The Life and Times of My Feet: An intro

Ever since my mom bought me my first digital camera, pictures of my feet have been ubiquitous. I'm not entirely sure why I choose take pictures of my feet, they just happen. It might be like my way of saying "I was here." And my feet have been many places! They've been to many interesting places and it's kind of interesting to see all the things my feet (and me) have done.

My feet getting ready for my first 5K.

My feet in Tony's hammock tent in the Boundary Waters.

My feet following a path at Dublin Castle in Ireland.

Andy and my feet on a boat in Lake Superior.

My feet on their way to work at the U of M after a Spring Break snowfall.

My feet on tree roots on 5th Avenue in New York City.

My feet made their way to the top of a playground in Glasgow, Scotland.

My feet snowshoeing while orienteering in Theodore Wirth Park.

My feet on the sand at Dublin Bay.

My feet on a frozen and snowy Lake Nokomis.

My feet and the found plastic cow "Clinton" at the James J. Hill house.

Sometimes other people took pictures of my feet. This is Kim, me, Andy and Jon at the Scavenger Hunt.

My feet on the Golden Gate Bridge in San Fransisco.

My feet hanging while I sat on the soon to be wrecked ATV.

Andy got into the foot action on our first date over the Mississippi River.

My feet on the square in Rockville, IN.

Sometimes my feet get dirty sometimes, this is at a kegger to raise funds for the Student Associate for Non-profit Enterprise.

Sometimes my feet pictures are not stylish. This is at a party while wearing leg warmers and long johns. Tequila and beer make anything sound like a good idea.

But it rains in Portland

I've got a few things on my mind today. Let's start with the cold.

When we've talked to people about wanting to move out west to Portland, Oregon. A common reply is "but it rains in Portland." This is usually coming from Minnesotans, who can't imagine wanting to live somewhere else. I'm a true blue Minnesotan myself, I was born and raised here, I spent my childhood building snow forts, skiing and sledding. But I could die right now if I went outside in my pajamas for any length of time. I love going outside, but not when the outside could kill me! Death from exposure doesn't really happen all that often in Portland. Doesn't that sound nice? Portland is pretty mild all year round. And some people say they'd miss having all 4 seasons. I would miss winter more if it wasn't trying to kill me. The best thing about Portland is that it's surrounded by mountains and you can choose when you want to visit winter. Plus you don't have to shovel all the time.

Suddenly this week, Minnesota decided it was going to be winter. After trying to drive to work, shoveling the drive way and walking to the train when its -20 degrees, I've decided that winter is a season for kids. Kids get to bundle up and make snowmen, wish for snow days, build forts, fall over in the piles of snow made by plows. For adults, snow means snarled traffic, spin outs, and shoveling. Lots and lots of shoveling. But at least its pretty now.

My next topic: Southwest Airlines. When we took our honeymoon to Portland, OR we took Southwest to get out there. Since I checked in pretty late, we were slotted to get on the plane last. If you know anything about Southwest, you know they don't have assigned seats. Boarding the plane last would ensure that we would probably not sit near each other in the 4 hours to Portland. Andy asked the attendant at the desk to see if we could sit together for our honeymoon and surprisingly they agreed! We got 2 seats next to each other in the 2nd row and the flight attendant offered us free drinks and gave us extra drink tickets for our flight home! It was amazing and definitely unexpected. It was a great start to our honeymoon.

Since they were so nice at Southwest, Andy wrote in to tell them the story and recognize the flight attendant for her service. A couple weeks later we got a package in the mail from Southwest with a letter. They thanked us for being customers and sent a wedding gift!! I couldn't believe it. They sent us a candy dish with a little heart in the center. So essentially, we asked for something from an airline and they provided that and kept on giving. That is something that we don't experience with all airlines.

That's all I have for today! It's cold outside and I'm glad to be warm!