Sunshine Shoes

In light of my recent purchase from Duo Shoes in Lincoln, NE, I would like to announce that I have found a pair of shoes that are my perfect match. I have thought this many times as I love my shoes dearly and display all of my little Precious's on my book case. But...these shoes make me swoon. They are the perfect "Sunshine Sarah" color, they have an angle heel that makes them comfy and easy to walk in and they are a buttery suede (manmade, but pish posh - didn't kill any animals!). They are my first pair of Qupid shoes, but I do beleive I may be going back for more. I encourage you, YOU, if you are in or around Lincoln, you must stop in at Duo and check out their goods, you won't regret it.

Also - quick plug. I was able to get a discount on these shoes because I participated in the Downtown Lincoln Association's Shop the Blocks spring event! Again, if you're in Lincoln or the area, you need to stay updated on when these events are held - they are a night out of fun, friends, drinks and eats and shopping! Check out Shop the Blocks here!

Warrior Dash Pt. 1

Warrior Dash. Have you heard of this new craze sweeping across the country? A few of us in my office have decided to join in on the madness and enter a team in the local Warrior Dash coming your way June 10! I am so excited for this event. The whole idea is that this warrior spectacular is 3.3 miles, but there is only about one mile that you run consistently. The rest of the running is coupled with you know, usual stuff. Fire pits, mud pools, hurdles, rope courses, tire runs, jumping over cars as if we were Monster Trucks. So, your typical race, right?

Heck yes!

We are all in this to have the satisfaction of saying "We did it!" We aren't worried about our time and how fast we finish, we want to roll over laughing, smile through every obstacle and share in our victory over a cold beer and maybe a giant chicken leg - like a Warrior.

I went to my first training session on Saturday and I am definitely a bit sore. Doing lunges uphill forward and backward along with bear crawls, sprints and hill running are a few things that aren't a part of my normal routine, but will be implemented to prepare this dancer's body to be a Warrior. Bring it.

If you want to read more about this or find a Dash near you, check it out here!

Wall-to-Wall

Ok, so I recently moved into a new apartment. I am absolutely loving it, like whoa, and can't even tell you how much better I am in my life. I live downtown above the YMCA, I walk to work every day and there is a Panera, Juice Stop, Starbucks and Red Mango within minutes of my little moving feetsies. And, I've decided I should probably start wearing tutus, stilettos and outrageous hats and clothes, just to embrace my inner Carrie Bradshaw. It only seems fitting.

Sounds like the best thing ever, right? Well, it was until I met my neighbor. Neighbor will now be known as Norman Bates. I didn't see aforementioned Norman for a solid 5 weeks after I moved in. I wasn't even sure anyone lived there. I knew the walls were well insulated and and the noisy college kids lived on the other side of the hallway, but I thought I would at least hear something from the elusive Norman.

I spoke too soon. One day after work, my friend and I were walking down the hallway to my place to change before heading down to work out at the Y. We were right outside my door and my key was just in the lock when all of a sudden, out of nowhere, we hear a subtle shaky man voice. "Hello Husker Girls." Ummmmm, what? He went on to tell us that he went to the University once.....What?

We practically jump into my apartment away from the awkward situation that just occurred. My first encounter with Norman and I get the feeling that he has been watching me and knows that I wear a lot of Husker gear and therefore have some sort of connection to the University? Weird. We were not wearing any clothing that would designate an affiliation with the U, so I'm pretty sure that Norman has had his eye on muah. Ick.

I saw Norman a couple days later as I was stealthily leaving my place iPod earbuds in place and sharp keys in proper hand placement ready to jab the jugular. He wanted to discuss the weather - I commented on the wind.

My brother asked me which walls Norman and I shared. That angle of creepiness hadn't crossed my mind, but now that I thought about it, we share my bedroom and bathroom walls. Uh muh gawd. Stupid brother put ideas in my head that Norman has probably installed a cam in my bathroom mirror and there is a hole behind my headboard artwork. Awesome.

Please note, if you don't see me for several days or you smell a warm gory scent wafting from my open windows, Norman has struck again and the Husker Girl has just been psycho'd.

These heels were made for walking...or not.

Ok, if you don't love these shoes please leave this blog now, you aren't welcome. But for realz, these shoes are hawt. Here is my only request: if you can't walk in the shoes, don't wear them. You look ridiculous and like you're in pain.

I don't point this out to be mean or rude, and I'm definitely not saying that I would be able to walk in these.

And to end this, I give you a quote from a lady who does know how to wear her heels, Victoria Beckham, "If you haven't got it. Fake it! Too short? Wear big high heels, but do practice walking!" Thank you, Posh Spice.

QUACK

Do you have any big plans on this beautiful Saturday? What's that? You want to know what I'm doing today? Oh, you know, nothing too exciting, just heading to Avoca, Nebraska for the annual Quack-Off!!

I am about to be a part of history....pictures to come later. Until then, here's a teaser.

Man Created Fire

Well, friends long time, no see. No excuses for my absence, although one exciting aspect of my life is that I will giving in and start paying for my own internet services at my new downtown Sex and the City apartment, so hopefully that will be my motivation to update this here blog more often. We'll see about that.. screw the whole "I'm going to write more on my blog" for a New Years Resolution. No one keeps those anyway, be honest. It's kind of like how I basically refuse to try any new fitness class at my local YMCA until at least the first of February. By resisting my urge to burn some cals at Kettleball, I am saving myself from overly crowded temporarily-resolution-motivated people who are taking up my space getting their sweat all up in my grill.

Onto more important things. I had quite the weekend in my hometown with my rents recently. It started out normal enough. We made plans for what movie we wanted to go see, I was coaxed into making dinner, and we all went to work out together at SNAP fitness, or "SNAPS" as my mom likes to call it. We roll around to Sunday and since I had Monday, MLK Day, off (holla!) I was planning on staying another night. Don't you love getting out of town, even if it means chilling with your parents? I just love the feeling of knowing that I don't have work looming over me and that no one is going to judge me if I decide that, heck, I want to take a nap at 2pm! So, Sunday started out with Mom and I going to church (Dad is confused about religion right now. We figure he reads too much and gets all of these ideas in his head and isn't quite sure what to believe. I have faith that he will come around eventually, or that Mom and I have enough pull with The Big Guy to bring Dad up high with us :)

After church, we head to lunch and then home to rest the belly for an hour before we make our way to SNAPS. I planned on only doing strength training so that I could go for a run later and then a walk with mom. I had a good go at the weights and was ready to take off, but Dad said he was going to stay for a bit before heading up to Boy Scout Island. Huh? Boy Scout Island is an inlet that sits between Lake North and Lake Babcock just north of Columbus. My dad and his best friend discovered this island many years ago and when I was younger, they took me up there with them to help clear out the trees and build some dirt bike ramps. Sweet! I haven't been up to the Island in quite awhile and was a little intrigued when Dad said he was going to go up and put out a tarp and pillow, make himself a campfire and read for a bit. Wait...what? You're going to build yourself a campfire and read on a old wooded island? Ok, Dad, I'll humor you.

I left SNAPS before he did and decide to go up to the lake before he got there so I could get in a run on the crushed rock trails. Sidenote: Crushed rock is the BEST surface for running. I had terrible shin splints when I was running constantly on concrete. It's so nice to switch it up and get in some crushed rock.

I met Dad at the trailhead, and he was actually a little surprised that I showed. Rude. I'm not going to miss out on watching my dad attempt to build a campfire and then lay out a tarp, put a blanket and pillow on top and set himself all bundled up nice and cozy for an afternoon of reading. Now, you may understand where some of my quirkiness comes from.....my faaaaather.

We walked down the start of the trail on our way to the legendary Boy Scout Island, which we like to call Haskell's Hideaway, in recognition of, well....us. The perfect spot for a fire was what we found in a space that we trimmed back and built a fire pit years ago. Luckily, we hadn't had snow for a while and the dead branches were dry enough to burn. I don't want to brag here, but, I am a bit of a pro when it comes to building camp fires. I, Sarah Haskell, have been a camp counselor at Hummel Park (where, if you can survive the sacrifices in the forest and the rabid albinos running around, you can survive anything) and am WFA certified. What the heck is WFA, you ask? Well, first of all, my other certifiedees and I pronounce it WOOFA. And, WFA means that we are Wilderness First Aid certified. That's right! If you are stranded in the woods with me, I can save you! You should feel super safe right now :)

I helped Dad get the fire started while he set up his little "nest". I don't think you can possibly imagine the giddy grin on this full grown man's face. He was like my 16 month old nephew when I pick him up and spin him by his arms around in circles. It was definitely a sight to see. Dad tells me that once a man starts to enter his years of age where he aches a little bit and doesn't have quite the skip in his step, he needs to find other activities to occupy his time and fill the voids that are now present in his life. He also calls this "manopause".

My father is one of the most hilarious and entertaining people I know. I only hope that I can grow up and be as cool as he is.

Skal, futbol and sweets

Oh man, talk about jet lag kicking in late. Let's be honest, in normal every day life, I could nap more than most people. I'm pretty sure I couldn't find anyone who would argue with me on that one. I am trying to get better, but I think I'm just a person who needs a lot of sleep! So, in order to get me acclimated to the time difference here in Sweden, David only let me nap for about an hour and 45 minutes on Friday when I arrived. Of course, I did need a little snooze later in the day before we went out or I would not have been a fun companion. A little cat nap here and there over the next day and I was just fine. Then came Sunday night. We stayed in and had a late dinner and watched some TV to make up for our exhaustion from the day/night before when we took on the town of Karlstad at the Blue Moon Bar. I even got a little photo snapped of me that is now posted on a site similar to "Omaha Nightlife" hahaha, David was so relieved that his mug didn't make it on the site. I, however, now believe I'm probably going to be some sort of Swedish superstar, don't you think? Anyway, back to the point, I slept in until 11:15 a.m. on Monday morning! Whoa whoa whoa, who's a tired girl raise your hand; THIS GIRL!! It felt so good and then I was super rested for the day and didn't even need a nappy :)

We went over to David's parents for lunch and his mom made a delicious spaghetti with stroganoff-like meat sauce. So good. We also had Wasa cracker, because that is just what you have, and some fresh fruit. After lunch, we had a little fika with oh-so-delicious vanilla bean ice cream with strawberries and caffe. I'm pretty sure I could drink caffe all day long. So much better than American coffee.

David had a soccer game at 3 so after he left, his mom and I lounged on the back porch, exchanged stories and sipped our caffe. On our way to the game, we took a little detour to the University so that I could see it and we took the long scenic route so I could see more of Karlstad. We got to the game a little late, whoops. I told Monica we just wanted to be "fashionably late" she very much agreed ;)

David's team won and there were cheers from all. European soccer is so much different from American soccer, basically sports in general. The teams are set up in divisions and if a team wins enough, they can move up in the division rankings. People can continue to play in these divisions even after college and they begin working. The teams from these divisions feed into the professional league, so it is a possibility that you can be picked up to play on the national team. I think it's so great that adults can continue to play a sport that they love even into their adulthood. I know we have different leagues and fun teams in the U.S. but these divisions and leagues are so well organized and popular, that it is a great way to bring people from your community and area together.

David's team happy after a win!

Someone is a little tired and hot after a long game.

After the game, we went home to rest a little bit (David's legs were a little tired and he was so hot, it was 87 degrees, which is super hot over here!) before we went to the market to get some dinner and grill out in the park near his apartment. I love the laid back culture here. Everyone walks where they need to go, as long as it's a reasonable distance, which is not the same as in America, and it is so much more relaxed. You don't feel like you need to be in a hurry or you're going to be late or you need to be checking your watch every 15 minutes. You just do what you need to do when you can do it. So, we went to the market, picked up some brats and kebabs and peppers and went to the park. We had a disposable grill and we enjoyed a beverage while waiting for our dinner. The park sits right on the lake and with all the boats docked and the sun mixed with rain clouds, it made for a gorgeous sight.

Amanda watching the grill to make sure it's ready.

We ended the day with a trip to the movie theater to see The Hangover Pt. 2. We were a little underwhelmed, but with the selection of candy we had, we managed to stay satiated ;)

Apparently, Swedes love their candy. Mmmmmmm.

Cross your fingers the rain stays away! Ciao!