Quick trip to L.A.

I'm late in posting about my quick trip to L.A. in October. Mom and I decided to hop on a plane for a quick trip to the Sunshine State and see Christopher and Dustin. As an added bonus, we were able to see Christopher in They're Playing Our Song. AMAZING production, and a talented crew.
We would have loved more time with Christopher and Dustin, but we took the time we had and had a few laughs, stumbles and car rides. :-)

Book Review: October 2010

Hello Happy Readers! This change in season just makes me want to curl up on my couch and read, read, read.

I ran into Unexpectedly, Milo by Matthew Dicks in a recommendation from a Daily Candy email. It's a quirky plot line, a quirky main character, but somehow it worked for me. Milo's struggle with OCD and his dissolving marriage are an interesting contrast to his quest to find a missing woman and heal a stranger's pain. I would recommend this book.


My college girlfriends have book club once a month. In September, I was fortunate to have them visit me in Chicago. They brought with them The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton. This was a wonderful book! It spans generations of a family across England and Australia and the familial plot line told through the women in the family is amazing. I've read another novel by Kate Morton, but this one is my preferred choice. I highly recommend this book!


Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok was another recommendation from Daily Candy and it is a story of an immigrant girl coming to America with her mother. Kim lives in horrendous conditions, works with her mother in illegal conditions but finds her saving grace in excelling in school. When her relationship with her first love surprises her, she makes the toughest decision of her life. I would recommend this book.

Happy Reading everyone!

Book Review: September 2010

I pushed through a few books in September.

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson
The final book in the trilogy did not disappoint. Get out and read this!!! Once again, Stieg Larsson takes us on a journey with Lisbeth Salander that is fast paced and full of secrecy and intrigue. I couldn't put down this book, and you won't be able to either.

The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold
The first chapter of this novel is quite a shocker. But the subsequent chapters did not provide the resolution that I was looking for in the main character's shocking action. I would not recommend this book.

The Night of the Gun by David Carr
This autobiography looks at David's addiction to alcohol and drugs. Told through his recollection and the memories of his family, friends and acquaintances he bares as much of his past as he can remember. I liked this book because he had a unique way of expressing addiction and how easy a relapse can be. It was an honest story, and while I did not sympathize with this character, I would recommend this book.
Happy Reading!

Labor Day Weekend

I was so blessed to be able to visit Shaun, Annie, Colter and little Kaleb over the Labor Day weekend. It seemed like too short of a visit, but we had such a wonderful time hanging out together as a family.
Colter continues to surprise me with his knowledge and wit, and always keeps me laughing. He is quite a ham and has a flair for the dramatic - not sure where he picked that up!?! As a 3 1/2 year old, he does like to test his boundaries, but he really is such a good kiddo. It's so precious whenever he calls me "Auntie Nikki." And he killed me with, "Auntie Nikki, I really like you. Don't go home."

And the newest member to the Zenner clan is freakin adorable. Kaleb is such a good little baby boy and I just enjoyed watching him sleep. Which he did a lot. When I saw the first pictures of him, I swear he looked exactly like Colter. But now that he's a wee bit older, there is definitely a difference. I cannot wait to see how this little guy develops.

Shaun and Annie are also doing so well and adjusting to a family of 4. We definitely did not get in as much card playing as we've done in the past, but I think there will be some crazy tournaments around the holidays!

Yay for family!

Book Review: August 2010

I'm tearing through books this summer and it's been great!

The Rossetti Letter by Christi Phillips
This is another historical fiction that I love. It is written as two stories that take place in Venice, one storyline is taking place in the early 1600's and the second story takes place in modern day. The storyline from the 1600's is of a courtesan who writes a letter that exposes a plot from the Spanish to overthrow the Venetian government. Then the storyline from modern day is a woman using this event in history as her dissertation. But things are not always what they seem! I highly recommend this book.

The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson
Yep, I'm addicted to this trilogy! This second book picks up after the events of the first one that I read back in July. We definitely get to know more about Lisbeth Salander and she becomes quite an intriguing heroine. This was another story where you think one thing has happened, but it hasn't happened the way you thought it would. Go out and read this trilogy!!!!

Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea by Chelsea Handler
Everyone has been telling me how hilarious Chelsea's writing is, so I finally broke down and picked up this book. It definitely had some pretty funny moments and is a super quick read. And having watched her show, I can just picture her delivering some of these one liners. It's a good book and if you're a fan of Chelsea's you should get it.

Happy Reading!

Summer days

Oh my goodness! How is it already the end of August!?! I can't even believe it!

It's been a great summer visiting with AJ, family and friends. Between trips to Indianapolis, Duluth and relaxing in Chicago, I am taking full advantage of the summer.

AJ and I have had some great weekend visits - hanging out with friends, cooking together, playing dominos, going bowling, and just getting to know each other more. It's been great and we shall see how things play out in the next couple of weeks with him moving to DC.

I also had a great time with friends at the Blues Fest again this year. We hit our favorite hangouts and even tried some new ones. This included the jalapeno burger at The Anchor, mexican fare at Mexico Lindo and listening to blues at Hell Burgers. The top favorite artists this year were Dave Herrero, Scott Holt and Otis Clay - check them out!
I also was able to meet up with my cousin Grace and her two little girls. She definitely has her work cut out with them as they are walking all over the place, but everyone is doing great!

Work has been busy this summer, but that is good. I'm definitely wearing a lot of hats at work, and there are disagreements, but all in all it is still a great opportunity and I've been loving it.

Weddings have been slow this summer - still not getting any leads in Chicago. But I've been staying busy by helping out at my church about twice a month. That has been a lot of fun, and I've met some great couples. I also was involved with a non-profit organization that would grant weddings to couples that have experienced hardships, and while I still agree with the concept of the organization, I could no longer accept a position on their board. It's a long story that I can tell you over cocktails some time. As painful and time consuming as that position was, I did walk away with positive lessons and that is what I'm focusing on.

I hope you have all had a wonderful summer!

Book Review: July 2010

I'm late in talking about my reading this summer, but definitely want to pass along some recommendations.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
Yes, this book lives up to its hype. I strongly recommend this book as it is such a well-written mystery thriller! I couldn't put it down! The story resolves around a forty year old disappearance case and an unlikely journalist and socially inept woman working together to solve the mystery. I will warn you that some parts of this book are quite disturbing, but at the end of the day it is a great thriller novel and you must get out and read it yourself!!

Loving Frank by Nancy Horan
I first heard about this book from my college friends during one of their book club meetings. I was quite intrigued to read more about Frank Lloyd Wright and this book did not disappoint. While the story resolves more around Mamah Borthwick Cheney's viewpoint of their scandulous affair, there were some great insights into Frank. However the real joy of this book are the insights of a woman going after a freedom that was not accepted by society. I strongly recommend this book as well.

Happy Reading!

Meeting the Family

For all of my readers out there, I wanted to give you a quick update that AJ meeting the family and parents over the 4th of July weekend went so well! We had an amazing time in MN - AJ's first time in MN! We enjoyed some time in Minneapolis, of course stopping at the Mall of America AND the new Twins stadium. Then we had a wonderful two days in Long Prairie as well.

Good times!
And for those of you that we weren't able to see, I know that you're going to meet him as soon as we can get back.

Book Review: June 2010

I was able to race through a few books in June and want to share with you.

The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
He is the author of one of my most favorite books, The Shadow of the Wind. This book definitely had some aspects that made me love this writer, but it didn't live up to my expectations. Granted, Carlos is a beautiful storyteller, so if you like a good story, go out and read this book! I can't give you any more detail on the book - you'll have to check it out yourself.

Brooklyn by Colm Toibin
I really enjoyed this novel and how Colm told a moving story of a young Irish woman gaining her independence in America. It's the coming of age story that most women have...even without traveling across the Atlantic Ocean. This story is how Eilis finds herself as a person...putting herself through school, working, living without family, and falling in love. A very beautiful story, and I highly recommend this book!

Peace Like a River by Leif Enger
Maybe it's because Leif is from Osakis, MN (20 minutes from my hometown), maybe it's because the setting of this story is in MN and ND, or maybe it's because it's a beautifully written story - but I loved it. Told through the 11 year old son in a family, this story looks at a family's journey to find their outlaw son/brother, and how that journey is solidified in faith. I highly recommend this book!

Happy Reading!

The new man in my life

Most of you readers have either received an email or phone call about the new guy in my life. I met Alain Jeoffroy in November when I went to Indianapolis for a conference. I was waiting for some friends to arrive at the airport, so I sat down at one of the airport bars and AJ was bartending there. Instant chemistry.



We met up one night while I was still in Indy and he even drove me to the airport when I left the conference later that week. After talking and texting for a couple of months, AJ came to visit me in Chicago at the end of January. I was a little nervous, as he was visiting for 4 days. Yikes. But we actually had a great time together and while I was ready for him to go home after the 4 days (c'mon, you all know me!!), I wanted to see him again.


We continued to talk and text, and when AJ came back to Chicago at the end of March to visit me, we officially started dating. Because this is a long term relationship, we spend a lot of time on the phone. :-) But both of us work on seeing each other every 2-3 weeks and that has been working out.


Here are the "boyfriend stats":

• He has a very long name - but goes by Alain Jeoffroy. And actually he goes by AJ a lot. His first name pronounced in English is Alan.
• He's 32 and lives in Indianapolis.
• He has Haitian and Lebanese heritage.
• He's about 6'5" and has dreads. (He survived a form of skin cancer and once in remission he hasn't cut his hair since).
• His parents divorced when he was young. His mom lives in DC; sister lives in Florida; dad, stepmom and step sister live in Seattle.
• And yes, he's Catholic!
• He's been focusing on his music career (hip hop rapper) while bartending. But he's looking at going to law school in the very near future.

In a lot of ways we're complete opposites, but there are a number of similarities. And just to sound like a girl here, we compliment each other. I can't explain it. But I'm happy and enjoying this relationship.

I can't wait for you to meet him!

10 years - I'm blessed

Wow. I know this is a serious post, but I couldn't let this day go by without a thought to what happened 10 years ago. It was 10 years ago today that I got a second chance at life and survived the car jacking and shooting incident in NE Mpls.
There still isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about what happened. It's just one of those things that stick. But the hatred is gone, and for that I am thankful. I am also so thankful for the experience of the last 10 years - especially the people that have come into my life over the last 10 years. Tragic experiences do knock you down, but it is such a triumph to see yourself get back up again and live to your fullest potential.

Thank you to all of you who have continued to keep me in your thoughts and prayers and have occasionally been a shoulder to cry on, even 10 years later.

Love, Nikki

Book Review: May 2010

Hello dear readers!
I made it through two fabulous books this month and need to share with you.

The first book was Founding Mothers by Cokie Roberts and she took a look at those women that helped shape our country. These are the mothers, wives and sisters of those men that helped form the U.S. government. While Cokie quotes from a number of different sources, it still is a great look at the amazing women that did have a voice in the late 1700's. I was surprised to see how many of these women were feminists and were heard by their fathers, husbands and brothers. Even though it took many more years to get us on an equal field, it was very eye opening to see how these women paved our way. I highly recommend this book!

The second book was Little Bee by Chris Cleave. I happened to run into the bookstore last week to get some reading material for the Memorial Day weekend. I picked up this book because the back of the book said, "We don't want to tell you what happens in this book. It is a truly special story and we don't want to spoil it. Nevertheless, you need to know enough to buy it, so we will just say this: This is the story of two women. Their lives collide one fateful day, and one of them has to make a terrible choice, the kind of choice we hope you never have to face. Two years later, they meet again-the story starts there... Once you have read it, you'll want to tell your friends about it. When you do, please don't tell them what happens. The magic is in how the story unfolds."
Enough said, since I recommend this book!

Happy Reading!

Ca-razy Week

Whew, readers. It has been one crazy week. Doesn't it always seem to get like this when you kick off spring/summer?

Last Friday I was able to fly into MN and spend a great night with Renee, Armand and the girls. Renee tried out a new guacamole recipe, and I made my homemade tacos. Amazingly delicious!

Saturday found me running around the Twin Cities - meeting the new ladies that Rita has hired at Premier Planning Services and doing a photo shoot with them, celebrating my cousin's 13th birthday (a surprise visit for me!), meeting up with my mom, bowling a 160 at Elsie's for Chad's grad school graduation, and finally a lobster tail dinner with Renee and Armand. Are you tired yet? And did you catch that bowling score!?!
On Sunday, my mom and I, along with Erin, Marsha, Quinton and Sinnea participated in the Susan G Komen Race for the Cure. I sadly had to put another name on my race sheet for people that have been touched by breast cancer. It is a high school classmate of mine that is currently fighting stage 3 cancer. I know she's going to be a survivor, but what a difficult hurdle in life. My mom and I discussed, and over the last 9 years, we have walked in 8 of the races. We really like that tradition for Mother's Day.
I got home Sunday evening and tried to relax before a ridiculous week. Monday evening was spent celebrating a friend's new job. Tuesday night I flew out to NYC to attend an all day conference on Wednesday. I flew back to Chicago Wed night; however, my flight was delayed until midnight, which meant I wasn't in my bed until after 2am on Thursday morning. I had to get into the office on Thursday morning, as I had an 8:30am call; but then I get in and the call was cancelled. Grrrrr. Thursday night I attended a wedding industry event and then had an out of town friend stay the night. (She's moving to Chicago in June and is having a hard time finding a place to rent that will accept her large dog. Sad.)

Thankfully on Friday I was able to work from home. But I then had 3 wedding rehearsals to coordinate at my Church that evening before I drove to Indianapolis. At least my time in Indy was relaxing and I was finally feeling like my normal self by Sunday.

This week is already looking more sane. That's a good thing!

Book Review: April 2010

I was able to get through 2 books in April and actually enjoyed both. They both revolved around family secrets and, of course, very dysfunctional families and how their secrets are revealed.

The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry
This book is set in Ireland and written in two contradictory narratives in an attempt to solve the mystery of a 100-year-old mental patient. That patient, Roseanne McNulty, decides to undertake an autobiography while, her psychiatrist, Dr. Grene, investigates her original commitment in preparation for her transfer to a new hospital. It is beautifully written as you're taken back in time through Roseanne's failing memory of her childhood and young adult life, and Dr. Grene's slow uncovering of the truth in present day.
I highly recommend this book!

The Memory Keepers Daughter by Kim Edwards
This book begins in 1964 with the birth of fraternal twins, a healthy boy and a girl with Down syndrome. Their father ends up delivering them at his orthopedic clinic when they could not make it to the hospital. Seeing his daughter's handicap, he instructs the nurse to take her to a home and later tells his wife, who was drugged during labor, that their son's twin died at birth. Instead of institutionalizing the girl, the nurse keeps her and raises her in another city. This deception is an unraveling thread to the family over the next 25 years.
I highly recommend this book!

Happy Reading!

April MN Visit

I'm a bit late in posting about my trip to MN in mid-April. It was one of my quick Saturday-Sunday trips where I pop in and say HI to family and friends. This visit was with my crew from high school.
I was able to spend a beautiful Spring Saturday afternoon with Lorrie and Jessica on the patio of The Rail Station drinking some beers. I even got a little sun burned - crazy! That evening the entire group was together and we headed to an old haunt, The Bulldog. Since I had had a burger that afternoon, I bypassed my usual order of the Stilton Burger, and ordered The Homewrecker. This is a large hot dog with the everything and the kitchen sink. A-mazing! I think my favorite topping was crushed potato chips. Check it out!
Before I jetted out back to Chicago, we went out to brunch on Sunday at Edina Grill. Again, a favorite old haunt. And once again, I spent a rare Spring Sunday having brunch outside. Heavenly.
I have to say that there's nothing like some quality time spent with friends...especially old friends. The short visit home just warmed my heart.

May you enjoy the time spent with your friends!

Business photo shoot

Hey family and friends!
I have to share this blog post from my photographer friend here in Chicago. We had a photo shoot together a few weeks ago, and the results were pretty fabulous! :-) Can you tell I like to have my photo taken?

I scheduled this photo shoot so that I could get updated head shots for business and you'll soon see my updated mug on our wedding website and on the social sites.

http://roperphoto.com/category/portraits/headshots/

Recipe: Two Dips

No, I'm not talking about some dumb people, I'm talking about two new dips I tried for Easter dinner with my cousin and her husband. I made two dips...just in case one of them wasn't so good.

The consensus favorite dip was Giada De Laurentiis' Marscapone-Chive Dipping Sauce.

4 strips bacon, cooked until crisp, chopped finely
1 cup (8 oz) marscapone cheese, at room temperature
3/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives

Combine all 4 ingredients and then salt and pepper to taste. Serve with pita chips.



The next dip was good, and actually would be excellent with a lamb dish. It is a Cucumber Yogurt Dip from Sandra Lee. Very refreshing!

1 medium hot house cucumber
1 cup fat free plain yogurt
1 cup fat free sour cream
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon greek seasoning

Cut the cucumber in half lengthwise and then grate. Combine all the ingredients and then salt and pepper to taste. Serve with pita chips.

Enjoy!

Book Review: March 2010

Maybe my working from home is killing my reading. I don't seem to get through as many books as I used to when I would have to commute every day. :-)

In March I read Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. It is the story of one man's mission to educate children, especially girls, in Central Asia. He began this mission in the mid 1990's. After 9/11, this mission became more crucial, as Greg believes education is the best way to fight terrorism.
I highly, highly recommend this book and learning more about this organization.
https://www.ikat.org/
It is a true story that shows how one person's sacrifice and hard work can truly make a difference in the world. If this story does not motivate you to dream and keep working on a goal, I'm not sure if anything else could.

Precious Time

Last weekend I had the privilege of being able to visit MN and spend time with my parents and grandparents. (I also had the chance to squeeze in some tax-free shopping and see Kerry and Dave too!)

The time with my Zumwalde grandparents was complete with talking, card playing, some church time, and dinner. They are just too cute for words and I can't believe they still live at home by themselves. And people wonder where I get my independence from?!?!

Card playing is always a must with these grandparents and there were a couple of memorable moments with my grandmother. She always is the scorekeeper, and it was quite humorous when after one round of play she began to update scores. I happened to glance over and saw that in my previous round I had a 44, but when grandma "added" my new score, I was brought down to 32. Hmmm, that's now how I remember scoring for Up & Down the River. I totally called her out on it and we had a good laugh. Then at another point in the game, my mom, my grandpa and I all had 2 cards in our hand, but grandma only had 1. And she had dealt that round. Hmmm, maybe grandma was not up to par in playing cards that day, but we sure had some good laughs.

After dinner, we then went to Cold Spring to visit with my Grandma Zenner. Again there was much chatting, a little dessert and irish coffee. This was the first time that I remember watching irish coffee being made where the sugar and whiskey is mixed together and set on fire. It's a patient process. We spent the night with my grandma and had a wonderful breakfast before I was back on my way to Chicago. My favorite quote from my grandmother was during her storytelling of going to a local restaurant. Apparently the food is fabulous, but they can't make a drink to save their life. It's gotten to the point where her and her friends have drinks before going to dinner there. Anyway, apparently they flunked on her drink and she was like "How the hell do you screw up a vodka tonic?" Oh my mercy. And people wonder where I get my snobby drinking from!?!?!

Such good times. Such precious times.

St. Patrick's Day Celebrations

As most of you know, whenever St. Patrick's Day falls on a weekday, Chicago celebrates the weekend prior. So the big celebration was on Saturday. This Irish lass did not disappoint. I started the day with a bloody mary at my friend Janet's. We then went to O'Leary's for a private breakfast party. Complete with dressed up hosts, a breakfast buffet, a band, and Guinness already on tap. Yep, I was on my 2nd Guinness when the clock struck 9am.


Around 10:30am we then wandered outside to see where the day would take us. It was a rather cold, dreary, and misty day, so we decided to skip the river dying and found us another cozy pub. We sidled up to the bar at Pepper Cannister and were greeted by Ivan, the Irish bartender and Tony, the Australian at the bar. We almost walked out when I received my Guinness, because 1) they were only serving in plastic cups (the horror) and 2) it was served in a Bud Light cup. Please. I had words with Ivan. And he grudgingly obliged to pour it into a different non-Bud Light cup. All was right in the world again.


As late afternoon rolled around, we found our way closer to home at The Fieldhouse. We caught up with most of the crew from the breakfast party and enjoyed swapping stories from the day. But as the clock approached 6pm, it was time to tap out. So I was back home and in bed about 6:15pm.

Such a wonderful day.


So I had two casualties from the day.
1. I dropped my camera for the last time around 8am and it busted. I had saved all the pictures that were on it, so that camera found it's way to the garbage. I'm now on the hunt for a new camera - yipee!
I have to wait to get photos from Janet before I can post them - so come back in a week or so!
2. I had painted my fingernails green and put rhinestones on them. I made the mistake to do my nails that morning during the bloody mary, and unfortunately, the rhinestones would not stick. We had a good laugh throughout the day as I would realize I had lost another 1 or 2 rhinestones. It's the little things.


When yesterday rolled around, I still had no set plans for celebrating, but that quickly changed. Around 4:30 I opened my last bottle of Guinness 250. I had saved one bottle just for St. Patrick's Day, and it did not disappoint.


From there, I met up with some friends for dinner and then when they had to go to their bowling league, I decided to go along as a spectator. Well, the league needed subs, so a couple of us filled in and had a wonderful time celebrating the holiday with old and new friends. Awesome.

I hope you were all able to celebrate with family and friends!

Spring!

I'm not even going to think about the fact that we're supposed to get snow over the weekend, because when I walked outside today, it smells like spring/summer. Things growing, the warm sun, fresh breathable air.

Yes!

Congratulations Cousin Tim

I couldn't help but post this email I received this week about my cousin Tim, from his proud parents.


Tim was among a select group of Army junior officers NATIONWIDE to receive this award! In fact, he was 1 out of 6 in the Army National Guard to receive this award. Go Tim!!
Go to the following website to read more about the award and see Tim's name under Army National Guard:
http://www.armyg1.army.mil/macarthur/default.asp

The objective of the award is to recognize company grade officers who demonstrate the ideals for which General MacArthur stood - duty, honor, country. The award promotes and sustains effective junior officer leadership in the Army.


Please continue to keep Tim and all of our service men and women in your thoughts and prayers!

Recipe: Ranch Potatoes

This recipe is courtesy of my sister-in-law, Andrea. Delicious.

6-8 medium red potatoes (quarter, boil and mash)
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup ranch dressing
1/4 cup crumbled bacon
2 tablespoons parsley
1 cup grated cheddar cheese

Stir mashed potatoes with the mixture and put in a 9x13 pan.

Top the mashed potatoes with a mixture of:
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
2 cups corn flakes
1/4 cup butter

Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes.

The Home Office

I'll be honest, I was a little unsure of how I would work day in and day out from my home. But as you can see, I have a pretty nice set up for my home office. I have a great view into my building's courtyard, natural light coming in every day, and my own kitchen and bathroom.

It's not that I don't like having co-workers around, but I am definitely more productive in my own home office. It's an option that works for me!

Recipe: Grilled Pork and Fontina Sandwiches

This recipe is courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis and is quite simple and simply yummy!

2 (8oz) 1-inch thick, boneless pork loin chops
olive oil, for drizzling
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tsp herbes de Provence (or your favorite pork seasoning)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup packed chopped fresh basil leaves
2 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp lemon joice
1 (1 pound) loaf ciabatta bread, ends trimmed, cut in half horizontally
4 romaine lettuce leaves, halved lengthwise
4 oz fontina cheese, cut into 1/4 inch thick slices

Drizzle the pork chops on both sides with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and sprinkle both sides with the herbes de Provence. Grill for approx 10 minutes on each side or until meat thermometer registers 160 degrees F. Transfer the chops to a cutting board and let them rest for 10 minutes. Slice each chop into 6 (1/4 inch thick) slices.

In a small bowl, combine the mayo, basil, lemon zest and lemon juice until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

To assemble the sandwiches: Lay the bottom half of the bread on a work surface and spread with 1/2 of the mayo mixture. Add the lettuce leaves, arrange the cheese slices on the lettuce and top with the pork slices. Spread the top half of the bread with the remaining mayo mixture and cover the sandwiches. Slice the loaf into 4 pieces and serve.

Book Review: February 2010

I only made it through 1 book in February, but I would recommend it, as Luis is a very good storyteller. The book was The Hummingbird's Daughter by Luis Alberto Urrea. It's a tale of a young Mexican woman who becomes a hybrid of her native Mexican healing techniques and the power of the Christian God. She becomes a saint to her people, not only with her healing miracles, but also with her true voice that powers a revolution. I could see this novel as a movie, for sure.

Happy Reading!

Stick Your Tongue Out

Over my lunch hour today I stepped out to do a little grocery shopping. Yes, that is one of the perks of working from home. But there was about 5 minutes of my walk where the sky opened up and snowed enormous flakes. And all I could think of is that some people in this world rarely, if never, see snow like this. It was the type of snow fall where you just want to walk around outside with your tongue sticking out catching those big snowflakes.

I'm now going to finish my day with some homemade tacos and a new episode of LOST. A good day! Here's hoping you had a good day too!

Recipe: Grilled Tuna with Pineapple Chipotle Salsa

This recipe is courtesy of Paula Deen, and something I tried last week and recommend!

CHIPOTLE SALSA
1 cup diced pineapple, preferably fresh
1/4 cup finely diced green bell pepper
3 tablespoons finely chopped scallions
1 lime, juiced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon seeded and minced chipotle chile in adobo sauce (or any hot, small pepper that you would like)

Mix all the salsa ingredients together. Cover and let stand at room temperature until ready to serve.

GRILLED TUNA
4 (8 oz) tuna steaks
2 tablespoons olive oil
sesame seeds

Coat the tuna steaks with the oil and sesame seeds. Throw the steaks on a grill and cook until desired doneness (usually rare), about 3 minutes per side.

Put tuna steaks on platter and top with salsa.

A Night in St. Paul

I was fortunate enough to find myself back in MN this weekend. It was a quick trip to visit with my college girlfriends. We had not seen each other in over a year, so it was definitely time for a visit.

We all met at Cora's home in south Minneapolis and it was like a family gathering with everyone arriving at different times with loud hellos and story telling. After getting out our initial excitement from seeing each other, we piled into the cars and went to St. Kate's. We went to go see an art exhibit, "Breaking the Veils: Women Artists from the Islamic World". It was a very good show - I definitely had a few favorite pieces. More importantly, it was very powerful to see their works, their imagination and creativity, and their brave spirits.

From the depths of this powerful show, we lightened the mood by heading off to Snuffie's for hamburgers and malts. Mmmmmm. I particularly enjoyed my fudge-butterscotch malt. From there we made our way to the Embassy Suites where we checked in for the night. We enjoyed their free happy hour and retired to our room where the girls discussed the book they had read. Apparently there were rather mixed reviews of the book, but it was an intriguing enough discussion that I'm going to read it later this month. I'll let you know my thoughts.

The evening kept on rocking with many board and card games, more storytelling, and belly aching laughter. That is exactly what an evening with good friends should be. So Cora, Erin, Leah, Michelle and Nora - it was so wonderful to see you! Miss you much!

3.8 Earthquake

Yep, I experienced another earthquake in Chicago this morning. About 4am, I awoke from my slumber to feel my bed shaking. It felt just like last time - like someone was underneath my bed and just shaking it. Not a fun way to be woken up. But at least the scale of this earthquake is not as traumatic as many others around the world have experienced.
I just never thought I'd be experiencing earthquakes in Chicago - it still blows my mind.

Three Sheets

It is with mixed emotions that I write this post. I'll start with the good news first. I recently found out that my favorite TV Show, "Three Sheets" is now back on the air. Woo-hoo! And I'm still trying to figure out if Zane needs a female co-host.
The bad news is that the show is now on Fine Living Network....a cable channel that I don't have on my plan. The horror. When will the day come that I can choose only the cable channels that I want to have on my bill? One day, one day.

So for those of you that are fans of the show...and have FLN in your line up...godspeed.

A late Zenner Family Xmas in MT

I was so blessed to spend 10 days in MT with my family in January. We were all there over MLK weekend and celebrated a late Christmas together. It was wonderful. I was lucky enough to extend my stay and spend a week with Colter...and of course Annie and Shaun.

The big news for Christmas is that Annie is pregnant again. YAY! She has her c-section already scheduled for 8/16/10. We are all so excited and thankful! I for one cannot wait to be an Auntie again. Just another kiddo for me to spoil!

Here's a brief update on the family:
Mom and dad are doing well. I sure wish they could retire and move closer to their grandchildren. And also maybe travel a bit more. They've put in their dues....I don't think they should be working so hard.


Christopher and Dustin are reunited again. Christopher is actively looking for work....fingers crossed that he lands a great opportunity soon! If you're following his blog, you'll know that we all are praying like crazy that Dustin is soon relieved of all of his back pain. Poor guy. He should not have to deal with this!


Shaun and Annie are excited for the new addition to their family. Well, Ann could do without the pregnancy nausea, but you know what I mean. They are both enjoying their jobs and are close to celebrating the anniversary of their first year in their house.




So that brings us to Colter. He will be 3 in March and he's the smartest kid around. LOL Here are some of the things that stuck in my mind from my visit with him.

- He's learning his manners, and it was so precious for him to say "Kank You Auntie Nikki".
- He talks in the third person. "Colter go outside". It was like we were in a movie and he was narrating the story.
- He has a bit of a stutter with words staring with CO. So his name for example, comes out Co-Co-Co-Colter. And we heard this alot with him always talking in the third person. So precious.
- One day when I put him down for his nap, he looked at me and reached out his hands and said "Sweet Dreams Auntie Nikki". Are you serious?
- His other grandparents taught him a sound/call to make when he can't find people - think of that one lady from Top Chef who had a call. So instead of calling out for Shaun and Annie, he'll make his sound/call and wait for you to respond. It's so freakin cute.

Yay for Family!

Book Review: January 2010

Since I have a lot of readers that are book lovers, I thought I would start posting about the books I've read each month. With my time off, I was able to get through a few books in January.

1. The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar
A very real and modern day look at caste systems in India, and how even with the societal separation, the bonds of women can be quite close and similar.
I recommend this book.

2. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Set in the 1960's in the South, three women give voice to their experiences as 1) a white woman, recently graduated from college, 2) a black woman hired to take care of white children, and 3) a very outspoken black woman hired as a maid while also providing for her family.
I highly recommend this book.

3. One, Two, Buckle My Shoe by Agatha Christie
Who doesn't love one of her books? And I read this entire book while flying from Missoula to Chicago. :-) I still didn't figure out the killer until it was being revealed to me. And somedays the easy read books are the best!
I recommend this book.

Happy reading!

33rd Birthday

I'm a little late in posting about my birthday, but I had a wonderful day! The celebration started Saturday night (Jan 9th) when I attended a Buddy Guy concert at his club here in Chicago. He does limited shows at his club, and I was one of the fortunate ones to attend.

You would never guess that Buddy Guy is 73. That man can wail on a guitar. AMAZING!!!

He was totally pimpin out the maroon velvet suit with pink ruffled shirt!!!

The celebration continued into Sunday morning and attending my friend Molly's ReGift Hen Brunch. Yes, the party was exactly as it sounds....all girls, bringing a hilarious gift we had to pass on to others, and of course much merriment with food and drink.

From there I had a small gathering at one of my favorite Irish pubs, The Kerryman. And then we thought we'd have just "1 more" at the Clark Street Ale House. We all know how that turned out. Starting with the first one of the day at 10am and then getting home at 11pm!

It was a fabulous start to a new year!! Happy Birthday to Me!!

it's official - job change

After another difficult year of work, and of me moaning and groaning just a little bit, it is now official that I am changing jobs. I brought in my resignation letter to Starcom today. It felt really good too. I'm definitely going to miss the friends that I've made, but it was definitely time for me to move on.

My last day at Starcom will be 1/15/10; at which time I will be boarding a plane headed to MT. We're having a late Zenner Family Christmas out at Shaun and Andrea's home - I cannot wait! I'll be out in MT for a week, will come back to Chicago for a week of down time and will start my new job on 2/2/10.

I'm going to the dark side....hahahaha. I'm going to go work for a website...well, actually an ad network. For those of you not familiar with the term "ad network", it's basically a sales firm that represents hundreds/thousands of sites and provides one platform to serve ads across all of those websites. In its basic form ad networks are areas for advertisers to buy audiences online, for example, a client may want to target Adults, Ages 25-54, who are NFL enthusiasts. We would typically use an ad network to help reach that target, along with placements on sites such as NFL.com, ESPN.com, etc. I'm going to a smaller type of ad network - they are what we call a vertical ad network. This means they are known for a specific type of content. The ad network that I'm going to work with is focused on the Outdoor space (i.e. Fishing, Hunting, Boating, Camping, etc).

They have created this new role with me in mind - Director of Research and Marketing. I'm going to rely on my past 10 years (whoa!) of advertising experience to help build up this ad network's presence across ad agencies/clients, provide input on sales presentations, standardize internal processes, etc. I definitely see this role evolving as the company realizes my skill set and once goals are accomplished. I know this role will be challenging, but I also know my time at ad agencies has come to an end, and this seemed like a natural fit into my advertising career.

Whew.

I definitely know how blessed I am to find a new opportunity like this in the economic times we're still experiencing. And I look forward to talking to you, dear readers, in the year ahead and how this was a great decision for my career.

Happy New Year!

A decade of NYE's

As I sat at home last night ringing in the new year of 2010 and a new decade, I had a chance to reflect on the past decade. Yes, it was a little unusual to find me home on a NYE, but after this past year it was exactly what I needed. This is my favorite time of year for 2 reasons - 1) college football bowl games - woo hoo!!! and 2) it's a time to reflect on the triumphs and difficulties of the previous year, learn from it and move forward into a new year and maybe even a new direction.

So I had this idea to blog about my past NYEs - enjoy!

2008 was a great year in that I gained a brother-in-law! After being away from my dear MN friends, I was reunited with them on 12.31.08 for a gathering at Scott and Jessica's home in Minneapolis. We had amazing food from the chefs and a serious rock band jam and wii battle.

Here are some photos from 12.31.08:

2007 was an amazing year - I became an aunt!! From the very first moment, my little nephew, Colter, stole my heart. And 2007 also brought me to my new home of Chicago - I could not be happier. I spent 12.31.07 with my new Chicago friends watching college football. Sadly, no photos from that gathering.

Traveling to the NYE party on 12.31.06 was a little tricky....very icy and snowy, but I did make it to Dawn and Helge's home in St. Michael. We had plenty of food, plenty to drink, and even a Texas Hold 'Em tourney. I have to say, I held my own pretty well.

Here is a photo from 12.31.06:

2005 was a great year in that I gained a sister-in-law! To celebrate the end of that year, I was with friends at the MN Music Cafe in St. Paul. Funny story here - I met my twin this night. Honest to God, this woman and I looked EXACTLY alike. It was a little freaky.

Here are some photos from 12.31.05:

It's always so fun to travel to a different city for NYE, and on 12.31.04, that is exactly what I did. I traveled to NYC, and not to see the ball drop, but to celebrate with friends in Brooklyn. It was a fabulous weekend spent in such an amazing city - I don't think I was in bed before 5am the entire time!

Here are some photos from 12.31.04:

"Nikki, we're going to New Orleans for NYE this year," says my friend Leila. "Really, ok, I'll book my ticket," is my reply. And that's what I did. I actually had my ticket booked and hotel booked before my friends did. The NYE celebration in New Orleans is probably my #1 celebration. It was because of the friends, the amazing atmosphere of that city for that holiday, and the events of that night. I can tell you the stories in person one day.

Here are some photos from 12.31.03:

For the life of me, I cannot remember what I did on 12.31.02. I cannot find any pictures of that NYE celebration. I'm sure I did something. My dear friends reading this blog, can you lend any insight?

We all decided to have a BIG NYE. So we paid the $50 or something to attend a NYE bash at the Marriott in downtown St. Paul. (I think it was the Marriott). We had a great group of friends to celebrate with and even met some new friends. hahaha For some odd reason I was obssessed with showing my stomach...don't ask.

Here are some photos from 12.31.01:

After a year of many tears and lessons, I was ready to party on 12.31.00. I hosted a NYE party at the home I was living at in NE Minneapolis and that was the night I was introduced to Goldshlager. Yeah, I don't really like to talk about that night because Goldshlager and I do not mix well.

Here are some photos from 12.31.00:

Y2K. Oooo, so scary. Well, my friends and I braved all the warnings and went out to Cabooze in Minneapolis to listen to Big John Dickerson perform. I remember sitting at our table and watching how every time zone was celebrating NYE on the TVs, and smirking to myself that nothing blew up, there was no madness and panic, everyone was just enjoying themselves.

Here are some photos from 12.31.99:

Who knew that the year 2000 would be one of the most difficult years of my life? But I survived that struggle and have appreciated every day and every year that has followed.

As I look at the struggles my family and friends are facing in 2010 (unemployment, health issues, fertility issues, unhappiness with a job or a relationship), I just pray that we all rely on each other and lean on each other for support. At the end of the day, this is the whole reason we're here.

My peace to you in 2010.