I’m proud to report that a mere 24 hours after arriving in Minnesota, I was happily strolling the grounds of the Great MN Get-Together, the Minnesota State Fair! Â Now mind you, I’m not...
Minnesota
This is a collection of posts from our visits home to Minnesota.
On Wednesday night Jenna and I went to our very first Twins Game in the new stadium. Â To be honest, I was pretty sick of hearing all the hype about this stadium and didn’t expect the...
Minnesotans still proudly rock the ‘socks and sandals’ look (picture above of our friend Don sporting his combo at the cabin) Everyone has a fancy phone and no one knows how to use them...
It seems fitting that a monstrous snowstorm took out the Metrodome’s roof. Â I wonder if that’ll be the end of the Vikings playing there?? Seriously, watch this clip, it is mind-blowing...
I am well aware of the fact that I talk about my undergrad Alma Maters frequently. Â And some of you may even be thinking, jeez, why doesn’t she just move on from college and embrace her adult...
Got really nostalgic watching this love fest about my beloved Minneapolis/St. Paul (although may I just say that it doesn’t look like any of it was filmed in St. Paul). Makes me excited...
I’m less than 3 weeks from returning to my beloved homeland and man oh man is . . . MINNESOTA ON MY MIND! Â Bring on the cabin and Caribou and changing temps and State Fair and lawn games and...
Hi all- Â I hit the halfway mark of the pregnancy this week and thought I’d post another picture since I’m finally starting to have a legitimate belly. Â Just pulled out the first...
I know I’ve been MIA for too long by the large number of emails and FB messages I’ve been getting about why I’m not posting. Â Thank you all for being such devoted readers who...
Little did I know that when I got back to the States I’d become a garage sale addict, but boy is it intoxicating to find great deals on barely-used baby stuff. Â Seriously, for those who...
Last week was stressful. Â So stressful, in fact, that I couldn’t even write about it until today when all the residual stress had been massaged out of me. Â And what, you might ask, had me in...
I know you’re sick of hearing about baby and my amazing garage sale finds. Â The thing is, that’s what I’m obsessed with at the moment. Â I think garage-saling is my form of nesting...
Big day today.  After an extensive search, I finally selected my Prenatal Yoga Studio.  I ended up choosing Blooma in St. Paul, which is devoted exclusively to Pre and Post-natal Yoga, in addition...
As with all things in this pregnancy, I am finding it impossible to wait. Â Yes, I could hold out on you and not tell what the name is till the birth. Â But that’s just not my style...
Miller Sisters at the Groom’s Dinner. L to R: Beth (3rd), Emily (2nd), Jenna (4th), Sarah (1st) It was a big weekend in the Miller Household. Â Emily Miller (second oldest) married her...
Owning a cabin is pretty dang amazing. Â I mean, there was nothing like the ‘cabin lifestyle’ in Manila. Â Hence, I am appreciating all my glorious time here. Â As you might imagine, the...
One of the best pregnancy benefits I’ve experienced thus far has been an increased awareness of my body. Â I think this occurs naturally for most pregnant women, but to varying degrees...
As I wrote yesterday, I’ve had a fascinating time tuning into my body over the course of this pregnancy. Â I’ve realized that my physical body is just another way that I receive messages...
As most of you know, Nick and I have been apart since early June. Â While we’ve both done pretty well with the separation, I was pretty bummed that he wouldn’t be here for my birthday on...
Hi Blog Readers – I just got my first US ultrasound done last thursday. Â Boy was the tech surprised when she casually asked if this was my first ultrasound and I replied that it was actually...
On Sunday afternoon my Mom and Sisters threw a Baby Shower so our friends and relatives could celebrate the upcoming arrival of Baby Nia. Â Given that my Mom was in charge, guests knew that they...
Have I mentioned that my husband amuses the heck out of me? Â Get this. Â He’s been begging me for months to find him a baby that he can practice diapering and swaddling on. Â He initially...
Nick and I spent the last week hanging with my family at our cabin in Turtle Lake, Wisconsin. Â While our ultimate goal was just to relax and enjoy each others’ company, Nick managed to try out...
So last night I decided to make my first solo trip out to Target to get some miscellaneous baby items I needed in Minnesota. Â My Mom was happy to watch Nia for a bit and I was excited to get out...
Nia got to meet her Minnesota Aunties for the first time this past weekend. Â They’re helping me take care of her while I get a hang of this parenting thing. Auntie Emily Auntie Beth Auntie...
“Hey, where are we? Â Who are all these other babies? Â I’m going to be extra cute to make sure I get noticed!” “This yoga stuff is a piece of cake. Â All I have to do is lay...
Friday was a big day for little Nia. Â It was her first visit to see Dr. Tonnie at Wellness Wave. Â As many of you know, I’ve been doing Network Spinal Analysis (NSA) with Tonnie for several...
Since Nia and I are spending Christmas Day with Nick in DC, we celebrated early with the Miller family. Â Nia was the belle of the ball in her new Christmas dress (and by new I mean ‘new to...
As many of you know, the College of St. Benedict (St. Ben’s aka CSB) is near and dear to my heart. This one-of-a-kind institution shepherded me from girl to woman and left an indelible print on...
Hard to believe, but today marks the 5th anniversary of our civil wedding ceremony. I thought it’d be fun to look back at some of our early dating pictures to celebrate this milestone. March 2007...
Ahhh, the memories. Â This beauty showed up in my Facebook feed last week thanks to that “Throwback Thursday” trend that’s been going around lately. Â In case you couldn’t...
Oh Minnesota, how I missed thee. I did NOT, however, miss your below freezing temps! Either you’ve gotten worse or I’ve gotten wimpier. I do appreciate the snow though, purely for my...
It’s hard to top the awesomeness of snow, but I think we may just have done it. Yes, today was Nia’s first day of preschool. As many of you know, my Mom started Lake Area Discovery Center, a...
Great news!  I became an auntie over the weekend and Nia acquired her very first cousin (we’ve been practicing that word a lot). Armin Allan was born to Emily and Andrew on Saturday April 5th at...
Nia and I just got back from a 1 week trip to Minnesota to attend Beth & Jim’s wedding (the 3rd of the 4 Miller gals).  The festivities began on Friday night with the rehearsal and 50...
Being on the farm. Getting to pick with your very own “Nia-sized” container. Finding the “perfect” berry. Strawberry juice running down your chin. Eating a few strawberries...
As many of you know, Thursday was my birthday. The big 3-5. WHOA. To celebrate this momentous day, I crammed in a whole bunch of my favorite things – Caribou mocha-drinking, garage-saling...
Hey folks – Long time, not talk, I know. I’m just not feeling it when it comes to blogging lately. Hopefully you’ve been getting along fine without my regular updates. :) So...
I’m pretty sure my Dad breathed a sigh of relief as Jenna Miller, the 4th and final Miller gal to get married, walked down the aisle last Saturday. With all 4 of us officially handed off and the...
Hello Blog Readers – Forgive my absence. I had anticipated having more time to blog but somehow it all slipped away. But I’m here now to update you on all the fun that transpired during...
Greetings all – The Novaks are a little over halfway into our month-long R&R trip. We kicked things off by parting ways in Mumbai with Nick heading to South Africa for two weeks of diving...
We transferred from Bend, Oregon to Minnesota on October 3rd. I knew it was risky coming back to MN in the fall but I was hoping for mild weather since we have no winter clothes along (who knew...
Happy Fall y’all! Sincere apologies for my neglect of Novakistan these last three months . . . guess I needed a little break from blogging. The good news is I’m back, (mostly) refreshed...
I can’t tell you how many years I pined for a snowy, Minnesota Christmas–especially during our first two tours overseas. In my head, the best Christmases happened in Minnesota and came...