Raw Food

FOODIES - - - PAY ATTENTION!!!
Cool restaurant in Menomonie, WI (about 20 mins. west of Eau Claire). Located in an old brick building with a beautiful tin ceiling. It's called...

Great coffee house where all the food is organic and raw - super yummy and oh-so-healthy. This past weekend I checked it out with my friend and co-worker, Signe.

This is what was left of the spinach quiche by the time I remembered to take a picture of it. Another tasty treat! We got muffins and sweets "to go", but my muffin was nearly gone by the time we drove home. And did I mention the great fair trade coffee from Costa Rica? Signe and I were in gastronomical heaven!

New table for the new year

Todd needed more table space to organize his home office; we love Ikea and had the opportunity to shop there over the holidays. Here he is, putting it together and having fun with his tools.

We didn't see any desks we liked so opted for an expandable dining table that looked like it would work well.

Here it is.........still needs to be "organized" but at least things aren't all over the floor.

Walkin' into 2010

Happy New Year!
2010 - let's make it great!
We started out the new year with our "traditional" midnight walk. This time we had Misty plus two more furry friends along (Thanks Reggie & Ollie for braving the cold).
Tell me what you did to ring in the new year.

Christmas day we drove to Minneapolis and took a long walk around the snow covered lake.

Todd, his mom and dad, Misty, Mort, & Flynn. We encountered a lot of slush and the pups were sufficiently wet but had a grand time anyway.

Misty made herself compfy on Jessica's lap while Josie hammed it up for the camera. Thanks Matt & Jess for a fabulous Christmas meal and place to bunk.

Happy Birthday Jen!

Best sis ever ~ love ya'!

Merry Christmas! Love you all!

Birthday Celebration

Todd's parents visited us in Eau Claire the past couple days and we really enjoyed their stay. Dad's birthday was Dec. 17th so we went out for a belated celebration at Manny's.

We got a pitcher of margarita - it was yummy! It was happy hour so half price - even better!

Holiday Spirit

The holiday spirit is alive and well in Eau Claire - that's one of the many things I love about this town; people are very generous and kind. This year, I'm helped to organize a gift giving program for children of non-traditional students at the university. We had many willing and enthusiastic gift givers who had fun shopping.

After matching the gift requests with gift givers, shopping commenced, then we sorted the gifts, and now distributing them to the families. The library is allowing us to use one of their work areas to do this. It's a lot of fun and warms your heart on these cold Wisconsin days.

Digging Out

Winter wonderland.................

It's cold, even with my wool coat on - do I go any further?

The weight of the snow made the lower pine branches touch the ground.

Thank goodness we have the BEST neighbors in the world. They let us use their snow thrower. Todd did their driveway in about 40 minutes, ours took double that.

Is Misty spoiled? Of course. Since Todd had the snow thrower, he made cleared a path for Misty to go potty. What service!

Weather in the World

While we're under a blizzard warning, Hawaii is having some wave action. Would love to be home to see the power of mother nature but wouldn't want to fight the traffic to see it. Waves were supposed to reach 30 - 50 feet; can you even imagine that?

Scary stuff! Doesn't this make you wonder about all the sea critters.............are they getting pounded or have they sought safe refuge?

picture credit: DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
A big shout out to Wisconsin's Governor Doyle! He made a smart move closing state offices and UW system campuses. It's silly to be out on the road in these conditions - he probably saved a few lives. Enjoy the free snow day!