A Week of Gratitude

This past week was one of emotions and laughs and tears... I am so grateful for my pal Steph's Link Up this week for "Gratitude" as it reminds me to post about my week but also get my thoughts written down about the amazingly good and tough things that crop up in life.

 

 

1. I love how Brady has now made Griffin a cuddle bug. It was Brady's goal and here at 6 months, I think it worked. I am so grateful for my husband and being a good "dog dad" as I know that will translate to an amazing dad in the future!

 

2. NKOTB! I was lucky enough to attend the "Package Tour" concert with some girlfriends and had my mind - blown! I have never been to a "boy band" show before... When my ears stopped bleeding from the deafening sound of middle-aged drunk women screaming, I was able to really enjoy myself with an AWESOME open by Boyz To Men, a boring "intermission" by 98 Degrees and a ROCK STAR - sex pot - dance fest from NKOTB. Great memories!

 

3. We took at Sunday day trip to WI to see Brady's parents, and I just love this capture of Griffy and "Granpa" - so sweet.

 

4. Hanging out with one of my best's Louise and she showed me her bouquet - which is mine that she caught at our wedding and my garter which her then boyfriend Matt caught too... now they are engaged! :) I guess maybe our wedding was good luck for these two love birds!!

 

 

5. This is a daily gratitude every week, but my Sis-in-Law got some amazing pro photos taken of my gorgeous nephews (source: Heather Hanson Photography) THEY ARE SO BEAUTIFUL! I love all of these boys so much and am so grateful to have them in my life.

 

 

 

 

 6. On Monday, it was an absolute perfect night and we took our pups to Minihaha Falls Dog Park, which is off-leash and many acres of FUN for the dogs. Griffin and Dash got to meet their cousin/new bestie Olivia, a little bulldog/cattle dog mix that my best friend Kinzie recently adopted. She got Olivia from the same rescue we got Griffy :) Second Hand Hounds is SO amazing! Check them out here: www.secondhandhounds.org

 

7. This is hard to write, but my god dad and uncle Mike is sadly not winning his battle with a rare form of Lukemia. A couple months ago, you may remember my post about the unbeliveable bag's set he hand made Brady and I for our wedding. (here). Well, over the 4th of July, we received some hard news that all of the options are not going to save his life.

When life give you lemons stomps on your heart, you have to think of the gratefulness in the fact in my case, I was lucky enough to have the chance to say goodbye. Many people in life do not get that opportunity.

On Saturday, my family went to my aunt and uncle's house and had a "Tree Party" - We planted a 20ft Maple in their front yard for my Uncle Mikey, played bags on all of the sets he made us cousins, had his favorite food, and got to see him one last time and hug him, kiss him and tell him everything we always or never said. I am blessed with an amazing God Dad and Uncle - and I have to be grateful always and forever for that.

 

8. Last night, I got to hang out with my little man, Jack. My nephew is literally one of my best friends. He is smart, and funny and sweet and beautiful and caring. He also happens to own a pretty rad scooter helmet and probably has better musical taste and knowledge than me... and he's 7.

 

9. Finally, this is me, trying to impress my husband with my mad practice with my camping skills. We are venturing out this weekend on a hike-to, no bathrooms, tent camping experience. This is his happy place... and I will attempt to not be a baby :) I am more of a "glamping" gal myself, but here goes nothin... I will report back after this weekend!

 

Speaking of family, mine is amazing. Here's a cool one of us Wilson cousins 20+ years later! Taken last Xmas.

 

 



You Stay Classy, San Diego...

HI!

 

I have not been able to get on here to update in a while. I am determined today though as my weekend "shenanigans" were AMAZE balls!

 

 

I spent 4 days in Cali, San Diego, PB with 7 of my girl friends. Here is my epic vacation recap.

 

plane rides are always...interesting with us...

 

 

There are SO many photos to share as we had the BEST time.

 

my fav photo of me all weekend, louise captured. i was just SO happy!

 

 

1. Bikes - we rented beach cruisers for the weekend -- note we did not realize hills are hard... esp with bottles of "MERICA" vodka in your basket. Or, stuffed full of groceries.

 

 

see? #MERICA svedka.

 

 

2.  The BEACH! God, do I love the ocean. I loved this weekend too because all of us were in agreement - let's relax on the beach. Done and done.

 



the sunset photo of cathryn is so beautiful. she just ran and jumped in the ocean...fully clothed. that's my girl. 

know what else is amazing on the beach?
cookies n cream out of a waffle cone. yum!

 

 

3. Our VRBO vacation rental. This house was STUNNING! 4 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, 3 decks, a fire pit, a grill, kitchen, and panaramic views of SD and the ocean and bay...

 

 

this house in north PB. our home for the weekend! LOVE LOVE LOVE

 

 

4. Laughing/Drinking with these crazies... SO much of this happened. We spent 2 out of our 3 nights at the house grilling our dinners, dancing, playing inappropriate games like "Dirty Catch Phrase" and "Cards Against Humanity".

 

1. first beer at our FAV place - Pacific Beach Ale House
2. Cab rides are silly
3. One of our grilled FEASTS
4. beautiful table set for "family dinner"
5. my BFF - love you cathryn leigh
6. Anastasia is a yoga instructor. exhibit A.
7. prom pics on the beach at sunset... normal.
8. shots out of coffee cups? also normal.
9. my roomie for the wknd and bestie kinz!

 

 

5. Our crazy bar night complete with weird dancing at clubs, being overdressed at dinner, the BEST mini-donuts in the world (and the NICEST man Rayal EVER who worked there), impromtu drunk belly button piercings, and our tough marine bestie, Nick, doing yoga in our kitchen at 2am with Stace...

 

i love that i found a john lennon mural on garnet st!

 

NICEST man, love you Rayal! Your mini-donuts were the SHIT!

 

There is SO much more to share I am sure. I just know that these girls made this trip SO amazing! I am in depression being back at work. BUT, I just am counting the days until my next adventure! :)

 

source

 

and since I missed Friday's "back that azz up" I leave you with our SOUNDTRACK of the trip.

 



 

 

It's MAH Birthday!!

Happy Monday to everyone! I am at work, which sucks, cuz it's my birthday today! I am still struggling from a FUN but crazy wedding weekend with a LOT of driving, but I am still excited for my birthday!

Here is a little gem of me at Perkins at 3am after the wedding.. Steph captured it well. I am weird.

 

 

 

Tonight we are hanging out with a few friends to go to my favorite Mexican joint, Pancho Villa. They have amazing food AND it just so happens two for one's on margs and beers! :) I am also quite positive that I get to drink for free on my birthday! This restaurant is right by our condo and is so much fun in the summer (whereever that is) to sit on the patio with the pups too!

 

Backing up to this past weekend, WHAT a blast! The Duluth wedding was a little chilly but SO beautiful and fun. I definitely can see why my husband loves Duluth and his HUGE "UMD" crew reminded me that nope, I am not in college anymore so Perkins at 3am WILL make you feel still like death in the morning... hehe.

 

Here are some of my favs from this weekend!

 

 

1. Silver Lake - my happy place at my cabin. We dropped the pups off with my parents and I woke up Saturday morning to some sunshine. So I enjoyed a cup of coffee on my dock. I love this mug too!

2. HELLO Duluth! - This is the view from our hotel room. I haven't been to Duluth in YEARS since I dated Brady the first time in high school. It was sunny out here but still only 50 degrees. Notice the (our guess) the Canadians at the pool... crazy...

3. Brady and I got into town and went to Little Angies in Canal Park for lunch and some yummy margaritas to set the base for the crazy evening.

4. My partner in crime, Steph, and I getting jacked up for the wedding.

5. Steph's photo cred. I loved this shot of the ceremony at the Glensheen Mansion (note: You cannot chew gum inside..haha.

6. My hottie husband and I at the wedding

7. Such a unique and beautiful layout for the ceremony. Congrats Mike and Jess!!!

8. LOVE these ladies! We had so much fun together!

9. This was the start of the madness at dinner when my husband may or may not have spilt candle wax all over his suit and his friends attempted to help him "clean up." Insert your own joke here...

PS - I had to add this little GEM of a video that Steph took of me prior to the wedding but not prior to a few beers in the hotel room... whoopsies! :)

 

 

 

 

(#2) Top Gun Pedal Pub

 

 

Hey Justin! Thanks for being born and turning 30. Thanks for having an awesome wife who plans a surprise 30th Birthday party on a pedal pub. And for making it Top Gun-themed.

That rocked my socks!

 

 

AND!! I just completed #2 on my "30 before 30" list! Yahoo!

 

 

This was definitely in the "DANGER ZONE" for TOO much fun! So, I will just try and post some of my favorite photos from this hilarious 2-hour experience.

 

 

 

Top 5 Fav Moments:

1. Our driver, Destiny, was AWESOME ("D-Box" -- not "Chow-Box", J!!)

 

 

 

2. Justin, when you came into the apt and saw us... Priceless confusion. :)

 

 

3. The hilarity that was my husband, including his fast peddling when we all stopped and the fact that he told me later there was a "mystery shot" that happened. Loved when I saw this photo. Yes, yes there was.

 

 

 

4. Just this entire group in general.

 

 

The fact that our "outfits" were so random (Thank you Brian)

 

And that we had so FUNNY laughs!

 

 

5. The fact that it was noon on a Saturday and we were the CRAZIEST group of wackos in St Paul!

 

 

 

 

Steph... I think we mastered the "thumbs up" shot... (She was the best bartender EVER, and yes, I am wearing a helmet!)

 

 

 

 

 

 There are about 300 more photos of this whole wacka-doodle day! Loved it! Can't wait to hire D-Box and the Pedal Pub Twin Cities for my next party... Hmm... Now I just need a good theme!

 

 



Michael Jackson Tribute Show!

CHEERS to the freakin' weekend!

 

 

Last night was the Michael Jackson Legacy show at SteppingStone Theatre in St. Paul. My parents, my brother and my 7 year-old nephew, Jack, and I went.

It was a BLAST!

 

Jack showed up in his MJ best... his "BAD" necklace, his "Smooth Criminal" fedora, and his "Beat It" red leather jacket I got him for his birthday in April.

 

 

 

We met my parents for dinner at Billy's on Grand (oh the college memories haha) and then walked the couple blocks to the theater. It was general admission and they wouldn't let us take photos during the performance, but it was SO GOOD!

 

Jack knew every single song within the first couple beats. LC Jackson is a local impersonator that travels around full-time doing these theatre productions.

He is authentic down to the same exact Florsheim loafers and pursing his lips like MJ.

 

Here are some photos of him from his website

 

 

Jack LOVED it! We LOVED it. It was so much fun to sing along to all of our favorite songs! :)

 

 

 

Two favorite moments from the show... 1. When I snuck a video of nothing but still got the sound to send Steph from "Man in The Mirror" a nice little flashback to MT and our dance party...

2. During Thriller when the zombies came into the audience and scared the shit out of us and the screaming teens in the row ahead of us. I almost peed myself ;)

 

In honor of this FUN night with my family, my "Back That Azz Up" music will be a tribute to my FAV songs from the King of Pop!

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

 

I like this Link Up. Here are few things I am loving about today!

 

1. Yesterday, I posted about a Zach Sobiech and his inpirational story (here) - Well, I just found out his song, "Clouds," just surpassed Justin Timberlake, Macklemore, Pink and Daft Punk to be

 #1 on iTunes!!!

That is just SO cool. A story about him here

 

 

I am also loving that it's almost Memorial Day Weekend which means a LOT of fun things:

 

2.  I am taking my parents and my 7 year old nephew to a Michael Jackson Tribute Show tomorrow evening at a local theatre. Jack is OBSESSED with MJ. He knows more dance moves and songs than I do at this point. I am so excited for him to love it. Here is a promo for this show:

 

 

3. It's my friends' Steph, Kinzie, Justin AND Caroline's birthday this week!!

LOVE YOU ALL - Can't wait to celebrate with you :)

 

 

4. I get to FINALLY go to my cabin and even if the weather is shit, I will be with my family for raking, drinking, and games!!

(Photo taken from my yard at my cabin. Silver Lake is heaven.)

 

5. My final thing I am LOVING right now are my GOOFY puppy children.

This is Griffin "wearing" my Havianas.

And

Dashel with a bone hiding in his mouth. Making sure noone could take it.

 

 

Thoughts for Today

This has been a powerful and emotional start to the week. Actually, back up, I had an emotional weekend as well.

 

On Saturday we went to my big brother's overdue housewarming party (he bought his house in December, haha). But the weather was finally right, so we grabbed the pups and headed to his house for some games and grilling. The  pups loved the yard and the sunshine.

The best surpise ever? My aunt Diane came AND my Uncle Mike. Both are my godparents and I haven't seen my Uncle since Christmas. He was diagnosed about a year or two ago with a rare form of lukemia (less than 2,000 cases) so his treatment has been tough, to put it lightly. I will back up... for a few years, when he was healthy, he would make each of the grandkids a custom "bags" set. If you have ever played this game, it is also called "cornhole." My brother and my cousins have received beautiful hand-painted and custom wood sets with various designs, like Vikings, Twins, and even my brother's which is Pink Floyd "Dark Side of the Moon"-themed.

 

About a year ago, Mikey asked Brady and me what design we would like for ours as our wedding gift. We thought a Twins Baseball design would be really cool. Or the "Leinenkugel's" logo for my hometown brewery in Chippewa Falls, WI. But that design was pretty intricate, so we told him to just choose whatever one was easier. Well, it's been 8 months since our wedding and with his health, I didn't think he was working on them... I mean, he has been in the hospital for the better part of a year already.

 

So to see him on Saturday was a present enough but then, our "gift" gets carried into the backyard. And then the tears started...

 

 

 

 This is SO special. The whole set has our wedding date as the "est" date on the set. Mike custom-made a "Leinie Lodge" carrying case. It has a custom wood score board and holders for beverages! And matching bags ready to go! Just unbelievable. It is truly a work of art from a VERY special man.

We got a few photos including this big one of my whole family. Proud moment. :)

As if the day couldn't get better, we ventured Sat evening over to Woodbury to celebrate Brady's sister's 10 year wedding anniversary! WOW! Congrats Bria and BJ!

 

My nephews were adorable per usual! Kohan's 6th birthday (white shirt) was on Sunday so we gave him his present - "a digital watch just like his gym teacher!" haha. I guess he wore it to bed that night! :)

I tried Halibut for the first time too - DELICIOUS!

 

 

 Just a BEAUTIFUL family!!!

 

 

On Monday, I got to work to hear some pretty tragic news that Zach Sobiech had past away. If you don't know anything about him, he is a local Mpls kid who was diagnosed with bone cancer at age 14 in 2008. In July of 2012, the doctors told him they were out of treatment options for his rare form of osteosarcoma, and he maybe had a year.

So, Zach did not sulk. He celebrated life each and everyday. And pursued his dreams of writing and singing music. With the help of my company, Hubbard Broadcasting, Zach recorded his first song, "Clouds." This "good bye" song is now the #1 Amazon download for the singer/songwriter category.

His Youtube video we created at work has now over 2 million views. Celebs and people everywhere have become SO moved and inspired by his strength and message. I love one of his quotes:

"You don't have to find out you are dying to start living."

 

I was fortunate enough to meet him and hear him play this song back in December at a staff luncheon. He was as nice and wonderful as he seems in this song. Also, Soul Pancake (ppl who are behind the Kid President and more) produced this documentary towards the end of his life. It'll make you ball.

 

"My Last Days" Video:

 

 

And one of my FAVS: A Celebrity video message to Zach with a lot of famous peeps showing their love and admiration to Zach.

 

 

 

My heart aches for both Zach's family and friends as well as the people affected by the tragic tornado in Oklahoma. I hope everyone is able to get through all of this sadness and live each day to the fullest. Something I have to remind myself each and every day.