WHAT A WEEK!

Weekly Highlights:
Well there is no doubt about it, the best of the previous week can be summed up in one word (or name rather) and its Gwendolyn. I have a new niece and she is amazing. I got to see her a day after she was born and I can't say enough about her. She is an amazing young girl and we are glad to have her as the newest addition to a welcoming and loving family. She was born on October 3rd at 3:33pm and immediately began establishing herself as a unique individual. Unlike her older brother, she has already been labeled as a "calmer, more laid back" baby. So, let the uncle praising begin, and now that i have two little kids to make me feel young again, you can expect some pretty fun times for the Trauscht/Johnson family.

On another note, Kelsey and I had a great weekend. We were off on Friday to take in the city life and enjoy a nice dinner and some music. We started by taking a trip down to the banks of the Mississippi river just outside of Minneapolis. We found a very nice area that we are secretively hiding as "our own" and enjoyed a very nice outdoor meal overlooking the river and the city lights on a 78 degree night. It was perfect. We then ventured downtown to catch Matt Nathanson in concert. It was everything i hoped for and more. He did all the songs i wanted to hear, and even threw in a cover of "Don't Stop Believing." by Journey that sealed the deal. It was one of the better concerts I've been to. And best of all, it begins a good month for some nice concerts. Yellowcard is this saturday (although not headlining, it will still be fun to watch) and later this month Matt Wertz is coming to town. All in all, a good month for music.

Some other good things to look forward to include the fact that Kelsey has this weekend off, and Jamie and Nate are back in town! Here's to a good weekend.

Wrapping up this week, Jason, Shawn and I got in what could be our last round of golf for the year. It was 87 degrees and sunny on Saturday and i just couldn't help myself. The highlight was when I borrowed Shawn's driver (that I won, and sold to him for $100) to see what i had given up to him. Well, one smack later and I was impressed. I recorded my longest drive ever. And then without missing a beat, Shawn said " I'll sell it back to ya for $150." What an ass. :-)

On Sunday Kelsey and I did some home redecorating and got some stuff straightened out. I got to watch Da Bears beat the packers and life was good.

Of course, today being Monday, i'm finding myself here at work doing work stuffand that figuring out my travel schedule just took all of my morning and most of my afternoon! I have 8 one way flights in 7 days. I can't wait.

With that, its on to:

10 things i think i think:

1) I think I won't really enjoy the benefits of all these frequent flier miles and credit card points as much as i once thought. Finding the time, energy and working out all the details of travel is become such a chore to me that I don't want to do it even for personal travels (vacation, trips etc.) But free miles, and free points are exactly that. Free. If i don't have the energy to do it when it comes time, i'll deal with it then.

2) I think i better restring my guitar(s) soon. I'm going crazy with no musical outlet. With some new songs streaming into my library i know i'm going to want to try some of them out soon. Better get one of my musical instruments fixed.

3) I think yesterday better be the last time Kona tries to escape under our fence. She made it into the neighbors yard under a small hole in the fence that we missed. The bad thing was that this specific neighbor's yard borders directly on Stillwater Blvd. I'd rather not have to scrape my dog off the pavement thank you very much...

4) I think its a turning point in the Bears season. Beating the packers can be a momentum shifter right?

5) I think i don't like work today. People aren't calling me back and i've been slammed with mindless tasks. I can't wait to go home.

6) I think one thing about all this travel stuff is that I get to read again. Yes, its true.. i can read. And i've been doing a lot of it lately with all this ass time on the planes and in the airports. I've started a impressive (if only on a personal level) list of books that i've read and enjoyed. I'm looking forward to the next few i have on my list to finish. Should be fun times.

7) I think i better stop joining all these "priority" or "special" clubs with all these hotels, airlines etc. because before long my wallet is going to explode.

8) I think i want to hope that the MN gophers basketball team has a chance this year. My dad's got tickets again and with Tubby Smith as their new coach, their has to be some hope right? Right??

9) I think I really need to stop and smell the roses, fall wind, freshly cut grass, grilled meals, and every other little thing that i enjoy about this time of year. I dunno.. I guess i think i need a reminder about how good I have it.

10) I think i'm two for two on monday blogs. :-) Can we make it three?