Lisa Lisa Bo Bisa

The other day, I got an email from The Nest telling me to check out the 15 things I should do before having kids.  I generally ignore their emails, but this one intrigued me.  What in the world should I be doing at this point in my life?  So I read the list. Some I could have predicted, but others seemed a little, uh, absurd.  Surprising. I'm not sure what word I'd use. I don't know from personal experience (obviously), but I doubt that this pre-baby list is really something I should base my life plan on right now.  So I'm taking it with a (huge) grain of salt. 1. Go on a wine-tasting tour at a vineyard. Alright!  That sounds nice.  Why we should do it now and not when future Lisa and Jon need a weekend getaway from the kiddo(s), I don't know.  But I'll gladly use the excuse for a nice trip to wine country.  Too bad I have so many other places on my list to visit that The Nest would probably suggest doing pre-kids as well.  I'm doome...

We just returned from our honeymoon in The Bahamas last night, and although I knew it couldn't last forever I was sad to leave that beautiful place. We had such a wonderful time! Since this week looks to be a busy one, I figured I'd capture it now while I have the time. When we arrived, we knew the first thing we wanted to do was get signed up for scuba diving. The resort offered free diving for all guests, which we have since learned was a steal of a deal. We could take a short class to learn the basics and then go out on real ocean dives! Both Jon and I were feeling adventurous, really excited about trying it out, so we spent Monday morning in the dive pool, learning how to breathe through a regulator/tank, how to make ourselves less or more buoyant, and how to equalize our air spaces. A bit overwhelming I will admit, but nonetheless really exciting. And it became the focus of our trip. Tuesday morning we headed out for our very first real dive. We donned full body wet suits ...

Five days later and they more gorgeous than ever. I can't believe it! I've never been one to go crazy over flowers. I mean, they are pretty, smell nice, and can definitely brighten up the day. They can be really special too. But their beauty is temporary, can be expensive, and I'm much too practical. In fact, I told Jon last week that he needn't worry about getting me anything for Valentine's Day. I wasn't feeling too into the holiday, which is somewhat ironic considering the many Valentine's Days that I spent in my single life wanting nothing more than a man to shower me with gifts of love. Hmmph. Despite my somewhat scrooge-ness for V Day, I admit I was thrilled when the roses were delivered to me on Monday! They are the first flowers I have ever received (out of love) from someone. Jon gave me a single rose last year, and I have gotten a couple of bouquets as thank you's from people (women) at work, but never a gorgeous arrangement such as this one! I...

Stillwater is a charming little city. And the perfect place to spend the day with my sweetheart! Yesterday we started out the day getting massages, which definitely set us off on the right foot. The masseuse worked out some awful knots that I've had in my back, to which I was ever grateful. Their schpeel to join their membership and get a massage every month was tempting, but neither of us could really justify it. So off we went, knot-free for the time being. And relaxed. We then spent the afternoon wandering around downtown Stillwater. I love this place! I hadn't ever really been there, aside from attending a fabulous wedding there a year+ ago, so I was looking forward to strolling the quaint downtown streets. And it did not disappoint. The sun was shining, the air was fresh, and it felt like we had taken a step back in time. Quite different from the modern suburbia and chain stores that we usually frequent. We browsed through several charming boutiques, antique shops, and boo...

I am done with winter. Mother Nature, do your thing, please! I can't seem to escape the feeling of being cold all the time and I am tired of dealing with the traffic jams that are caused by both snow and dumb drivers. I'm also starting to feel a little bored and stuck in a rut. We've spent a lot of evenings/weekends curled up at home watching TV/movies lately, which we both love but are anxious for spring to get out and do other things. We are fortunately only weeks away from our honeymoon to the Bahamas, which will be a much welcomed relief of this MN winter drab. Last night we decided to break our routine and check out the St Paul Winter Carnival. Neither of us had ever been, and Jon had suggested that we check it out, maybe even go ice skating. What a sweetheart. So off we went, to see what winter had to offer us. Downtown St Paul was crawling with people. It was clear that this was THE place to be! We found a place to park and headed over to the one thing that holds a s...

2011 has gotten off to a pretty good start. I’ve definitely appreciated the downtime after a very busy December, but I have also found it hard to go from all sorts of fun activity with family and friends to not much of anything. I can’t remember when we’ve had so many free nights/weekends to do whatever we want! The possibilities are endless. But, it’s been cold and snowy, so we’ve spent most of our time cozied up at home with movies and games. Not all bad though. We rang in the new year with dinner and a movie with Jon’s parents and aunt and uncle. We were home in time to watch the ball drop in Times Square, though we could have probably cared less. At what age did the new year lose its excitement exactly? Despite our lack of enthusiasm for the countdown, we are definitely looking forward to hopefully a wonderful year! A bunch of us girls got together for brunch a couple of weeks ago to celebrate the holidays, and let me tell you, it was delicious. DE-licious. And super fun to catch u...

Another Christmas season has come and gone. And man, did it go by fast! But it sure was a good one, filled with lots of family and good times. Christmas Eve we spent the day with Jon's family. First, at his aunt and uncle's house, where we ate delicious meatballs and bacon-wrapped chicken wings to our hearts' content as we all visited and caught up with one another. The little kids gleefully opened presents and made a proper mess of the living room, the not-so-little kids were consumed by video games, and the adults milled about the house chatting and joking with one another. And then we had a delicious Christmas dinner of Sarpino's pizza! Why should Jon's mom and aunt slave away in the kitchen every year? They shouldn't, so they took the year off (though still spent hours making delicious appetizers). All in all, it was a lovely day. Around 10pm we headed over to Jon's parents' house for our immediate family Christmas. Our nephews dutifully handed out o...