HTC EVO ~ Ninja BFF Date ~ Ninja Antics and Smaller Pants

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It is well-known that I have a long-standing relationship with my blackberry. Blackberry just wasn’t doing it for me anymore. His keys were getting stuck, the sound went, and shit the dang thing froze all of the time. The curb is where it needed to go. After doing some research and getting advice from my tech ninjas I decided to get the HTC EVO.

Technology and me are like oil and water. Simple is best and sometimes simple isn’t simple enough. If I can turn on a computer I call that a good day. Anyways so far my EVO is doing the trick. I had to teach the darn thing to recognize swear words, it knows plenty now. All versions of Angry Birds have been downloaded, twitter is on the front page, and foursquare works correctly. So far I am loving the thing and haven’t broken or chucked it yet. This, this is big ninjas.

Big Gingers are mighty fine when shared with a Ninja BFF!

The HTC EVO proved to be entertainment for my BFF Ninja dinner date Miss Angela. Lucky for me she figured out how to turn the darn auto correct off. It was driving me nuts. Speaking of nuts, hot damn it is so hard to find a parking spot around Psycho Suzies. That place is always nuts. Lucky for us we got a table right away and had tiki drinks in our hands within minutes of sitting down. Cheese curds and pizza were on tap for the evening. Since it was 100 degrees in there we decided to bolt and head downtown to The Local. Patio seating was available and my oh my the people watching was superb.

Nicollet mall is an interesting run way of sorts for the late night crowd. bachelorette parties ran wild and the cougars were on the prowl. In between checking out the people dessert was had. Ninja BFF dates always end with two things: 1. whiskey and 2. dessert. At The Local they combine the whiskey into dessert so it’s a win win. It was getting late and my date was turning into a pumpkin so we headed home to uptown.

Ultimate Ninja BFF date nights end with dessert!

Uptown is quite the place. My neighbors felt the need to vacuum at 8am. I didn’t appreciate the noise neither did my aching head. Much of Saturday was spent sleeping and running errands. I ran into my ex BFF. Target is no longer my happy place. Jack talked me into meeting up for drinks. Well since I wasn’t on call and after much begging I agreed to hit the town.

Ninja antics ensued as we hopped from bar to bar. Crown and cokes are what I have been drinking lately. A man at the bar told me “I don’t trust girls who drink whiskey. They get crazy.” With that heard I looked the bartender in the eye and said “Crown and Coke sir.” The man next to me: “Shit, and you seemed so normal.” Haha men should never make a comment about a ladies drink of choice. Some of us choose fruity cocktails and others well we go for the hard stuff. No fruit necessary. Soon the evening wore into a blur and I was ready to settle in for the night.

Sunday morning was pretty much a repeat of Saturday. Except for the photo shoot. Man that camera flash hurts the eyes. With the shoot in the bag I headed home to my Mama. Mainly so she could do my laundry. Laundry is important. Since loosing 26 pounds none of my jeans fit and well Rochester has pants lots of pants. I let my mama drive the prius so I could play angry birds on the way down. Priorities I know, there mixed up but hey this was my first time playing angry birds on my new phone. My new pants are a size smaller than the last ones I bought. Go me! I am almost back to my premarriage weight. The ex husband is who I blame for the weight gain and now that he’s gone I am melting like a stick of butter in the hot July sun.

It was a weekend filled with new pants, BFF Ninjas, and to many crown & cokes to count. It was beautiful and a great way to spend my first weekend off in months. Monday always comes to soon. Weekends should be longer and filled with so much love that your heart bursts wide open. Kung fu and ninjas that’s a weekend dreams are made of.

{Judgement} – Open The Book For Once!

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“Don’t Judge a Book By Its Cover. It’s The Story Inside That Counts.”

We live in a day and age where people continue to pass judgement upon one another. You think by now we would have all of our social issues worked out and that we wouldn’t need to treat people like crap. Yet as a society we do.

This didn’t dawn on me until a friend said to me: “AmandaJean you are the first woman to actually treat me like I exist. You don’t look at my weight. You see me as a person.” I lost my kung fu right there on the floor and uttered Shut the front door kid! He went on to explain that he has never had a real girl friend or even a real date. That most of the dates he went on were awkward or out of pity. Pitty is not a reason to date someone. Tears began to fill my eyes. This man is a great catch and deserves to find happiness. He truly deserves to find the one, make those babies, and have the picket fence. I want this for him.

It angers me that people look down upon the overweight. They are people too. Hell when I was in Europe the cathedrals were filled with frescos of women who had back fat and gasp curves. It was in the cathedrals that I personally became ok with having hips and tits. My hips and tits get me lots of places in this world and I am glad to have them on board. Sure I go huff it at the gym just like everyone else and eat mostly organic. But, do we ever stop to think that some people are just built with a smidge of extra love.

Recently a woman was working out next to me. She said to me: ” I want to look like you. You are so skinny.” Trust me, my ass isn’t skinny. I’ve got junk in the trunk and I am ok with it. I quickly said thank you. Took her hand and said “I don’t even know your name, but Babes you are beautiful just the way you are. Do not let anyone tell you any different.” She cried right then and there in the middle of LifeTime fitness. She told me: “No one has ever made me feel so beautiful until now. Thank you, Thank you.” An you can all guess what I said next…..oh yes I pulled the NINJA CARD and she giggled her socks off. Now I’ve got a new friend at lifetime and she is a sweetie that’s for sure. It should be known that I will workout and then treat myself after said workout with a cup cake. Thats how I roll.

Rolling is something we as humans need to do. You’ve gotta roll with the punches and duck from the kicks. Instead of beating one another down, maybe we should try the opposite. Like on Tuesdays we should be nice to each other or hell let’s be nice to each other every day. Yup, I like that idea lets lift each other up every day of the week. Throw back fat, curves, and shit our hips to the side and party like were skinny bitches. Heh, then again the skinny ones are not so fun. I am going with the ones who eat cup cakes after running on a treadmill, those are the real ninjas.

For me Ninjas come in all shapes, sizes, colors, creeds, and gender. Growing up my parents taught us and pounded into us that judgment and hate are bad bad words. Still to this day if I say “Pete I hate the treadmill.” My dad will tell me “Mannie you do not hate, you “dislike” the treadmill. Hate is a sickness and you are not sick.” My father thou a little nutty in his own right is on to something. We are not born to hate and be mean. Hate and meanness are learned traits. Someone had to teach you how to be mean and to hate. Maybe if we stopped the teachers of hate and discrimination our world would be a little brighter.

That is my new goal to stop the hate and get people to really look at one another. To actually see what its like to live in their shoes and to look beyond the flesh that holds the soul. The soul holds the answers, the body is just the vessel that holds it in.

Blind Date………..Oh My!

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As you know I choose to keep my personal life off of the blog. However sometimes its to good/funny or just a darn right blunder not to share. Hence I am breaking my own rule. I make the rules around here, so I can break them if I want too.

I have been single for a full year now. Strange I know. It’s actually the longest I have gone without being in a relationship since I was 20. My what 8 years can do to a girl. I have no problem being single. Well that is unless I am trying to reach something up high or have news to share then I mind it a tad. Only a tad thou. I’ve dabbled in dating on my own and have been chucked into it by friends.

Friends always have a business card, a friend, or a coworker to put in front of me. I’ve gone to parties where they are like “Hey you have to come. I invited so and so and he’s single.” I go and both of us just feel duped.

Duped is what happened a week ago. I was minding my own business going merrily on my way. When the phone rang and of course it was someone trying to set me up with someone. Sweetly I declined, my decline wasn’t accepted and I got guilted into going to dinner. He was my type, nerdy, a little quirky, educated (that’s always a plus), and short. Short doesn’t do me any good when I am trying to reach things up high. But, somehow I always end up with the short ones. Height doesn’t matter to me, it’s the person who counts. (Remember that ladies)

Drinks went well and then he blurts out “I googled you, I found your blog.” OK. I said. He just looked at me strangely. Then again he gave me the square eye every time I used the words/phrases “Epic, Ninja, Kung Fu, Shut the front door, and Fail Whale.” Come one now, that’s common lingo in my world, and I am not going to change. After the square eyes were glanced he picked apart my twitter feed and my blog.

In his words “I could never date a woman who puts herself out there. You, you are to out spoken for me. You dear are a little to independent for me. An quite frankly I don’t want to end up on your blog.” I looked him in the eye and said “I think I am going to get my check. You are not worth my time. I’m sorry but it’s not 1950 something anymore. Women are allowed to be out spoken, independent, and darn right awesome!”

This is a problem I run into often. For me I don’t need to cling to a mans every word nor do I need to hear from them 24/7. If you like me, you like me. I get it. For me there needs to be “AmandaJean time” and then “us time.” Sometimes us time may occur a few times a week or hey, it may take a month for my schedule to calm down before I can see you again. I often tell people “I am like a plant. Take me out, check on me, and I am fine.” So what is it with men and why do they want co-dependant women? Ugh. Like I’ve said before men need to come with manuals. Manuals, we need man manuals. You think men would have invented this by now.

With or without a manual, I still have faith that Mr right is out there somewhere. A man who will giggle at the very sound of “Epic, Ninja, Kung Fu, Shut the front door, and Fail Whale.” Of course I will provide him with an AmandaJean’s words/phrases decoder book so he can understand the lingo. I might even hand him a plant as a reminder, that I am like a plant. With a little sun and care the relationship will grow. Grow into something epic and beautiful. Yup, that’s what I want. A relationship that grows like a plant.

For now I am ignoring blind date requests and outside help. The only person that knows what I want is me. An I am going to find my plant like relationship on my own. Bring on the plants!

Relationship Advice From The Divorced Girl?

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It amazes me when friends call late at night looking for a kind ear and solid relationship advice. Heck, if I were you I’d be the last person I’d come to for advice. Then again I am known for my blunt, no bull shit, straight from the heart, and tell you like it is advice. You will never get sugar-coating from me.

One thing I can not stand are liars and people who are so fake they make a snake look cool. Be yourself and you can never go wrong. Don’t lie to get someone to like you or to make people think you are better than what you are. Lies start to unravel after a while and you will find yourself drowning alone. An no one wants to be alone. No one likes a person who walks around in a suit when they don’t have to. Maybe that suit makes you feel important, gives you a sense of worth, and protects your secrets from the world. At the end of the day your suit has to come off and the holes in your shoes will collect water. No one likes wet socks, not even me.

Socks are something you should never lose on a first date. It’s ok to giggle your socks off, but never leave them behind. Maybe I am a tad old-fashioned or just a little jaded by my divorce. All to often my male friends call me and say she broke up with me. I kindly ask why knowing full well its 3am and I have to be awake in 2 hours. They tell me what went wrong and usually it ends up with they lost their socks and she walked away. I say hold on to your socks until you build something you can stand on. Then again I didn’t heed my own advice and found myself divorced 6 years later.

Divorce is something I never want to see any of you go through. Trust me no one ever plans on it. People change, things change, and divorce is the only way out. I have seen divorced women who flaunt it like their Mama’s told them not to do and then there are those who cry into their tissues.The same goes for women who are fresh out of a break up. They like divorced women build these walls and start to date like men. Men are an interesting creature. One of these days we will be provided with manuals to figure them out.

Most of my male friends are single. They are the type of man who worked hard to build a career, bought homes/condos, and are over all great catches. Yet their still single. I will point out that most of them are under 5’10”. They are short and for some reason women will not give them the time of day. There is nothing wrong with short men. I tend to date on the shorter side, I don’t try to it just turns out that way. Ladies give the short ones a chance, you will be surprised. Just look past the fact that neither of you will be able to reach things up high and you will be fine.

On the other side of the coin alot of my female friends are young professionals or single mamas. I am the only divorced one in the pack. They often tell me its hard to find a man to put up with their independent crazy work schedule life style. I tell them date up not down. If you date down that person may not understand your schedule and lifestyle. Date someone who can fit into your life and someone who will want to work with you to make those dates. Someone who understands that yup, you may cancel plans last-minute but, you will make up for it later. Heck, he might have to cancel plans and send you flowers the next day to put a smile on your face. Date the person you can’t live without, who cares if he doesn’t fit the mental image of prince charming. Every man deserves a chance to be with a professional woman like you. Go out and make someones day. It doesn’t hurt to grab a drink and have a conversation for a few hours.

Drinks lead to interesting conversations. Yes, I have been drunk dialed by friends and had my door knocked on at 3 am when dates go a rye. Turning them away is not an option. I am not that type of person. I sit with them hand tissue over or utter the words “Its going to get batter. You are an Awesome Ninja. Mr/Ms Right is just hiding on you.” A smile usually breaks when the word Ninja is used and that smile leads to a giggle. Giggles let us know that we are going to be all right and that hey its all part of the game.

So my advice is dust off your dating shoes and try, try, try until something sticks. You are never going to find love if you hide in your office all day. Cruise the streets look for eye candy, talk to a stranger, and be yourself. Invite that coworker you’ve been eyeing to happy hour, ask the barista to dinner, and answer an online ad. So what if they shoot you down. It just means they weren’t worth your time to begin with. So Ninjas what are you going to do? You my friends are going to go get your date on.

School Supplies ~ Encouraging Native Youth to Seek College

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When I graduated from UW-Superior I was presented with an Eagle Feather. Being presented with an Eagle Feather is the highest honor a Native American can receive. The father means more to me than the paper my degree is printed on.

It’s that time of year where stores line their shelves with school supplies, back packs, and dorm room decorating supplies. For me, it’s a sign that fall is fast approaching and I need to get my motivating butt in gear. Each fall I get to meet a new group of seniors/juniors and scare them into going to college. I scare them straight, scare them smart, but mostly I use my love to scare them into discovering apart of themselves.

Native Americans are still the most unrepresented racial group in higher education. Sadly the state of the reservation educational systems are far worse and have yet to slowly get better. Is it that we forgot that these are kids too or were we to quick to assimilate them into main stream off reservations schools. The state of reservation schools are slowly getting better as more tribes realize that the investment in education is a good one. More and more native based learning programs are being developed. Language, arts, and culture are taught right along side, math, reading, and science.

Yet with all of this change and the strong movement of the NIEA we are still not seeing the rise of Native students in higher education. This is where people like myself come in. Many of these students are the first in their families to set foot into the hallowed halls of a University. They come from less than nothing and are afraid that if they leave and don’t achieve everyone will see them as a failure.

I often tell my students that the only failure is the failure to not even dream of a college education. If they never dare to dream, they will never leave the boundaries that hold them in. Boundaries are meant to be crossed and once you cross you can always look back at what you once were. Some of the kids just need someone to whisper you can do it into their ear. Others need us to hold their hands through out the whole application process and be waiting quietly in the wings on campus visitation day. Either way we do whatever it takes to get these kids, accepted, moved in, and stand by them until their degree is in hand.

It takes alot of hands to motivate Native kids, long hours, tears, and strength to show them that they are worth it. Once they know they are worth it, their dreams soar, and they become more than they ever thought possible. Tears are what I cry when they call me and say “OMG AmanadaJean I got accepted to college! Thank you Thank you, for believing in me. Because of you I am going to make something of myself and come back and make my reservation a better place.” Those moments are the moments I live for. To see the sparkle in their eye as they hold that dorm room key in their hand. I look forward to their emails detailing of classes, new friends, and ninja antics.

Reservations are changing as their populations become educated. Tribes that once depended on the outside world to help them run their Casinos, hotels, and other businesses are now depending on their own. Slowly the reservation boarders are closing and the outside higher rate is shrinking. They are depending on the new generation of educated youth to take over the businesses and run the reservations. This very shift is giving me hope that once again these sovern nations can operate independently from the outside world.

The outside world will always creep into the reservation. Students are faced with the stereotypes society placed upon them. If people looked beyond the images of HollyWood they would see the changes that have occurred. Yes, alcoholism, crime, and drug use run rapid on the reservations. People see the Casinos pop up and utter “Hell they have money what are they complaining for?” Not all tribes have successful Casinos, some are small and lie just beyond the paved roads where no one ever goes. I tell my students that they are the ones who will bust through the old image and create a new stereotype. They tell me “It’s easy for you AmandaJean, you half white.” True, I say to them. But just like you I’ve had to fight my way to the top. I never let my race stand in the way and I never let anyone put me down. I expect you to do the same, because you have the power to educate the public and to represent Indian people every day of your life. You are the ones who will change the American way of thought and you will bust the glass ceiling that was set.

Each fall we add a few more cracks to that glass ceiling when a student signs up for the ACTs and puts their name on a college application. Holes are punched through it when a student gets their degree. If we keep up at our current rate I hope to smash through it during my life time. I am patiently counting down the days until the first day of school. A day where I get to make my presence known and scare a new group of kids into go to college.

I lobby So You Don’t Have To Worry

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I never pictured myself as a lobbyist. To me a lobbyist was some old big money man making deals with congress in a back alley. That alley turns out does and doesn’t exist. Every day large companies pay top dollar for lobbyist to head to DC on their behalf. To lobby for things that will make it easier for their company, products, and procedures to succeed. Sometimes money is thrown into the ring to get people to turn a blind eye.

Blind eyes do not provide answers or keep people safe. They hinder our success and keep us from finding the so-called American Dream. I depended on the labeling of the pharmaceutical product I used. It told me only women over 35 were affected by blood clots and stroke. I did my research, the FDA said it was safe and touted it as the best invention in birth control since the pill.

Yea, that little thing called the pill. It was a big deal back in the 1960s and today a pack is found in almost every medicine cabinet. I was like you blind and unaware of how dangerous hormonal contraceptives actually are. It scares me to my core that girls as young as 11 are being prescribed birth control. None of the current studies out on the market look at or even tested the effects in girls that young. Its like driving in the dark without head lights. Labeling is starting to change. Change for the better.

Women like myself are taking DC by storm and demanding stronger warning labels, black boxes, and so forth on hormonal contraceptives. It still amazes me that some companies are still labeling the side effects for women “only over 35.” Come on now, it’s a thing and things do not know age. That magic age of 35 is crap. Tell it to me, wave 35 in front of me and I will tell you “Jesus, I was 26 you idiot. Your product almost killed me and I was under 35.”

After my pulmonary embolism the product I used changed their commercial and print ads to state “all women are it risk for blood clots/ stroke.” Jeeze thanks, that would have been nice to know before hand. This change was reactive and not proactive. We need to see more proactive measures from drug companies and not reactions based on their products failure.

Failures that happen all to often. The FDA has to many backhanded transactions occurring. What really stinks is this: The FDA knew the ring I used was deadly, yet they felt American women were ready for it. So against the warnings they approved it for US consumption. That approval was based on the $ and not on saving women’s lives. To many women have lost their lives because of the ring. To many woman have suffered blood clots, infections, and had their lives for ever changed by it.

My lung is permanently damaged. I will never run again. Trust me I try to it doesn’t work. An now my heart is wonky and it is most likely a result of the PE I suffered in 2009. Thank you big fat drug company, thank you for damaging my lung. I appreciate it. It truly is the best thing to ever happen to me. It was so much fun injecting myself with Lovenox and subjecting myself to twice weekly INR tests. CT scans are a great excuse to get out of work and wow that Angiogram was a blast. It truly was a blast.

A blast is what happens when I travel the country educating women about the dangers and side effects of hormonal contraceptives. Information is powerful and if they know the warning signs of blood clots it will keep them from enduring my fate. A fate that I wouldn’t trade for the world. Yup, it sucks that this happened to me, but now I am a lobbyist. An I will not rest until all hormonal contraceptives receive a black box warning label. I can’t change what happened to me. But I can prevent this from happening to my future daughter, to your daughter, mother, wife, sister, BFF, girlfriend, cousin, and neighbor. This is preventable. We can save lives through education and awareness.

Question: “Why Do You Blog?”

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“In this world we are only as good as our word. We must speak the truth and be who we are. If we are anything less than ourselves, anything less than true, then our words will mean nothing in the end.” ~AmandaJean

Some days I feel like I lead a double life. By day I am a passionate paralegal and by night I am simply a blogger. My blog has often been my out let to explore and share myself with the world. People often ask how can you put your health information out there, how can you share so much with people you don’t know? Its getting to the point where people are recognizing me at Target, the sky way, and other places around town. Recognition is welcome, just don’t sneak up on me and scare the crap out of me. I don’t like to be scared.

To answer the question “How can you share such personal information?” The answer is this: When I was first told I had a pulmonary embolism I scoured the internet looking for information and all I could find was info relating to the elderly. I’m not a member of AARP, I was a 27-year-old woman in search of answers. At that moment the mission of my blog changed. I realized that I could educate and promote blood clot awareness. That my struggle would be a key to someone elses survival. Once I made that post about my pulmonary embolism there was no looking back. The same goes for my miscarriage, divorce, and cancer. This……this is my life. By sharing it with you we can find common ground. Ground that we can stand on and learn together what it means to be happy, to be a survivor, and to find ourselves again.

One thing you will not find on my blog are details about my personal life, the name of the company I work for, and details of my pending litigation against a pharmaceutical company. Those are private. After all I have to keep something for myself. Truth be told, I am as single as a $1.00 bill, so I have no relationship to write about. Friends that appear in posts have given me permission to share our adventures, struggles, dreams, and blunders. I am not compensated in any way for my Local Thursday Posts and all opinions of the local companies are my own. I love to share my favorite spots in the Twin Cities and around the midwest with you. A lot of these people built their businesses from the ground up and I want to share their passion. Life is often best enjoyed with friends, traveled with strangers, and dreamed with dreamers.

Dreams are something that no one can ever take from us. This blog has led me to a lot of great places and brought a lot of awesome people in my life. I am thankful for it, yet there are days I want to turn it off. Turn it off so the world around me can be quiet. Then I am reminded that if I turned it off it would be like losing a limb. Have Bear Will travel has become a part of me. You can bet your buttons that I will be blogging when I am 80. Maybe I’ll blog about, flying cars, real life avatars, and my grand children’s hover boards. Hey, it could happen.

I have so much love for all of my readers and followers. You are what inspires me to blog. Knowing that we are growing together and changing the world one day at a time amazes me. After all “Everyone was Kung Fu Fighting, Their Fist were as fast as lightning.”

You Only Have One Heart

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Minnesota has been hit with an epic heat wave. Every time I go outside I say “Fail Whale Weather.” As many of you know I suffered a pulmonary embolism in 2009. I have gone about a year without any pain or complications in my damaged lung. Over the weekend the old pain started creeping in.

It creeped up on me like a ninja in the night. At first Tylenol took care of it and so did sleep. Yet it hit me hard on Tuesday, so hard it almost knocked the breath out of me. I was at work when the pain started getting worse and had to leave.

This was the first time I had ever gone to Park Nicollet regarding chest pain. I went to Alina before and they had a drill that included EKG, Blood work, CT, and send AmandaJean home as it was nothing. This time things were different.

Different in a good way. The staff concentrated more on my heart than my lung. Blood work was taken and it came back negative for any new clots or clots at all. Since that was negative a CT scan wasn’t needed. Thank goodness for that, those things are not fun. Still it was a mystery. My heart was beating in a normal healthy rhythm of between 60 to 100 beats per minute and then it would race to 163 or as high as 192 beats per minute. An just like that it would go back into its normal range. I don’t feel sick, I just feel like someone is squeezing my heart and have some pain. It hurts when I breathe and it feels like my heart is trying to escape with its fast beats.

Since they don’t know the cause of this crazy heart behaviour all they could do was monitor me and log the fast beats. The DR scheduled a Stress Echo Test today. That is a whole ball of wax in its self. This will show them how hard my heart is working at rest and after stress is applied i.e. exercise or medication is injected. They compare the two videos to see if there are any differences in the heart. I will not get my results until tomorrow morning. So right now I am trying my hardest to be a patient ninja. Patience is not my virtue.

Something tells me that Alina may have missed the big picture. They were always so focused on another clot and on my lung its self. I think they often forgot that hey the original and only clot blocked the blood flow to my heart. Durring that whole time my heart was in sinus tack which is an irregular heart beat. Just like it is now. This is something that’s probably be going on since 2009. Then again heart disease does run in my family. Either way for the first time I actually feel confident that I am going to get the answers I’ve been waiting for.

For me this is just another side effect of that farking birth control I used. Part of me wonders what would my life be like if I never used it. Then on the same coin, that experience has given me more strength than I could have ever dreamed of. Every thing happens for a reason and everything has a reason for happening.

Captain’s Walk Winery ~Green Bay WI

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The folks at Captain’s Walk Winery claim that they take the snobbery out of wine tasting. It’s true they do. As soon as you walk in the door you are greeted with a warm hello and a smile. You are quickly whisked into the tasting room, they explain the history of the winery and go over a list of current wines that are in stock.

Captain’s Walk offers tasting daily of up to seven 1-ounce samples per person for a charge of $3.00. You are allowed to select your wines from what they currently have in stock. If you don’t know where to start just ask the friendly staff and they will happily guide you along.

The winery is located in a pre-civil war era home that has been updated and restored to reflect the beauty of the period. In the tasting room you will notice that there is a window in the floor. Below you will see the barrel room where some of the wines are aged.

I have fallen in love with the wines at Captains walk. So much so that I put in an order every couple of months and have a case shipped to Minneapolis. I have to giggle when the UPS man cards me, but hey its worth it. Their wines range from classic table to the full-bodied. My favorites are the Disappearing Treasure, Captain’s Mistress, 7Seas, Riesling, and The Maiden Voyage. The Maiden Voyage comes in a bottle that is shaped like a clipper ship, it truly is an amazing wine.

Green Bay is just a short day trip away from Minneapolis. So if you ever find yourself in Green Bay make sure you stop in and see the lovely folks at Captains Walk. They will be happy to see you and assist you with all of your wine needs.

Drinks ~ BBQs ~ Sailing Ninjas

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Its funny this time last year I was busily making a list of what was mine and what was the x husbands. I was feverishly packing everything I could in boxes and ripping photos from frames that I wanted. My friends, family and I packed my life up last July 4th. That was the day I took myself back and walked away from Brighton trail one last time.

It’s amazing how much a year can change a girl. I am no longer the scared newly separated girl. I am strong confident, sassy, a survivor, and darn right goodness. This is the life I have always dreamed of. I am making my own money, living by my own rules, and taking names without questions. It does get lonely from time to time, enter the muppet. My source of late night giggles and wet muppet kisses.

This past week has been filled with celebration. I feel now that the cancer is gone, I can breathe again and just maybe date a little too. Drinks were plentiful, happy tears fell to the bar room floor, and smiles replaced the uncertainty that laid before me. I am greatful for my friends. Greatful that they brought me dinner on nights when I was to tired, sat with me when I was fretting, and whispered in my ear “go ninja go.” I may be biased but I have some of the most incredible friends on the planet. They truly are my family. Toasts were given, laughter filled the hot summer air as we skipped along Nicollet Mall. This is my life and just like I did last year I am taking it back. I did not let my stroke/blood clot nor my divorce define me, Cancer is just a blip on the screen and will not alter my dreams.

Dreams that are a blaze with light. During the winter months I long for BBQs. There is just something about hanging out with your friends and eating chard meat. BBQs are our way of showing our love through food. Ninjas know that I am the queen of the grill, the grilling is up to me. I have watched my friends babies grow into toddlers, singles become married, and new love unfold from the helm of the Webber. Croquet is something that always goes down at a ninja BBQ, that is if the ninjas are not playing badminton. This, this is the day I long for beautiful weather, beautiful food, and spending time with beautiful people that I love.

Love can take many forms. Since I was a child I have been drawn to water. I learned how to sail at Ycamp Pepin. Sailing is something that has always brought me calm. For me a sail boat is my zen. The ropes, the sail, the wind in your hair. It’s just you, the water, and the boat. I do my best thinking while sailing. Sailing is best done with friends. Lucky for me most of my friends love boats and understand the concepts of sailing. Right down to the knots. Smiles, a little wine and laughter filled the ship as it set its course on the sparkling blue waters. This day is a day meant to be enjoyed. This day is what dreams are made of.

As I peered into the water I couldn’t help but reflect on the past year. I can say I am happy. Happier than I could have ever imagined. My life is finally coming together and things are falling into place. I maybe 6 years late, but my arrival date was never set in stone.