Where did the time go?!

Well it's almost fall (one of the two seasons I adore)...

This summer we took a wonderful vacation to London, Paris, Venice, Florence and Rome. Best vacation ever hands down. We were able to discover different places that we have never dreamed of going to before. 

London was fast paced and alive. 

Paris was not quite what I expected. 

Venice was just as picturesque as I had imagined. 

Florence was bustling but a peaceful and serene Tuscany at the same time. 

And Rome...oh how I adored Rome. For me it was the connection to my grandmas that has been in Heaven for 16 years now. I went there to see the places of our Faith that she never had an opportunity to see while she was still here. And it was amazing, breathtaking and everything I had hoped and dreamed it would be. 

The best parts of our vacation were all of the precious moments that Rolf and I spent reenergizing our romance and love. 

We even brought home a little surprise which made the trip that much more memorable. Once in a lifetime!!

Here are some pictures (selfies) of the fun!

London 

(Tour Bus)

The Palace!

London Tower (Peonies)

Tower Bridge

Paris

Eiffle Tower

Arc de Triomphe

Train to Venice

Venice

Mmm...pesto pasta

Kisses

Florence

VIP Cooking Class in Tuscany (it was superb)!!!! We made pappardelle with Ragu and tiramisu from scratch! Amazing!!!

Rome

The Vatican

Colosseum 

Well that's all for now! Caio!

The one about HBD Season

The birthday season is coming to a close and we have been super busy Rasmussens! 

This year has been a whirlwind of events. So many good things have happened and so many meh things. :)

I've experienced great time with our amazing family and friends (that are closer than any family I have ever known).  So on to the important topic at hand Happy Birthdays!!!! 

We kicked it off with a bang-my own birthday, then our niece was born March 6th followed by our precious Ems 10th, niece Emelie's 6th, niece Catalina's 3rd and finally our oldest Jason's 16th (4/18). (Insert deep breath here)!

Cakes/cupcakes??? Of course. Here's a sample of the cakes I made for Em and Catalina. 

-Emma's Frozen Cake

-Catalina's Minnie Mouse Cake and Cupcakes

It has been a good spring so far. 

But...I'm looking forward to wrapping up the spring birthdays and moving into anniversary and then summer (baby time)?! ❤️

-Until we meet again...

The one about the busy week....

It has been a busy...busy...busy last week!

We have been Valentines, running to school activities, spending time with family, working and trying to find some free time in between just to breathe. The strange thing is this is not even our "Busy Birthday" season yet!!!

Valentines Day was amazing as usual! 

(Yes those are bundt cakes) 😃

Then last weekend we volunteered at our churches Angel Auction. We were the "runners" meaning we were responsible from going from room to room to close the auctions and then has to sort and run the winnings to the designated winner's spot in the church. It was five ours of go go go but was so much fun. The decor was so lovely and the theme was "The Roaring 20s!" It was so cute. 

Rolf and I decided next year we're going as guests so we can take part in all of the fun!

On Sunday Em and I went with her Tio John and cousin Emelie to the Kids Explore. The girls had a great time! Here's a super cute picture of them from the day!

Then we had Jason's Pop Concert at Skutt to wrap up the night. Is it weird that I think of Vivacé whenever I hear Maroon 5?! It's hilarious that I can actually remember their choreography and that's the first thing that comes to mind. Oh and they placed in the Show Choir Semifinals! Such a great group of talented kids. 

I also did some cooking....

Shrimp for Cajun Shrimp fettuccini - So good!

Chiles Rellenos Casserole

White Chicken Chilli w/ Crusty Bread

And discovered this...

I've also been preparing for my new role at work. Excited for new opportunities to grow and learn. Working with my group of leaders to transition from me and into a new group overseeing the leadership team that handles our new teammates. Working to drive engagement, effectiveness and eNPS is sometime I am so excited to do. I love what I do and mostly all of the people I work with are simply amazing! Truly counting my blessings in life. 

Now back to your regularly scheduled program. 😃

Promotion, Snow grilling, Vickies and Grown Sexy

This past weekend we spent some time with family. On Friday I received amazing news and I was promoted at work!!!

Jumping up and down like I'm a 15 year old girl that just won tickets to Bruno Mars. - Yes that excited!

You know that feeling when you work hard and are honest and dedicated and it all pays off?! That's what I feel like right now. 

So after that amazing news Saturday my sister and niece Catalina came over. We lounged and in the evening -much snow grilling carne asada happened! Here's a shot of the delicious meat!!!

I caught the hubs with his brothers John and Jorge. -It was freezing but so delicious. 

The end of the night we wound down with some wine, good laughs and stories.

Then Sunday was Victoria Secrets special after hours sale. I was invited to attend with my friend Jenn and we had a blast. Great sales, music and raffles! 

The only issue I had was the weekend flew by oh so fast. 

....this weekend is Valentines Day. I secretly love this holiday!!! And yes there's always that one person that is bitter about it and says "I don't need a holiday to remind my loved ones I love them" or the even better statement around how overly commercialized it is. But as Lina would say "I don't care! I love it!!!" I like the idea that there's a day for love because let's face it our lives are busy and we forget. It's a nice reminder to give love, show love and make love. 

Now if only we can get a reservation. I'm thinking something Grown Sexy! Lol

Happy Birthday Baby It's Cold Outside

Last weekend was a blast. Rolf planned my whole birthday weekend - He did a "love bird" theme and organized such an amazing weekend I will never forget. 

Here are a few pics. 

Spoilers: We went to dinner, Corky Canvas, The Holland Center for "Behind the Mask" and Gloss Day Spa. 

Birthday Breakfast - I LOVE CRISPY BACON!!! 😃

Dinner @ The Green Gateau - such a quaint little romantic restaurant 

We tried Lavosh!!

The Corky Canvas (Wine 🍷and Art 🎨) - they even gave me a CROWN!👑 

My delicious custom pink champagne cake!

Then massages and chocolate oil full body treatment. Fun fact when we picked up Em she said the car smelled delicious like tootsie rolls. 

The next day the snow officially arrived and it is so cold. I made some yummy veg rotini with sausage, ground beef and fresh Parmesan with some garlic cheese bread to warm us up!

Then the kiddies had the day off of school "snow day" and Em made very cute "snow sculptures."

She was so happy to show me after work. Such a doll!

...birthday weekend...dance like there's no one watching

Let's try this again....

Learned a good lesson - be careful not to close your blog window because you lose your writing. 

It's my birthday weekend. Yes that means I'm getting older but really that doesn't bother me. I enjoy growing up and gathering wisdom. I look forward to all of the lessons life still has in store for me. I told my sister the they night that I'm aging like a fine wine. 

Thursday night I came home from work. It was a busy chaotic week. It was meeting after meeting and so much change and I was exhausted. I think we often forget that we can slow down in all of the chaotic moments and just meditate. I forgot that and was exhausted. But when I got home I was met with such an amazing display of love. 

Rolf made me a candlelit bubble bath with wine, music, cupcake and my kindle. I am an obsessive reader. I enjoy YA series and have an expansive imagination. I am easily lost in a good series and he knows this. Seeing these things made my heart swell. Not because of the "stuff" but because he cares enough to listen to me and try to help me relax, this being the only way he knew how. I think we often forget, in those moments, that we need to stop and really just let it all in and feel the overwhelming warmth of love. 

Friday I worked half day and decided to surprise Rolf by getting my haircut. Why is that a big deal? I used to go to this girl at Regis Salon. Well she moved away and I no longer had a stylist. - no big deal right?!

Wrong- growing up my mom used to keep my hair cut very short. It made sad because I wanted long hair but she didn't like it long so she chopped it off regularly. So I do not trust people to cut my hair. Rewind to the past- in September I asked for hair stylist recommendations and received many. But one problem-me! I didn't know what to do or who to trust. So Friday I scheduled the appointment with one of my recommendations and caved. Drum roll please...

Rolf loved it. So much he wanted to try this amazing new salon too. Scissori - they are great. I used Bob and Rolf used Dori. Highly recommended. They are personable and honest. Which puts them high in my book. 

So here we are on Saturday. We cut Rolf's hair and picked up my secret cake. I guess  not supposed to see it until tomorrow. :) I am just so happy just to have quality time with my honey no matter what we are doing. But tonight we are off to Lincoln for dinner at Green Gateau and fun at the Corky Canvas. There's something symbolic about the fact that we're going to paint a picture tonight. The picture that starts out a blank canvas and become a beautiful blend of light and dark colors. The picture that we will display in the home we built and will forever remember this day. 

It reminds me of how we built our life and continue to build our life together. I'm blessed beyond words and so tonight we dance like there's no one watching. ❤️