I am less than 40 days away from returning to my mother-land. In preparation of my month-long trip, I have begun making a list of all my ‘must-do’s’ while I’m home. Those of you who are keen observers will notice that a.) Many are related to food and b.) this trip was perfectly timed to reap the benefits of both the end of summer and beginning of fall (the two most magical times of year in MN)!
So without further ado, here is my list:
- Eat a Papa Murphy’s Paparoni Pizza
- Enjoy a game at the new Twins Stadium
- Go apple picking at Jacobsen’s Apple Orchard
- Eat Izzy’s Ice Cream
- Spend Labor Day at the Cabin
- While away hours wandering the aisles of Target (and rack up a significant bill)
- Eat an entire quart of Edy’s Slowed-churned Raspberry Chocolate Chip Ice Cream (and one quart of Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream for good measure)
- Take a stroll around my old Holly Avenue neighborhood in St. Paul
- Get in as many Network Spinal Analysis Treatments as possible from Tonnie
- Spend a day at St. Ben’s & St. John’s enjoying the fall colors
- Host a themed dinner party
- Go to the St. Paul Farmer’s Market
- Shop at the Mall of America & Rosedale
- Remember what a REAL breakfast tastes like at the St. Clair Broiler
- Take in the Dead Sea Scroll Exhibit at the Science Museum
- Have a make-up play date with my favorite MAC artist, Jen
- Go to the State Fair and check out what new offerings there are on a stick
- Eat the lunch buffet at Khyber Pass
- Stroll around downtown St. Paul
- Canoe down the St. Croix River
- Shop on Grand Avenue and enjoy dessert at Cafe Latte
- Spend an evening on the river in Stillwater
- Walk around Lake Harriet in Uptown
- Have lunch in downtown Minneapolis in Peavey Plaza
- Spend MORE TIME at the cabin
Seriously, I think we are the same person when I read your blog sometimes! I’m:
a.) 45 days away from going home to visit;
b.) going home at that time of year for EXACTLY the same reason (end of summer/beginning of fall);
c.) constantly making and re-making my home to-do (and to-buy) list;
d.) going to steal your idea for this blog post. :)
I adore you! Can’t wait to see you in less than 2 weeks. I’ll be watching for your list!
Reading your list reminds me of why I love MN. Made me think that I shouldn’t take those things for granted. I hope you are able to get everything on your list accomplished!
I so loved home leave – returning to Colorado from wherever we were in the world. My list was always heavy with food to-do’s – just like yours – with trips to mountain towns and a little shopping thrown in for good measure! Enjoy your time with family and friends at home – always energizing and therapeautic.
Glad it reminded you of how lucky you are to have it EVERY DAY! Know that I am jealous… big time.
You know I will! :)
I think you should do the 17-mile trek down the St. Croix just for old time’s sake. :-)
Have fun and enjoy every minute (and bite)!
That picture is totally Minnesota!!
The end of August/early September in MN always reminds me of Back to School and the MN State Fair. Mmmmm, funnel cake, cheese curds, mini donuts and dozens of varieties of food-sicles! ha! ha! I mean, who else other than Minnesotans would be so clever as to find ways to put 50+ varieties of food on a stick?!
I know, right? Minnesotans rock. Just wait until you see the post I’m about to publish. You’re going to laugh even more…
Hi SarahLynn–
I stumbled upon your blog after searching for folks who have personal experience with Network Spinal Analysis.
Your last post on it was back in 2008. I was wondering if you could tell me a little more about your experience with it? (Both positives and negatives.) I am thinking about starting a course of it, but am naturally cautious by nature and am trying to get some information about it first.
Thanks i advance for any help you can give!
Sincerely,
Greg B
OMG Greg- I absolutely freakin’ LOVE it. I went back in for a few sessions when i was home this summer. There are no practitioners in the Philippines or I’d be doing it here too.
Here’s a great website that tells more about what it is from it’s founder, Dr. Epstein. This link also enables you to look for practitioners in your area: http://www.wiseworldseminars.com/nsa/practitioners/.
The positives for me were the physical benefits: my back pain went away, an old ankle injury healed for good and I can tell that when I get injured now my recovery times are shorter (because my body knows how to process the information and heal the area naturally). The emotional benefits for me were reduced stress and the elimination of anxiety (which was a frequent problem I had).
NSA is like riding a bike, your body never unlearns it, nor do you have to go forever. Each session creates more neural pathways so that your body knows how to process the messages from the brain when you have an injury/trauma. Where we run into problems is when our brain is sending too many messages at once and the body can’t process them all, so it literally closes down certain neural pathways, resulting in disease or pain in that area of the body. What NSA does is improve your neural processing.
There have been no down-sides for me. It is an extension of chiropractic, yet there’s no cracking or sharp manipulations. It’s all very gentle. The process felt very odd at first but I came to look forward to it over time. The biggest disconnect I had was believing that such minimal touch could be creating such massive changes in my body – my biggest hurdle was definitely the mental acceptance of it. Over time I could see that things were changing, so there was no denying it. :)
My body no longer stores stress in the way it used to. It knows how to release it and if I get myself worked up too much, I will literally have mild spasms in my legs for a few seconds that night as my body releases the stored energy. I continue to marvel at the effects of it on my life. Two of my sisters and two aunts have also done it as well and their results have been equally amazing.
Let me know what specific questions you have, otherwise I vote that you go for it!