Happy Friday! I am so excited to see and hang out with all our friends tonight for Joe's birthday. We don't have much planned this weekend except for the SuperBowl, so it will be nice to relax and go with the flow. I hope everyone stays warm!

5 down...

I finally finished the Twilight series and of course, got hooked just like Harry Potter! I don't know what it is about the story....maybe the inseperable but forbidden love the main characters share, or the suspense/action intertwined with the danger and fear of losing each other! Whatever it was, I could not put the books down and am anxiously awaiting the next movie to premier this November. My poor husband, he did a great job putting up with me while I raced through the series...I read 2,492 pages in 5 days! The end had a surprising twist, and an outcome I didn't think possible. Bella and Edward get married and are able to have a child together before Bella becomes a vampire...making their life complete-an unpredictable outcome considering their circumstances. Now I'm reading Midnight Sun, the un-finished story of Twilight but from Edward's viewpoint. Of course, it's just as fabulous and addicting. If you have an open-mind about a creativly written forbidden dark romance, get this series!! This brings my total to 5, 20 more books to go!

Happy Birthday to Al!

Last weekend was full of fun! My sister turned 17 on Sunday, so the weekend was dedicated to her :) Friday night we went to Chino Latino and I had to resist the urge to completely blow my 30 day plan! But we survived....only knowing that I got a day off on Sunday for the fabulous Forepaugh's restaurant. After dinner we went to see Slumdog Millionaire, a movie I have wanted to see for a long time. It was very sad, but a great movie. Saturday we (meaning my sister and I) convinced Jay to go see Twilight with us...ever since I started the books I've been hooked. I finished the second, third, and am almost done with the 4th and final book. They are addicting! Anyways, it was cool to see the book come to life on screen.

Aly only asked me for two things for her birthday, the first was for me to spend Saturday night with her. She picked out a movie (Gone with the Wind) and we had a party with the four of us (Aly, me, my Mom and Jay) until we kicked Jay out for girls night!! My Dad is taking us to Europe next summer as a graduation gift to my sister, so we started to plan our trip. It was so much fun. The second part of the birthday wish was to take her prom shopping. So after our slumber party on Saturday, and Yoga on Sunday morning, we headed to the Mall of America. We had a great time! We found the most beautiful dress and she looked like a princess...it's not for awhile but she wanted to get a dress before the selection was limited, and it was a good idea because everyone seemed to be trying on formal dresses. She also found her shoes, and jewelry, so the trip was a success!

Sunday night we went to Forepaugh's and had an amazingly delicious meal. Jay coaches a baseball clinic on Sunday nights for kids in the community, so we all missed him at our fancy dinner. Forepaugh's is an old, beautiful mansion that was turned into a restaurant, and the food is to die for. (They also say it's haunted-ha ha!) We had a wonderful evening and had great company to share it with! I hope she had a great and wonderful birthday, because she's a great and wonderful person! We really enjoyed our weekend together. Here are a few photos to share:

Twilight

I just finished reading Stephenie Myer's first book of the Twilight series...and I thought it was really good. I'm not sure if it's better than Harry Potter, but it was entertaining! I usually don't read fictional books, but I really got into HP so I thought I would give Twilight a try. Plus, I have a 16 year old little sister who loves these kinds of books..so I'm always tempted! Anyways, one of my New Years resolutions for 2009 is to read 25 books this year. It's not a lot, but I'm really busy and I know it is reachable. I will give any book a chance, although I don't like cheesy romance novels...I think they are a waste of time. I think there is something to be said about a book that can inspire change in you. A book with substance like life lessons. One of my favorite books I've ever read was the Kite Runner, because it's such a moving, inspirational story. It was actually an incredibly sad story, but that's real life...not all stories have happy endings!

Last week I finished reading A Million Little Pieces, by James Frey, a book that was supposed to be based on his life story (we've since learned some parts were fabricated). It had really harsh language that I didn't like, but besides that it was an intriguing and moving story about his struggle to free himself from a life of addiction to drugs and alcohol. I thought it was really well written (besides the language!!) and had a lot of life lessons whether you are an addict or not. It's definetly worth a look at. So far this brings my count to 2 this year...and I'm starting a new one tonight!

Two Harbors

Here are a few pictures from our trip up North last weekend, we had a wonderful visit with Jay's Mom! I was able to take off a few hours early from work on Friday which was nice because we beat all the traffic on the drive up...and I got an early weekend :) The drive up and the shoreline was beautiful! It's so peaceful and relaxing up there...especially when it snowed on Saturday, the scenary was pristine. We stayed at Superior Shores, a 5 star resort right on Lake Superior.

California, Mango & Avocado salad!

This is one of our favorite meals on our fitness plan. It's called the California mango & avocado salad. It's topped with a home made Asian-soy dressing. It's delicious! It is full of nutrients, vitamins, and anti-oxidants. This is one of Justin's favorite meals that I make, and I cook often. We never knew "diet" food could be so yummy! :) Here are a few pictures of Jay preparing the avocados, me making the salad...and the final product, a great healthy meal.

Updates!

We've made some updates! We decided it might be fun to write a little about our selves and add on some of our travels....one of our favorite things! If you look to the left of our posts, you'll see both of our names. You can click on either to read more about us....notice the difference in creativity between the two ;) And you can click under "our travels" to read reviews on the places we go and the things that we see! we thought that would be kind of fun to share. We love to travel and are always looking for new places to visit, so let us know if you have any recommendations! As always, thanks for stopping by.