changing experience at a Journey concert.

Shortly afterwards, I was excited to share that write-up with Journey’s new lead singer, Arnel Pineda, to show him how he had impacted my life. The very same day he replied with a tweet that said: “Thank you so much for this. Really enjoyed reading your write-up about your experience. Goosebumps!”

So cool. So, if you haven’t read the post yet – please do!

Funny how the post ended with a message to Journey, saying: “See you all again soon…”

And so it is. Here I am, six months later – and Bill and I just returned from a winter road trip to hang with Journey once again!

I’ve gotten so much reader feedback in the past, asking me Read more »

The last official weekend of summer may have included one of the most joyful experiences of my life. I know I say that a lot, but this one was really special! I’d like to thank the popular feel-good band, Journey, and their awesome new lead singer, Arnel Pineda, for hosting the party.

They were playing on a beautiful summer night at our beloved “Great Minnesota Get-Together,” the Minnesota State Fair. Bill and I hopped on the express bus to the Fair without concert tickets in-hand (but you know us – we trusted it would all work out!) to enjoy a night of fun with the band. The show had been sold out for quite a while, and ticket brokers told us this was the “toughest ticket of the summer” to get. Really? That explains why there hadn’t been any good tickets available, which is pretty unusual.

That morning I went Read more »

High school reunions. You either love ‘em or hate ‘em. I am one who happens to love them. Last weekend was my 25th reunion. Wait, did I just say “25th”?!

I love these reunions simply because they’re so ‘real.’ Back in high school and when we’re kids, we label each other – we say this one’s super smart, this one’s pretty, this one’s whatever. Labels helped us define the world around us as we were learning to find our own way. But as adults now, the playing field gets leveled and no one has any of those labels. We don’t need that anymore.

At the core, we’re all the same anyway. We’ve all struggled. We’ve all had fear get in our way. We’ve all reached for goals or worked hard toward a dream. We’ve all questioned ourselves. We’ve all had a vision for our future.

Bottom-line: We’re all just striving to do our best in life. Plain and simple.

It doesn’t matter what your religion is, what you Read more »

[Editor's Note: Hello! It's been a while since I've blogged and I've got a cool story to share - but it's a little long. So, please allow yourself some extra time to fully take in this post - you'll be glad you did!]

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My confidence was shaken, then my faith restored…all within a matter of a few days.

Just as we were leaving to embark on a Midwest road trip to catch a few shows with my all-time favorite performer, Neil Diamond, I allowed some external voices to grab ahold of me. I let some things in that made me question what the heck I was doing, what I was spending my money on, what I was doing with my time, and how I was living my life.

Woah, I was shocked at how much power I gave to this external voice. Even though I’m 43, I still yearn for affirming approval from those important to me, ya know?

Normally a confident gal, Read more »

Aaaahhh…a week in the Caribbean sailing on the Celebrity Eclipse. It was the type of experience that totally lights up our souls. A full week of sunshine, reggae, gourmet meals, warm breezes, Caribbean vibe, fruity cocktails…and relaxation squared. Together, we loved every single moment of it.

However, we almost didn’t do it. While we’ve had a warm-weather getaway just about every winter since the beginning of our relationship (nearly 20 years!), this winter was the first time we didn’t have a vacation planned. A big chunk of money had recently gone toward business training expenses, so it didn’t feel practical. Or even doable.

But because these winter vacations are always such a spiritual experience for us and bring us tremendous joy, in early January we thought we better find a way to make it happen. Our favorite vacation is a cruise, so Bill’s idea was for us to Read more »

Recently, there was a game on Facebook that I chose to play. The idea was to look up the number-one song from the week you were born and then find it on YouTube and post the video as your status update. I couldn’t wait to find out what my song was! I figured it would be a super cool song – either by the Beatles or some other classic artist that stirred my soul.

But it wasn’t. The number-one song on February 2, 1969 was “Crimson and Clover” by Tommy James and the Shondells. Not that it’s a bad song. But I never really cared for it. In fact, through the years, if I heard it on the radio I almost always changed the station.

So I posted it on Facebook and unenthusiastically claimed it as my song. Then I figured I might as well Read more »

Winters here in the Twin Cities are looong. So when things start to turn green, Bill and I get crazy. Big-time. We maximize the season and make sure to focus on the things that bring us joy. Nature, outdoor dining, concerts, boating on the lake, walks in the park, watching storms, adventuring, and exploring our beautiful city.

For the last several years, we’ve done what we call a “Midwest Summer Road Trip.” We check to see which of our favorite musicians are touring somewhere in the Midwest…and then we plot out a plan of attack. Our past summer road trips have included Neil Diamond, Fleetwood Mac, and Steely Dan, to name a few. And the destinations have spanned Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Nebraska, and South Dakota.

Thanks go out to this year’s catalyst – the Steve Miller Band! With two back-to-back Midwest shows on their tour schedule, we were all in.

For us, a concert is never “just a concert.” And a road trip is never “just a road trip.” We make the absolute most out of everything we do. Call it “quirky,” “preference,” “over-the-top,” “habit” – whatever you want. It’s Read more »

When the rain comes there’s only one thing to do. And all my life I’ve been conditioned to do it.

When it rains:

You postpone plans.

You hope to heck that your hair doesn’t get wet.

I’m 42, and I just learned a new way. Read more »

Just a couple weeks ago, Bill and I had one of those full-circle life moments. My posts on Facebook said it all. First update early in the day: “Very excited to see Robert Plant tonight! Bill has been a fan since 2nd grade when he bought ‘Led Zeppelin II’ at a garage sale across the street for a quarter.”

Second update much later that night: “Front-row center concert tickets – $200; dinner & drinks before the show – $60; Robert Plant giving us a smile & a nod after ‘Ramble On’ – Priceless.”

Wow, what an absolute thrill to hang out right at the stage, just a few feet in front of one of the greatest rockstars of all time. An experience we won’t ever forget!

There was so much magic and synchronicity wrapped up into that night. Initially, we had fantastic third-row seats and were incredibly excited as my first Facebook update showed. Shortly before the concert, though, I ‘accidentally’ stumbled upon Read more »

Did you read the last post about our custom-built dream home? Be sure to read that one – it helped many readers take a step back and objectively question what’s most important in their lives.

The one thing I didn’t mention in that post, though, was about all the “stuff” we accumulated in the gigantic basement of that dream house. When you have the space, it’s easy to fill it. So that’s what we did.

The stuff I had been storing in my grandma’s basement for years naturally ended up in our new house. And Bill’s parents were delighted to give him back all of his childhood things in various boxes since we had the new space. No problem, though. We shoved it all downstairs where we never saw it and didn’t even give it a second thought.

But, when we sold our big house and downsized into a townhome, we had no storage. What to do? We knew we weren’t emotionally ready to deal with all the boxes, and we reluctantly paid Read more »