I'm 15,870 Days Old and Other Confessions

During my morning social media stalking, aka: scrolling through my facebook feed, I saw a post about how a baby was 41 days old today.

After seeing the post about the baby being 41 days old I figured out that as of today I've been alive for 15,870 days.  It's not my birthday or anything, it just made me wonder how many days old I was.

During those 15,870 days I've been married, divorced, gave birth to three children, made friends, lost friends, had a mother, lost a mother, got jobs, lost jobs, spent 12,775 of those days in the cult of Scientology, and so much more.

My theme in life is to live life perfectly imperfect. That means I learn from my mistakes, and I celebrate my triumphs.  That doesn't mean I don't work to be and do better at the things I do.  It means that I strive to accept myself for who I am, flaws and all.  If I can't do that, how can I accept anyone else for who they are.

I'm the mom who sent her son to football practice wearing his nut cup upside down, multiple times, but I'm also the mom who stayed up all night taking care of him when he had a fever of 104.

I'm the daughter who put magnetic bullet holes on her mother's car, freaking her out and convincing her that a gang of angry suburban hoodlums shot up her car, but I'm also the daughter who gave her one of my kidneys when her's failed.

I'm the woman who got sloppy, sick drunk the first time he introduced me to his father, but I'm also the woman who spent two days cleaning his house so he could spend more time with his kids rather than on household chores.

I'm the friend who forgot to ask how your sick grandma's doctor appointment went, but I'm also the friend who spent more than one afternoon at happy hour with your grandparents at the assisted living facility, and loved it by the way.

I'm the sister who convinced you that it was more than acceptable to pee in a department store clothing rack when we were kids, but I'm also the sister who took you to the Spam Museum to celebrate your successful cancer treatment.

I'm the neighbor who borrowed your air matress pump and never returned it, but I'm also the neighbor who helped your child get her dream job.

In my 15,870 days I've come to realize that putting energy into trying to pretend I'm something I'm not is a waste of my days. I'm flawed and I make mistakes, but more often than not I get it right.

If I'm lucky I'll have another 15,870 days to experience and learn from. What I do know is that I have today, and tomorrow I'll have tomorrow.  I don't even regret the mistakes of yesterday because they set in motion who I am and where I am today.

It's not my birthday, but today I celebrate my 15,870 days.  Tomorrow I'll celebrate and be thankful for 15,871 days and so on and so on, striving to remain perfectly imperfect along the way.

My Spamtastic Dream Comes True

If you know me well you know I LOVE SPAM!  Fried Spam with eggs, a Spam sandwich or fried Spam by itself. I love it all. Growing up in Hawaii We always has an abundance of Spam.  Even today you will always find my kitchen stocked up with this tasty goodness.

My passion for Spam goes beyond just eating it.  I've spent a few years cooking it up for students at Minnetonka High School while I share with them what I like to call "The gospel of Spam."  We chat about how Spam came to be so popular in Hawaii and it's culinary influence on the culture.

The home of Spam is right here in Minnesota.  It has been a dream of mine for years to have Hormel bestow upon me the title of "Spambassador".  This dream has just come true during a recent trip to the Spam Museum in Austin Minnesota.

         Pictured with Spam Brand Manager Nikki

It was a pleasure to meet Spam Brand Manager Nikki, who was kind enough to give both my sister and I a fun Spam cooler filled with Spam swag.  

    My sister Lana and I having fun in our Hormel uniforms

The Spam Museum is filled with Spamtastic interactive fun! We spent about two hours there, plus a good amount of time in the gift shop.  

My family in Hawaii were more excited to learn that I'm now an official Spambassador than they were when I told them I had become a myTalk 107.1 Radio Host.  It's all just Spamtastic!

Valentine's Day Gift Picks

Valentine's Day is around the corner and I could not help but put together a list of my Valentine's Day Gift Picks from around Excelsior!

Let me walk you down Water Street in Excelsior and show you a few of my favorite shops and what I think will make for great Valentine's Day gifts for your lady.  I don't really have any picks for guys because let's be serious here, Valentine's Day is pretty much for women.

First stop is Ooh La La at 274 Water Street.  I'm in love with their blingy heart jewelry.  These pieces are $20-$39.  I'm also a big fan of the hats at Ooh La La.

Walk down about half a block to 226 Water Street and you will find Amore and Fede. They are very well known for their collection of Miss Me Jeans, and are currently stocked up on spring dresses.  What I absolutely love are their Lake Minnetonka Excelsior Hooded Sweatshirts! They come in three colors and are $69.

A few shops over at 206 Water Street you will find GEN by Figen Ozdenak.  This is the only place in all of the United States where you will currently find the timeless and classic looks of European designer Figen Ozdenak, whose brother and sister in law run the boutique.  Just about anything from GEN makes for a unique and beautiful Valentine's Day Gift.  I'm particularly crazy about this outfit.  Everything I've tried on at GEN feels amazing!

Cross the street to 221 Water Street and go downstairs to find Scusi, the recently opened home decor store.  They have these adorable bird feeders in different shapes, which I'm just in love with!  They run $28-$30.