2010 Highlights/Recap

Wow, it is really the last day of 2010. Amazing?! Hope everyone has a wonderful New Year's eve. We are looking forward to a get-together with some friends this evening. Hopefully the weather holds out OK, we're expecting freezing/slippery roads tonight.

As I look back on 2010, there are so many wonderful memories. Here are some of the highlights...

"The Chair"
Andrew began building his motorized desk chair in late January and I am just soo impressed with all that he's done. What an accomplishment to build something like that from scratch. And, even now he continues to expand the possibilities of the chair with his latest addition being making the chair remote control operated! He finds this hobby very rewarding and enjoyable.

Exercise, lots and lots of exercise
While Andrew was working on chair building, I was spending many-an-hour in our basement running in place last January-April. One of my 2010 goals was to get 2-3 hours of exercise each week. My get-fit dieting program from July - November 2009 helped me lose 30+ pounds so I wanted to transition from the extremely strict calorie counting regime and place more emphasis on exercise. Exercise is definitely a great stress reducer! In June I transitioned to outdoor running. Logged lots and lots of miles with my trusty garmin gps running watch (which by the way ROCKS; best running accessory ever!) on my wrist and even managed to run the tread right off my shoes by the end of the fall. And, Andrew and I even ran the 5K Milk Run at the MN State Fair which was a first (and probably last 5K for Andrew for a while since he was on more of the "couch to 5K in a day" program)! This winter, I'm going the exercise video route and working on more strength training in addition to cardio conditioning!

Weddings, Anniversaries and Engagements
We had two weddings in the family this year: my sister Renee became Mrs. Collin Smith in March. My parents went to California for the wedding; while my sister Rae Dawn and her hubby Chet, Andrew and myself and my brother Ryan headed out to California for their wedding reception in May. It worked out great as we got to meet Collin's family and also celebrate our seventh wedding anniversary in Ventura, CA (at the beach!). We were also able to see our buddies Sarah and David during the trip!

The second wedding of the year happened in July when Andrew's younger brother Lucas married Jessica De La Torre. The wedding was in Dallas where Lucas and Jessica both live and we saw Andrew's sister Lee and her family, Andrew' brothers Adam and Aaron, along with Andrew's parents there. Plus we also saw one of Andrew's cousins and his wife who live in Waco, TX. It was a HOT, HOT wedding. During the outdoor wedding it was right around 100 degrees, hot stuff! A beautiful ceremony and a fun reception. While in Dallas we also checked out the Dallas Aquarium and toured the Dallas Cowboys stadium.

In other notable news, my parents celebrated their 40th Wedding Anniversary this year. My siblings and I (and our spouses) threw a big bash for them in July. Congrats again mom and dad - fabulous! And, most recently my younger brother and his girl friend became engaged. Congrats Ryan and Deborah...looking forward to your big day in 2011!

Around The House
Last winter Andrew accidently ventured into some plumbing action in our bathroom. Started out as a small "shower upgrade" and ended up with pipe soldering, installation of shut off valves and all sorts of chaos. Of course, he handled it all in stride. What a multi-talented guy! We also added a nice plastic storage shed to our yard. Definitely enjoying the added space in our garage. Makes accessing the snow blower much simpler!

Other Odds and Ends
Andrew and I also enjoyed a nice trip to Florida in May for the Zinpro Spring Sales Meeting. It as a great way to kick off our summer golf season! I also spent a week in the Dells with the Rippchen Clan for our annual summer get-together. Glad to see the Signapore Rippchen's are doing so well! We also visited the Rao's in their new home and helped Maya celebrate her 1st birthday (a little late); along with a trip to the MN Zoo with the Rao's as well. And, thanksgiving 2010 was a blast with lots of Pick's (and Stratford's) coming to our house for turkey day. And December included lots and lots of use of our snow blower, a crazy drive home in a blizzard from Minneapolis and a fun trip to Las Vegas to celebrate our birthdays. We also had a nice trip to Wisconsin over the christmas holidays to see both Pick and Rippchen families!

I'm sure I'm missing some other things...but that should cover most of the high points!

Ok, bring on 2011!