Backyard Life Blog

Len – Steal My Sunshine

Posted on July 8, 2011 by Raun Lauterbach

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Posted in Concert Series | Tagged concert, len, my, series, steal, sunshine | Leave a comment

A Kaizen Approach to Life

Posted on July 6, 2011 by Raun Lauterbach

“If you keep doing what you’ve been doing, you’ll keep getting what you’ve been getting.”

Wow! That’s tough to hear. Have you ever looked at your life and realized you’re not where you thought you’d be or you’re just not satisfied with life? Is your life good but you want it to be great? You can do something about it.

I’m trying to apply the principle of Kaizen to my life and so far, I’ve seen some changes in my outlook and I was already quite satisfied with my life. So, what exactly is Kaizen?

Kaizen is a Japanese word meaning “improvement” or “change for the better.” It is making small incremental improvements that over time lead to great change.

In Western culture, we typically go with an “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mindset. Kaizen assumes there is always some room for improvement. Sure, your first improvements will probably lead to the most dramatic improvement, but that doesn’t lessen the value of the smaller changes that lie ahead. It also doensn’t mean you can’t start out will small improvements.

Here’s a small change I made that has made a small improvement in my quality of life. It’s pretty simple — if it’s a nice day, I roll the window down in my car during my commute to and from work. That’s it. I realized that I was cranking the A/C and keeping my windows closed and looking at my drive home as a chore. I’m pretty lucky in that my commute is only about 10 miles, but I was missing the opportunity to take in the sights and sounds along the way. For a short while, I drive along a bluff overlooking a valley full of trees and some impressive homes. Then I cross over the Mississippi river, where I might see a riverboat or a barge or some fishermen. After that, I see downtown Saint Paul, which is a beautiful city with some really nice architecture.

What small inceremental change can you make today to improve your life in the future?

Posted in Lifestyle, Raun's Blog | Tagged better, change, improvement, incremental, kaizen, life | Leave a comment

Fork In The Road Food Truck Review

Posted on July 4, 2011 by Raun Lauterbach

Fork In The Road Food Truck

We went to Mears Park in the Lowertown neighborhood of Saint Paul for Music In Mears, a weekly summer concert series on Thursday evenings. I saw on twitter (@forkNroadtruck) that the Fork In The Road food truck was going to be serving at the concert, so I thought it would make a nice date night with Liz.

We parked a block away from the park and headed straight for the food truck. We arrived about an hour after the concert started, so the line was short, which was great for us.

The Fork in the Road food truck offers something for everyone. There were 6 different menu items available while we were there. You could have a BBQ pulled pork grilled cheese sandwich, a Buffalo Chicken sandwich, a BLT, Egg Salad on Wheat, Black Bean Nachos, or a Summer Salad. I saw people eating the nachos and the salad as we waited to order. Both looked really good.

Fork In The Road Menu

We ordered a Pulled Pork Grilled Cheese sandwich with caramelized onions, a BLT with chipotle mayo, and a couple of strawberry lemonades.

The total bill came to $18. Not bad. It’s about what you’d expect for a lunch type menu for 2 people.

The BBQ Pulled Pork Grilled Cheese was something special. It comes with a generous portion of pulled pork, plenty of gooey cheese and the caramelized onions add good depth to the flavor profile. I could probably eat it every day and never get tired of it.

BBQ Pulled Pork Grilled Cheese with Caramelized Onions

The BLT was well executed. The lettuce and tomato were fresh and the bacon was crispy. I only got a slight hint of chipotle flavor from the mayo, but that was fine with me. Both sandwiches come with potato chips for $7 each.

BLT with Chipotle Mayo

The strawberry lemonade was a bit too strawberry-y (if that’s a word… I guess it is now) for my taste. I really couldn’t taste the lemon of the lemonade which was a little disappointing, but if you are a berry lover, you would think it is fantastic! It is made with fresh strawberries and for $2, it’s a reasonably priced, refreshing drink — especially on a 95 degree evening.