Dakota Lifestyle » lucas20

Holiday Gift Guide 2011

lucas20 — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 19:54:07 +0000

Lots of great stuff made the list, but only a few things will be presented in our holiday gift guide 2011.

Made popular by the boys on Jersey Shore, this Italia track jacket is a must for today’s MTV teen. ($39.95, Soccer Shirts Plus)

Forget diluted whiskey and scotch. Especially for us purchasing the good stuff. Use these On the Rocks whiskey stones to keep your drink cool yet avoid dilution. ($20, Google Shopping)

Take pictures from anywhere with your GorillaPod. End those awkward moments of asking others to take your picture. Awesome tool. ($19.95, Joby)

Our trip to Atlanta

lucas20 — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 19:38:45 +0000

Recently we made it out of the great state of North Dakota for a trip to Atlanta. The one nice part about Atlanta was getting away from the cold weather. While there, we spent tons of quality time just walking around in the brisk, but manageable February weather. We were surprised at how lively Atlanta seemed in February. The main reason why try to travel out of the midwest is to get our hands on some of the best culinary masterpieces in the country. In Atlanta this meant trying Elizabeth on 37th. It definitely did not disappoint. We also wanted to check out some random things in ATL on the cheap. For this we surveyed Atlanta daily deals for over a week before the trip. We found a couple of good deals that we took advantage of. It helped lower the cost of the trip. Overall we say great work ATL!

Rural North Dakota Economy

lucas20 — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 12:58:10 +0000

As we begin to wonder when the unemployment we’re currently facing will end, we also have to examine whether or not we need fundamental restructuring of the rural economy. North Dakota hopes that much of its future economic growth can come from natural resource expansion, particularly surrounding the Bakken Oil Fields. However, what is left for the rest of rural North Dakota. I have to believe the we need to expand more toward a decentralized high technology entrepreneurial society. Our focus needs to be in bringing broadband to rural areas, while at the same time encouraging entrepreneurship and new businesses. New businesses could appreciate the low cost of doing business in rural North Dakota, where geography/location had previously prevented development. I would like to see our government take on this type of approach to improving employment and the business environment in the state.

Inspiring Furniture Layouts

lucas20 — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 21:41:40 +0000

Recently, I’ve been trying to find some essential home furniture by using the Ikea design inspiration website. Seems like a worthwhile tool that offers some really nice design ideas on a budget. I also like the idea of basing some of my thoughts on a rather cheap furniture store as opposed to somewhere that I am going to pay $8,000 for a piece. I am not sure if everyone likes the type of style that Ikea offers, but for me it offers a good base to start my furniture shopping. It is especially good for children’s bedrooms.

The Illusion of Snow

lucas20 — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 21:11:01 +0000

The first time I saw North Dakota, I followed my husband through a blizzard. The temperature in Fargo registered about minus seventy degrees with the wind chill factor. The roads were icy. My baby was screaming, and my hands were knotted around the steering wheel so tightly they ached.

Twice during that move, my husband’s truck slid off the road. Once the U-Haul trailer he was pulling jack-knifed and hit both sides of the truck, spinning him around on the freeway until he faced oncoming traffic. Both times, I almost ran into him.

But we arrived at our new home just fine. During the next few years, we experienced tornado watches and blizzards and the flooding of 1997. We got a dog, and my baby turned into a child.

Occasionally, my dad would call. “I don’t know how you can stand the weather up there,” he’d say, and we would explain how it really was. Winters meant cocoa and snowmen and lots of people racing across the glistening white on snowmobiles. Summers were beautiful, bright green times when we walked nearly everywhere we went for the simple joy of being outside. And summers were hot, at least as hot as our desert birthplaces.

For about three years, we lived in Walhalla, just a few miles south of the Canadian border. Then we moved back to the desert state we came from.

We couldn’t stay. Two years later, we moved back to North Dakota. We bought a house. We made friends. And we have never regretted making our home here.

In fact, we love it. And that is really the purpose of this blog–to show what lies beyond the illusion of stormy weather. It’s all about the land, the cultures, the politics and thriving businesses, the innovative people and the sturdy rural towns, the history, the artists. I have to share my curiousity about a land that I keep falling in love with.

For some people, the story of our first move to North Dakota may be the only type of story they’ve heard about the state. Unfortunately for them, these kind of stories are misleading. Once my dad told my husband it was cold and raining at his house three states southwest of us. The temperature in Bismarck was well over one hundred degrees.

“I don’t know how you can stand the weather down there,” my husband commented.

Then we went out and watered the flowers.