Oh man, do I love women that rock out on stage. This is Lissie, and she blew me away tonight. I have her album, and frankly, I think it's decent. Nothing amazing, but you know, solid. But live? Live this whole thing comes to life, and it's so wonderful and powerful. As my friend Eric would say, she doesn't just play her music -- she performs it. And it was a blast to witness.After Lissie's show at the Cedar, I walked down the block to Palmers to catch 4onthefloor and The Evening Rig. Have I mentioned yet that it's a little cold here? You know... you might say it's nippy out. It's FIFTEEN DEGREES BELOW ZERO. I call that face melting cold. Man, walking from the house to the car is questionable at this point. But inside Palmers? With everyone singing and dancing to another fantastic 4onthefloor performance? It must have been 80 degrees and sweaty. Nights like tonight are why I love living in Minneapolis. And if I can say that in January, you know it's true.*I have way more photos to post, and I'll jump on that first thing in the morning. For now? Sleep.UPDATE: Photos are up over here!

Another Wednesday, another full day at the office. This was one of my office mate's amaryllis that is on its last legs. Look at the texture of those petals! Like velvet, eh?

Tonight was my monthly dinner date with dear Nyberg, and we opted to stay in the neighborhood and do something easy since I've been fighting migraines this week. There's a new spot up the street called Mozza Mia that makes their own fresh mozzarella and it just opened last month. It had gotten some luke warm reviews locally, but man, it was so much better than I had anticipated!We started out with the tuna and white bean salad on bruschetta (that could have been dinner alone) and then moved onto the margharita pizza. Both were easy and delicious, and the prices weren't bad either. I'll be returning to this place for sure -- especially since it's so close. Plus? Great for all my vegetarian friends.* This photo is of the bottle of sparkling water that I got with dinner. Nyberg said they had good beer, but with my headaches I opted for just water. So boring, I know.

Man, I felt achy and ill all day today. So I left work a little early, came home and crashed on the couch for more than 3 hours. Fingers crossed that I can sleep through the night after that power nap, eh?Lucky for me, the Jayhawks played a super late game tonight. So I woke up and joined the family in watching a little Kansas basketball. When the Jayhawks play, we are *all* interested. (This was shot from right under the TV.)

As you can imagine, today was all about the cleanup. But we got it all done, eventually. And man, do I wish I had tomorrow off like all you government employees. I could use the sleep...

Tonight we had a big party to celebrate 2011. We usually do a party in the fall to mark the absolute best season ever, but this year we were too tired after Spain to get that done. So we pushed it back a few months...Anyway, we had a fantastic time. Tons of great friends and laughs and food and drinks... It was really marvelous. But back to the photo! I set up a photo booth in our basement with a whiteboard that read "all I want in 2011 is" and then had the guests fill it out so I could take their photo. When Eric (above) sat down, the board had the previous person's wishes on it. So then we all started throwing money at him and handing him drinks so he could live up to the wishes that had been listed. He was a good sport and went along with it all -- and it's not too often I get to shoot photos of flying money! Win-win.

Tonight a few of us caught S. Carey over at the Varsity, and man was it good. For those of you unfamiliar with this band, it's much like Bon Iver (even sharing members). So it's perfect for cold, snowy, wintery music. There were saxophones, clarinets, stand-up bass, piano, viola... it was really nice. You can see more photos over here.

I'm breaking all the rules! For the first time in more than two years, I'm using an archived photo. But a) it's my blog and I am totally allowed to change things up as needed and b) I have a very good reason for it.This image is one I snapped last weekend while visiting family in Kansas. In the middle there is my fabulous grandmother, Mimi, whose 90th birthday is today. What a feat, eh? She has all of her wits and still lives on her own and, from what I can tell, spends her days solving puzzles, drinking wine, enjoying good music and watching basketball. OK, seriously, is that not the *best* way to spend your days or what? Is it clear that we are related? Because those are all of my favorite things as well (although we might vary on which genre of music to enjoy... and I'd be surrounded by dogs).Mimi always entertains me with many stories reliving her early, romantic years with my grandfather. Apparently, he proposed to her via letter, and she took a train across the country to meet him in San Francisco before he was shipped off to the War. How romantic is that!? I love hearing stories from when she was young and how different things were (and yet, how some things are just the same).*Flanking Mimi are my Mom and Dad. How cute does my mom look here? Don't worry, Dad. You look good, too.