really really nice...

It was
really nice
having this view
for a few days.
Really 
REALLY 
nice.

Positive
life
changes
always come
from this.

Summer's last hoorah,
now gives way
to
Autumn's whisper.

Focus
begins...

Summer Lovin'...

Summer is my favorite time of year.

I have not been here much,

and I am glad for it.

Because 

I have been soaking in

every

single

moment

of

Sun

and

warmth.

I plan to continue my

Summer Life,

and as time allows may stop in here

for a visit.

A few weeks ago

I planned a night

of enjoying

Summer,

our bicycles,

good food,

and new-to-us entertainment.

home...

I have been to my fare share of cheesy Scandinavian Festivals,

And I am a recovering Museum Professional,

so I have lived many a day inside an Art Museum.

It takes a lot to impress me on either front.

So it was with slight reluctance

that I found myself 

on a cold February day a few years ago

at the American Swedish Institute

looking for something new

something special

something to take me away.

I fell in love instantly.

island time...

Another long day at the office,
too little time or energy to get out on a lycra ride.
But I needed some zen time,
some bicycle time,
some me time.


It had been awhile,
a long while,
but what I needed
was to hop on the Pash
and feel like I was
on my Summer Island.

health and happiness...

I have been taking some time to take care for myself.

When you are 41,
you shouldn't mess around.
Take care of who you are 
in 
every 
aspect
of 
the 
word.

harumphy...

So, Christmas is over
and I am feeling a bit harumphy.
I really shouldn't complain,
I mean look at the loves of my life up there!
Who can complain when this is your reality?!!
But...
I always dislike Christmas a bit.
Family drama I try to avoid, and then the guilt for avoiding.
I always feel a bit relieved when it is all over,
ready to move on to longer days
and Summer.

I really shouldn't complain,
I mean look at the weather we have been having!
50+ degrees and Sunny the day after Christmas?
Why...I feel so NorCal...

and YOU KNOW that makes this gal so happy.
So Happy.

I really shouldn't complain,
I have two great adventures planned in the next two months,
and a work trip is brewing to return to my hyggelig.
I have a lot to be excited about.

But then that winter melancholy sets in...
We used to be all about adventuring,
now it seems more like we have been forced to be about maintaining.
In a nutshell, it sucks.
I can take all that damn vitamin d,
throw that sunlamp on in the morning,
think positive thoughts,
plan trips,
but at the end of the day some days,
it just plain sucks.
There, I said it.
Now, on to being less harumphy...


Time to lose the winter weight,
get that head screwed back on tight,
and start figuring it out.
At 40.5, that clock waits for no one...

I am not sure where my hyggelig is headed in 2012.
I have been here for 5 years,
in fact this is post #681.
Typically at this time I take a hiatus,
to focus on life outside of the computer box.
I think I will continue that trend this year.
Right now I have no friday hyggelig's lined up,
no guest posts,
nothing.
I need to refocus.

I've got something pretty exciting planned for myself in January.
Something to teach me new things, take me out of my comfort zone,
to meet new people, to be independent.
I plan to be back here to talk about either how it completely inspired me or
how it completely deflated me. Likely the first...

Thank you to all of you who have stuck with me despite my divergent posts on biking, sewing, biking, family, biking, gardening, biking, art, biking... I may not have a singular focus, be controverisal, like to debate, or a professional bent, but the fact I have been here so long says something about this space. When I discuss quitting blogging with H, he so kindly always asks why I would want to and extolls all the great things about blogging. That's from a man who only tweets. Recognizing what makes us who we are, focusing on what is important, sharing that with others ~ that's what it is all about.

And thank you also to you newbies to my hyggelig. I see you out there, and I appreciate your visits. May you find something in this space in 2012.

For now,
I am officially ON HIATUS...
see you back here in 2012..

40 +1000 +...

I am pretty freakin' proud of myself.

Let's backtrack a bit...
-I am 40
and I have had a heck of a stressful first half of that.
-The key early summer months in Minneapolis were hindered by winter,
Summer really did not arrive until the week of July 4th.
Because of those two points,
my riding season was purposefully reduced.

I am not a hugely goal oriented gal,
but sometimes in life
you need to set goals for yourself.


Goal 1:
Knowing I would never match the feats
of my last two summers~
1400 miles
AND
1500 miles
I did have in mind
that a nice cool 1000
(hmmms sounds familiar)
would be respectable after a year like this.
Come hell or highwater,
with each ride
I could feel it getting closer
and closer
until it was down to that deceptively easy 300...

Goal 2:
To be able to ride through the end of October.
I need to set myself up for that winter weight gain
by going into it with what I like to feel is a respectably awesome me.
Usually by August I am looking
and feeling
fit
and can enter winter
knowing I will gain a few pounds despite my best efforts,
but I will be okay.
NOT SO EASY WHEN YOU ARE 40 and had a year like I have had.
I feel like I already have that winter weight, and I'm not happy about it.
But one thing that was important to me
was to at least get as much riding in as I could before the end of October.

I am proud to say I met both of my goals and I am a very happy girl.
I've been giving myself a mental pat on the back ever since Sunday.
At about the same time
and about the same place
as last year,
I quietly rolled 1000.
I stopped my bicycle,
gave myself a mental embrace,
and proudly kissed the Trek again.

One of the best things I ever did for myself
was to let H talk me into a road bicycle.
One of the second best things I have ever done for myself
was to use it.
I can't explain the elation I have felt for the last three years.
What I have accomplished has been beyond any goal I ever imagined.
One step at a time,
life begins to embrace us,
or we it.
Time passes.
I feel like 20-40 went in fast forward.
Where did it all go?
It's a difficult reconciliation.
But one thing I will never regret
is taking care of me,
accomplishing my goals,
and being the best me where I am now.

I love good design,
and dressing the part.
But even more right now,
I love fast bicycles
and lycra.
There is a time and a place.

I am much more fit at 40
than I ever was at 20.
Mentally maybe I'm struggling a bit,
physically this year I may be struggling a bit.
But some days I freakin' rock it.

Thank you fast lovin' lycra gal...

ps this doesn't include the miles I put on Lexa.
in fact, a few hours later we biked off to a bikish meeting together...

pretending...

I am still here.

I am just still pretending it is Summer.

But I know better...

Life's rhythms have changed.

still not sure about this new blogger interface...

last days of 'freedom'...

This is from a zen ride I had a couple of weeks ago.
I am hoping to have more of the same this weekend,
but suspect there will be more color in my field of vision.

Monday brings a new routine for this family,
H returns to the world of the employed.
And not only that, he returns to the world of
cubicles, copy machine chatter, and parking spaces,
he has worked from home for nearly a decade.
This is a big deal,
for all of us,
and it is time.

It has been a long ten months.
I lightened up on the bicycling this summer
and focused on our family,
but my 40 year old waist doesn't like it.
Time to hit the bicycle riding hard for the next few weeks
before winter sets in.
Though my cycle computer has logged 755 miles this year,
that's half where I have been the last couple of years.

More exactly,
it's been a hell of a long 5 years.
Minneapolis has at times brought me to my knees.

I have just never recovered from losing NorCal,
This annoys me to no end.
But it is Time to really move on...
To continue the work I have been doing on myself,
reflected in this space,
and for US to advance ourselves and do better.

It is not about letting go,
it is about releasing.
It Is Time.

We are excited for what the future brings, finally.
This fall is feeling like a rebirth.
A time to focus.
A time to nest.
A time to get fit.
A time to plan.
It feels good to turn down a new road,
and begin again...

Happy Friday Everyone!!!
At least it is for me.
H and I are celebrating his last days of 'freedom',
and our wedding anniversary,
by simply being together.

Enjoy those Autumn Colors and
the delicate and warm Autumn Sun!

good things make life better...

Late Summer Nights: Sunny on the way there. Dark on the way home.

we have had a LOVELY string of late SUMMER weather.
I had put on our schedules awhile ago a lecture I wanted to attend.
so I arrived home from work,
put on my favorite cycling skirt,
and off H and I went.

easy peasy parking - dusk to dark

there are many reasons why we rode our bicycles:
1. We live about 4 miles from the destination, an easy peddle on over.
2. Parking at the University is a pain and expensive, not so with a bicycle.
3. I needed to move my body.
4. It is a fun thing to do together, much more fun than sitting in the car.
5. With this gorgeous weather, how could one not want to get out and enjoy it?

I realized later that it was fitting I wore my favorite Japanese fabric skirt.
I want to make more of these skirts,
the waist is a little higher and I shortened the pattern to the perfect length,
both work swell when I feel the need to slip on bicycle shorts underneath
(like on a hot Summer's night going to a lecture when I didn't want sweat stains).

If you haven't noticed on this blog,
I have a thing for art, design, and architecture.
I also have a thing that's been brewing for awhile
for Japan.
I hope to continue to focus on those things here
because they are what make me me,
make my days more interesting,
stretch my brain,
and make the world a better place.

photo: Atelier Bow-Wow "Pony Garden"

Atelier Bow-Wow is my new favorite.
I learned so much at this lecture.
Most of all I appreciate their approach to architecture and space.
What a wonderful thing when the spaces we move in
change our behaviors for the better.
If we all could be so lucky to spend time in one of their spaces,
what a better place the world would be...

night life...

We have never been much for nightlife,
but we do enjoy a good evening walk around the lake on warm summer nights.
Is this picture of the pup awesome or what? He looks like a strange alien super creature.
Photography surprises are fun.

We also found a nice little spot on a Holiday Sunday night to discuss

art, life, us.

I hate to say it, but sometimes Minneapolis just gets under my skin.

On another note, does anyone else out there use the new blogger posting template and dashboard interface?
I have stuck to the old blogger templates for the longest time, especially for posting, but I am trying to finally go with the new modern age. My beef with the posting templates in blogger (old and new) is that when you preview what you have done, they never look like they did in the draft. You have to monkey around with a lot of weird formatting to actually get it to look like it does when you are writing your post. Like for example in the new posting template, the text aligns to the right of my pictures, I want it underneath - I can't find a way to do that, so I have to return about 30 times and then return some more to get it to look right in the preview and then there are HUGE white space gaps in the preview. Then in the old blogger posting template, it doesn't read returns at the end of my lines correctly, so I have to go in and return on every line AGAIN. wtf?

Also, formatting pictures is more rigid with the new posting template. I can't be a free spirit, I am limited to small, medium, large, right, center, left. I HATE that.

Maybe I need to go to some blogger 101 after 5 years?! Any advice is appreciated.
I just had to go back to the old old blogger posting template and interface to get this to look how I wanted it to! Gurr!!!
I have been a loyal blogger for 5 years, but this is getting really annoying...

Summer's evening ~ new york

The area surrounding the High Line
on a delicately warm
Summer's Evening
is my new favorite.
Especially Chelsea Market.

New York,
when one isn't working,
could be oh so much fun...

I should say that I took that picture of the coffee shop exclusively because of the bicycle in the background. Visually a great accent to an already cool vibe. Yup, I'm bikey like that...

anyday...

I love Summer,
but the last couple of weeks have been challenging.
Rainforest humidity is not my thing.
Though I will take 116F heat indexes,
over -10F windchill
ANYDAY,
riding in the stuff is very taxing on the body.
So we have been inside far too much,
doing things like looking out the window longingly.
We have also found an interesting little film
to pass the time.
I love the beauty,
the quietness,
the tension between past and present.

I awoke to 72F today!
Can't wait to get out and ride tonight.

Celebrate the break in the weather
by attending the
MIA Bike Night tonight.

elements of a successful staycation...

Kick it off with a Happy Hour someplace new.

Ride your bicycles together as much as possible.

Spend every waking hour outside.

Take your pup on adventures.

Then send your pup to daycare
and enjoy a day on the water together.

Visit new places on your motorcycle.

Enjoy watching the Tour. Take yourselves out for a good dinner.

Catch up on reading and inspiration.

Soak in every single bit of SUMMER.
Relax, relax, relax...


Thank you for traveling with me last week.
I hope you enjoyed the European tour
as much as I enjoyed reminiscing and putting it together.
As you can see, we have enjoyed our times abroad.
So many memories, so many good times.
But life has changed a lot for us in the last five years.
Life is different. Very different.
We could chose to let the difference drag us down,
but for our staycation we chose to embrace what we have,
not only at our fingertips,
but what we have learned in our minds and hearts.
In essence,
this staycation for me
was the culmination
of five challenging years in Minneapolis
and learning to be happy
where I am
with what I have
in my everyday.
The girl that moved here,
could not have been the girl that enjoyed a staycation
in Minnesota.
Perhaps a bit of maturity,
but definitely a lot
of working on happiness.

We were lucky to have the best streak of Summer weather
Minnesota has provided in over a year.
SUNSHINE EVERY DAY.
Warmth every day.
Thank goodness for Sunshine and warmth,
it does a mind and body good.
It truly was a Summer vacation.

We needed this time,
and we very much enjoyed it
and spending time together.
Would I want to do it all the time?
No.
I want to go back to Europe.
I want to explore new places.
I want to someday be closer to the people we were and want to be
than the people we have been forced to become.
But, despite all the challenges,
life is good, we have learned a lot, and we know what makes happiness.
For this year,
the staycation was just what we needed.
We now move forward into the future
refreshed
and we continue
to work hard to enjoy the now...

Bohuslän Coast...

I am on Mid-Summer Vacation.
Though I am not going anywhere, I am traveling in my mind.
All it takes is a little imagination,
some life lessons in how to make the most of where you are,
and a few wonderful memories of trips traveled,
to transport you wherever you want to be...

Happy July Everyone!
Come back and visit,
I will be posting from my
favorite European trips
all week.

Stockholm...

I am on Mid-Summer Vacation.
Though I am not going anywhere, I am traveling in my mind.
All it takes is a little imagination,
some life lessons in how to make the most of where you are,
and a few wonderful memories of trips traveled,
to transport you wherever you want to be...

Happy July Everyone!
Come back and visit,
I will be posting from my
favorite European trips
all week.

Provence...

I am on Mid-Summer Vacation.
Though I am not going anywhere, I am traveling in my mind.
All it takes is a little imagination,
some life lessons in how to make the most of where you are,
and a few wonderful memories of trips traveled,
to transport you wherever you want to be...

Happy July Everyone!
Come back and visit,
I will be posting from my
favorite European trips
all week.

Paris...

I am on Mid-Summer Vacation.
Though I am not going anywhere, I am traveling in my mind.
All it takes is a little imagination,
some life lessons in how to make the most of where you are,
and a few wonderful memories of trips traveled,
to transport you wherever you want to be...

Happy July Everyone!
Come back and visit,
I will be posting from my
favorite European trips
all week.

London...

I am on Mid-Summer Vacation.
Though I am not going anywhere, I am traveling in my mind.
All it takes is a little imagination,
some life lessons in how to make the most of where you are,
and a few wonderful memories of trips traveled,
to transport you wherever you want to be...

Happy July Everyone!
Come back and visit,
I will be posting from my
favorite European trips
all week.

Bath...

I am on Mid-Summer Vacation.
Though I am not going anywhere, I am traveling in my mind.
All it takes is a little imagination,
some life lessons in how to make the most of where you are,
and a few wonderful memories of trips traveled,
to transport you wherever you want to be...

Happy July Everyone!
Come back and visit,
I will be posting from my
favorite European trips
all week.