and now I'm 26, where did the year go?!

First off, the short weekend I was in CA was AMAZING!  I got to enjoy my grandma's homemade food, watch my little cousin play soccer, go to grandma's beach, eat dinner at the famous Arnie Morton's, and spend time with the Saxe's and Nyberg family.  The weekend was perfect and I was so glad to be able to take the short vaca.

Isla's first time to the ocean and she LOVED it! :)

Nyberg family picture!  (Isla is so cute when she giggles!)

My goddaughter is the best :)

She is so excited to be at grandma's beach!

So excited!  Look at that smile.. :)

Dining at Arnie Morton's

My beautiful friend Chaslynn came to visit me for the Halloween weekend.  We got all dressed up and went out in costume.  It was a fun night.  Seeing how creative people get with their costume is pretty entertaining.

Birthday dinner at Cattleman's Steakhouse

From left to right: Goddess (Heidi), Skeleton (me), Devil (Michelle), Kitty cat (Chaslynn)

I was able to spend my birthday in Pierre and it was a pretty good week (I don't just celebrate the day)!  During the week, the ladies and I had a ladies night and were entertained by the CHIPPENDALES!  It was so much fun but I drank a little too much because the next day I was definitely feeling hungover.

Getting ready to spend some dollars :) haha.

Now I'm back in Portland until November 19.  I leave for Wisconsin on November 26 and will be visiting family and friends until December 4.  The best news is yet to come...  I will be spending Christmas this year with my FAMILY in WI!!  I'm extremely thankful to be able to because last year I was not so lucky.

Until next time ladies and gentlemen :)

California countdown has begun!

This past weekend I was finally able to return to Pierre... to do laundry, yippee.  I was able to fly back on Thursday instead of Friday because we were unable to do testing on current application due to someone committing code before updating to head (only a programmer will get this statement, but any way, it broke the application which is realllllllly bad).  So, Heidi and I were told to catch an earlier flight and head home.

It was nice to be back on a Friday.  I was able to go out with people I haven't seen in so long!  Plus, it was one of my coworker's last day because he is moving to Arizona!  It was nice to be able to go out and celebrate his new endeavor.  Everyone is surely going to miss him!

On Saturday, I laid low and did a TON of laundry.  It really piles up when you're away for four weeks.  The best part is that I didn't need to clean my apartment because I left the place spotless four weeks prior.  It was a little hard being at home though without my partner in crime, Pip.  I sure do miss her company and our cuddling sessions.  My mom has informed me she has been taking great care of her and she's getting a lot of love and attention.

I leave for California in 9 days!  I get to spend time with family and friends and it's going to be awesome.  I can't wait to see everyone but it's going to be so hard to only be there for two days.  So much I want to do and people to see but not a whole lot of time to do it.  I'm definitely going to make the most of my time there. :)

And to leave you all with my precious niece, Isla Marie!

Reminiscing

As I sit here, in bed, on this rainy Sunday I reminisce about the past week and a half.

My weeks have been very busy on my current project.  Working 11 hours a day, maybe more depending on code deployments and migrations.  Getting calls at random hours of the night to begin testing.  The reason is because out project go-live date is October 1st!

I know for a fact that I will continue traveling to Portland until October 25th.  We have been requested to stay through November 22 (which I'm thankful it's not over Thanksgiving week).  I will be speaking with my boss tomorrow morning to discuss the extension and the travel.  

This weekend, Heidi and I were supposed to go to Seattle for a weekend getaway.  Unfortunately there were going to be record rains for this time of year so we canceled the trip and stayed in Portland for the weekend.  So, instead, we drove the short distance to Woodburn, OR to visit the large outlet mall there.  I ended up purchasing a new piece of luggage because of all the shopping I've done while I've been here.  I wouldn't have been able to fit all of my items into my suitcase so there was a need for a new one :)

Tonight, Heidi and I are going to the restaurant Touche in downtown Portland.  I'm excited to try this new spot and to do a little more exploring of what Portland has to offer me.

Found a chocolate store at Woodburn Outlet, and this Tiger Tail was delicious!

Last night I enjoyed the many Snapchats my great friend Kyle sent me :)  His sister got married yesterday and during the celebration there may have been a few too many beverages!  I had to capture this gem of Kyle and his mother Ann.  His caption cracks me up!

And to close this blog post with the most joyous thing in my life, my sweet, active, and on-the-go niece.

Labor Day and on..

When I arrived back in Pierre on August 29 from Portland, I decided I would drive back to Wisconsin for the holiday weekend, leaving on Saturday morning.  I had been feeling bad for my pet, Pip, because she had been all alone the entire time I have been traveling for work.  I did have my neighbor checking in on her so she had food and water, a clean litter box, and to get some affection.  However, ten minutes each day is not enough for her.  She needs much more attention and love than that.  So the main reason I planned my trip to Wisconsin was to drop her off with my Mom.  I know my Mom would give her the attention and affection she needs.

While deciding to go back to Wisconsin for Labor Day weekend, I was able to persuade Heidi to come on the trip with me!  She ended up bringing her cat, Kahleesi, as well because she also believes her cat needed some extra love for the weekend.  We road tripped to Eau Claire on Saturday morning and arrived around 3 pm.  We rested and met up with some of my best guy friends to start Saturday’s festivities.  We pre-gamed a little bit at Lincoln’s house and then made our way downtown where we met up with some other close girlfriends of mine, Koreen and Kelsey!  I was excited to take Heidi around a real party town and to bar hop at some of my favorite spots in EC.  She enjoyed herself quite a bit.

On Sunday we went to my Uncle Wally’s new house out in Prescott, WI.  The house is beautiful and on so many acres.  It is a very beautiful property.  We were there for a few hours and drove back to EC to lay low for the rest of the evening.  Chas ended up coming over to hang out for the evening and until Monday afternoon until Heidi and I packed up and drove back to Pierre.  It was a great weekend that I got to spend with family and friends.  I enjoy those weekends so much and I’ll treasure them, always.

I was able to work remote the week of Labor Day so, NO TRAVELING FOR ABOUT 5 DAYS!  Sunday, September 8, I flew back to Portland and started my week working 7-7 until Friday.Friday evening, I flew out to LAS VEGAS to spend the weekend with my Uncle Travis, Aunt Ruth, and cousins; Rachel (11) and Katelin (13).  It was amazing to spend the weekend with them.  Friday when I flew in I was able to stay up past 12:30 am chit chatting away with my Aunt whom I haven’t seen in about 3 years!  We could talk forever, honestly.  Saturday I got up early to watch my cousin Katelin play soccer and then ran errands and another soccer game for Rachel at 1 pm, but it ended up getting canceled because of the weather.  I was sad I didn’t get to see her play the sport she loves the most but it gave my Aunt and I time to run additional errands to prep for the big fight, Mayweather vs. Canelo.

My Uncle had invited a bunch of people to watch the fight at his house.  He wanted to buy tickets for us to go see it live but tickets were OUTRAGEOUS, $3500 outrageous.  So we rented it on PPV instead.  I was reallllllly hoping to see a knockout but not one all night.  I was a little disappointed.  Overall it was a great fight and we all enjoyed ourselves, drinking and over eating.  It was a lot of fun.  I ended up going to bed around midnight again and tried sleeping in today (Sunday).  I had a great breakfast made by Rachel, my little cousin.  She made Belgium waffles!!  We watched some football and than made my way to the airport.

Let me tell you something.  It is the hardest when you leave family.  I was talking with my Aunt about how friends come and go and family is always there for you.  It is 100% true.  I’ve had plenty of friends come and go.  They come for a reason or they come for a season, but you ALWAYS have family.  Family is forever.

Labor Day weekend:
Yum!  These sunglasses taste so good!

The next few weeks are going to be pretty crazy for me.  I will be working 7-7, Monday –Saturday.  I will update as much as possible but my life will be pretty boring for the next three weeks, UNLESS a certain person comes to see me :) So... if something exciting happens, I’ll definitely be writing about it.  Don’t give up on me yet!

Labor Day weekend:
My adorable and giggly niece taking a bath in the kitchen sink.

Labor Day weekend:
Almost standing all by herself!

Labor Day weekend:
Hanging on the the couch all by herself :)

Las Vegas weekend:
My cousin Katelin is one inch shorter than me.  How can this be?!

Las Vegas weekend:
Rachel and Katelin posing with their puppy dog, Molly.

Las Vegas Weekend:
Kisses for Molly!

Las Vegas weekend:
View from the airplane window of the Las Vegas Strip.

Las Vegas weekend:
View from the plane of Las Vegas, you can still see the distant Las Vegas Strip.

Las Vegas weekend:
View from the plane of the mountains.

Minne weekend.

It has been a hectic couple of weeks!

This past Thursday I was leaving Portland to fly home to Pierre.  Well, the United flight was extremely delayed due to the incoming flight being late and bad weather in Denver (where my connection was).  When I was finally able to get off the plane I sprinted to gate A but it was too late, my flight with Great Lakes had already left.  So there I am, in the HUGE Denver airport, frustrated and super annoyed about missing my flight because I had absolutely no control over the situation.  I was able to get a room at the Double Tree by Hilton near the airport for a discounted rate.  It was a very nice hotel and the bed was super comfortable.  I was glad I had a great place to stay for the night.

My king size bed at the Double Tree by Hilton

Denver Airport Security check, yuck.

The walkway over to gate A

Friday morning I took the shuttle back to the airport and took the earliest flight to Pierre.  Unfortunately, I had absolutely NO time to go home and do laundry, or pack, or spend time with Pip because my flight from Denver landed at 11:53am and my flight from Pierre to Minne was at 12:17pm!  It was a long two days but I finally was able to make it to Minneapolis with no problem other than the fact I only had dirty clothes with me.  Thank goodness I was able to do laundry at my good friend, Katie's apartment.

Other than my hectic travels my weekend was fantastic!  It was nice to be able to sit down and paint my finger nails and drink wine with some of my closest girlfriends.  We all woke up Saturday morning and immediately started getting ready for our wine tour!  We rented a limo and the limo driver took us to two wineries, one boat cruise, and a place to stop and eat lunch.  Although it was a great time I was so ready to change into pj's and just lounge with all my girlfriends.  After much needed naps and more booze, we decided we wanted to go to Toby Keith's bar in St. Louis Park.  It was a pretty big bar and there was a live band playing.  It was crowded but us ladies made our way close to the stage to dance to a few good jams.  Saturday was such a great day.

First winery stop of the day!

Boat tour

Picture from the boat tour

On Sunday, a few of us decided to be super lazy and do absolutely nothing but watch Netflix until I needed to be taken to the airport to catch my flight back to Portland.  I didn't arrive to my hotel until about 9:45pm PST.  I unpacked everything, brushed my teeth, and fell asleep as soon as I closed my eyes.

It has been requested, those of us who are working onsite should work 7am-7pm this week.  Also, it has been requested that I come back the week after labor day for four more weeks and work Monday-Saturday 7am-7pm.  It is going to take a lot out of me but I'm going to try to plan a short weekend trip to Las Vegas in September sometime.  Due to the request of working onsite in Portland almost the entire month of September, I have decided on Labor Day weekend, I will drive to WI and drop off Pip with my mom until I'm able to be home to take care of her.  She needs more attention than what she is given right now from people coming to my apartment and "checking in" on her for a quick 10 minutes.  Pip is the kind of cat that needs a lot of attention and I believe taking her to live with my mom for a month or two will be the best option for her.

Since I will be traveling to WI this weekend, I get to see this cute face (see below) while I'm there and I CANNOT WAIT!  I miss my niece/god-daughter very, very much.  I can't wait to give her tons and tons of kisses!

Her smiles are so contagious :)

BUSY, busy.

I'm not going to bore you with how busy I have been with work in Portland.  Today I worked 10 hours.  It's a good thing I have been given an incentive for working overtime on this project.  Yesterday, Heidi and I decided to go on a little stroll near our hotel.  Here are a few pictures from our walk.

Senior pic!

A massive Pine tree.

Heidi and I had a lot of fun being a little touristy.

At another time, I'll find more time to go on and on about the project and people I've been working with at the Portland office.  The work load keeps piling up and there are only so many hours in a day.  Until then, CIAO!