Jan 27, 2012

The Young Professionals Connection showed last Friday that they could not be off to a better start in the new year.  400+ flooded into People’s after making the decision to begin their weekend at YPC’s Annual Kick-off Party.  I don’t think anyone regretted that decision, this was once again the best “social hour” in town. Mike...

Jan 26, 2012

I have been told there is very little music that I don’t like and that I seem to find the good in pretty much everything.  That’s close to  true, but there is one type of music that I kind of universally dislike, and not surprisingly it is modern popular country music.  I say not surprisingly because, for as popular as it is, it seems almost equally as...

Jan 25, 2012

Well, To Kill a Mockingbird has opened and I have my evenings back. Meaning I don’t have to be rushed eating dinner and I actually see my husband for more than just an hour or two a day. While that is of course very good, I am also kind of sad. Not disappointed by any means, after all I am very proud of the work that we did and continue to do in each...

Jan 25, 2012

My Mom made the recommendation to go to Isla Cozumel for dinner after the holidays, which I have to admit is the only reason I even knew where they are located. I don’t say that with any negative connotation included I just truly had never heard of the place before, which I guess that is why businesses advertise. The dinner was planned because my Godparents...

Jan 24, 2012

I’ve never been to the United Kingdom.  Also, I’m not much of a soccer fan.  But I do appreciate Limey’s in West Des Moines.  Normally when there is a tiny bar nestled into a strip mall it’s a plain place, with the lack of personality matched only by its lack of quality beers. Limey’s beats back all of these stereotypes.  The bar has a British...

Jan 20, 2012

Hearing the term “Science Fair for Grown-ups” makes me immediately proud to be a part of this.  However it gets interpreted by those who attend, it’s going to be one more step for the Startup community not just here in Des Moines, but across the state.  The newly formed StartupIowa, Iowa’s own collaborative division of the Startup...

Jan 19, 2012

Sometimes I like to play a little game where I try immediately to guess who someone sounds like.  While people are, or course, making original music all time, they aren’t doing it without also listening to other artists, just like I am not writing this without also being influenced by what others have written.  Some of the best artists in the world carry...

Jan 19, 2012

I’ve lived in Iowa my entire life. I’ve been places and traveled abroad, yet my husband and I decided to raise our kids where we grew up for many reasons. For one, I love that we have four distinct seasons. Granted during the middle of a typical winter, I get disgruntled with the freezing temperatures and seemingly permanent snowed-covered ground. I...

Jan 18, 2012

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Jan 17, 2012

My wife is a big Egypt buff. When we lived in San Francisco, we had the wonderful opportunity to see the Hatshepsut exhibition at the de Young museum. So when Lost Egypt came to the Science Center, I knew we’d be going. We took advantage of Mummy Mondays, which opens early and gives reduced pricing for kids 5 and under, and brought our 14-month-old daughter....

Jan 13, 2012

What almost became #nowinter came with a bonus this year.  The extra time of warm weather in December and January let me step out onto the Water Works Park Trails, something I previously failed to take advantage of while living in Des Moines.  Having no snow until this past Wednesday suddenly became one of the best ideas mother nature ever had.   Judging...