Des Moines in the NYT!

I'm reblogging this from someting my friend sent. I thought you'd all like to know how Des Moines is doing!

As shown on KCCI's website, the New York Times gives Downtown Des Moines a shoutout for making good decisions for growth. Take a look at the article from the NY Times.Here are some of the highlights:

Christopher B. Leinberger, a professor of real estate at the University of Michigan, said Des Moines was one of a growing number of cities that recognize the potential of downtown development, as well as the urgency of changing economic and political strategies to encourage it. Mr. Leinberger said that Des Moines, like Salt Lake City, Denver, Dallas, Seattle and Chicago, was adopting development plans based on persuading residents and employers to cluster homes, jobs, schools and stores rather than spreading them out.

Mr. Leinberger also said that Des Moines was able to find a nonpartisan formula for making decisions on taxes, infrastructure, parks and housing that support downtown construction. “Des Moines is one of those places that recognized that to pull off being a special place they can be proud of, people have to work together,” Mr. Leinberger said.

Way to go DSM!

View From The Top

Previously we blogged about the Leadership Iowa class I'm in. It's been a very cool experience to date and I thought I'd share some photos with you from our "Government" session a few weeks back.

These are some of my more brave counterparts who climbed the "secret" steps above the Capital dome to get to the tower. It's very rare for people to get to go here so I snapped two quick photos. Enjoy the Des Moines skyline!

Oh, and as a reference point we were standing in the little white widow's tower on top of the gold dome!

Neither rain nor hail...

Some of you are beginning to think that this just simply a place for us to bitch about the cold Iowa winter. In some cases you are correct, but contrary to what you might have thought this particular posting has nothing to do with the weather outside today (which by the way is a sunny 17 degrees right now!).



I have all the respect in the world for our Postal brethren...especially after they keep delivering my mail even when I "forget" to shovel the walk. But, I was on my way to an appointment this morning and as usual I was running about 5 minutes later than I should have been. When I finally did make it out to my vehicle this is what I found!!

Now it might be a bit hard to tell from the angle of my photo but I literally had about six inches between my door and the mail truck.

I trust you are familiar with that oft-heard quote from the U.S. Postal Service that goes like this:

"Neither rain nor hail nor sleet nor snow nor heat of day nor dark of night shall keep this carrier from the swift completion of his appointed rounds."

I think maybe it should be adjusted to:

"Neither rain nor hail nor sleet nor snow nor heat of day nor dark of night nor limited availability of parking spots shall keep this carrier from the swift completion of his appointed rounds."

Karma sucks. I guess I better go get the shovel out and take care of my front walk!

Almost Super Bowl Bound

So after nearly 5 years of wedded bliss I finally succeeded in getting Brandy to wear a Vikings jersey. Yes folks...she knows my Vikings pride runs deep and she FINALLY decided to humor me during the big Vikings vs. Cowboys playoff game.

Although the Vikes didn't get all the way to the big dance this photo (and my winning bet with Ramiro to help finish my basement) is my consolation prize. Never, never bet on the Cowboys when they are playing Minnesota.

Pardon cell phone pic quality!

Christmas Recap!

Yes, I know that it's February. But it's still white outside (as evidenced by nearly every entry in 2010) and I'm still playing Christmas carols inside, so it's only appropriate that I share my Christmas highlights with you now. We celebrated our first Christmas in our new house this year with just a small group of family and friends, but it was nice and casual and low-key, like all great holidays should be (except for Valentine's day and Anniversaries, of course- those should have all the bells and whistles...hint, hint, hint!).

In addition to a great Christmas, we were blessed with receiving many fabulous gifts! Here's a recap of my top 5 favorite gifts:

1) AAA Membership from my dad - we've already used it three times this past month! Twice for my car and once for the discount on a car rental. As a side note, this is the best "practical" gift I think we've every gotten and although it's not very glamorous, it's fabulous to know that we have it for the next year, especially with all my trips back and forth to Denver. I think the story about me running out of gas on the interstate in the middle of nowhere Nebraska this last year helped dad to put this at the top of the list!

2) A dual controlled heating blanket from Donna and Bernardo - how did we EVER live without this? Ahhh.... just thinking about it almost makes up for the piles of snow outside of my window. Do you know how much a difference a toasty bed makes to get into every night?

3) Our annual Swarovski Christmas Ornament from Marty and Patti - this was a tradition they started our first year of marriage and it's a wonderful tradition and so much fun to open and put on our tree each year! We now have 5 beautiful crystal ornaments and they catch the twinkle lights just right on the tree!

4) A Story People sculpture from my mom - Lawrence and I have always loved Story People and I got my mom hooked on them, too. The artist is originally from Iowa and is super quirky with fun, childish drawings and random, wise sayings. The even better part? The sculpture fits perfectly in our little hallway niche that I was stressed about finding something for. And I can see it from my desk right now. It's like it was made for our little house.

5) A carton of mandarin oranges from my Aunt Janet- this was actually our first Christmas gift and it arrived in early December and what a lovely little gift of California sunshine it was. Doesn't this just look like a tasty box of happy?

Okay, I know I just said five but I'd be remiss if I also didn't mention the fabulous Smash T-shirt I got from Lawrence, the amazing printer from my dad and Sarina (it prints wirelessly AND double-sided... be still my heart!), and the generous check from my mom to go towards our basement remodel. More than any gift, we are fortunate to have so many family and friends who love us and who we are able to love and share the holidays with, both near and far. Just one more reason why I love Christmas!

PS- there are 316 days until Christmas 2010... Just in case you were wondering! Let the paper chains begin!

Surprise, surprise.

There's snow in the forecast. Again. We got a light dusting of 11 inches on Monday, so why not bookend the end of the week with a few more inches? That'd be really great. Thanks.

Have I mentioned that I keep my thermostat at a balmy 62 degrees in the winter? And that I work from home? Just so you get the full picture of my suffering this winter.

Spring? Spring?!? Where are you? Please come quickly! I don't think my spirit can take much more of this white stuff.

Some days?

Some days do you just feel like you're frantically paddling just to stay afloat and you're not getting ANYWHERE? Yeah, me too.

Sunny Days are (NOT) here again!

This just in... we have a new record here in Iowa! 55 consecutive days with 4+ inches of snow on the ground. I'm starting to think we live in the U.P. Awesome. And just in case you were wondering, the 10 day forecast is calling for more snow. And no temps higher than 33. I'm thinking we're setting another record tomorrow. And the day after that. And the day after that. And the day after that. Probably up through Easter Memorial Day.

Home, sweet Iowa. Oh, how I didn't miss your dreary dismal winters when I lived in Denver. Thanks for the constant reminder of what the color gray looks like. I had almost forgotten, that is until the last 55 days came.

Okay, I'm off to refill my Seasonal Affect Disorder prescription, buy a sun lamp, and scope out Internet sales to warm, tropical climates. Who's with me?

PS- I'd post a picture, but it would look something like this: