Friday's Fun Facts

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

• As of 2009 Pahrump, Nevada has the most world record holders per capita of any city in the world, with 38 such records held among the total of its roughly 40,000 residents.
• One in three cars has a dent or scratch longer than two inches.
• There are 984 towns or cities in the United States that do not have at least one Main Street.
• A 2008 study by the Association of American Fence and Netting Manufacturers found that fully one third of fences purporting to be electrified are in fact non-electrified. (Of that third, 90 percent of non-electrification was due to power or maintenance issues, and ten percent due to the sign placer's intent to deceive.)

It's only Tuesday

I know a lot of us only have to work through tomorrow for the week but man, it's been a really long week already. I thought I would share some of these photos to brighten your day. Have a great Thanksgiving if I don't talk to you sooner. Gobble Gobble.

Photo Hunt Voting

The Photo Hunt Challenges website has now posted all the favorite photos for each category in one post with links to each category for voting. Of the 20 photos, 18 of my photos were selected as favorites. Go take a look at the link below and vote for your favorite photos.

Vote here!

Friday's Fun Facts

Happy Friday!

• Composing a 10,000 word document on a non-electric typewriter burns 135 more calories than producing that same document on a computer due to the differences in pressure required for each keystroke.
  
• The adhesion of Post-it brand sticky notes has increased 55 percent since 1990.
• Each year spam email costs nine times more in lost bandwidth capability than the value of postage paid for all unsolicited "junk" mail worldwide.
• When the first pencil with an eraser was introduced in 1858, the New York Times decried it as "yet another hallmark of the steady decline of our once noble age."

Cherrie Jones Tailgate Party

The 2nd annual Cherrie Jones Tailgate Party had been in the works for months and last Sunday, the day had finally arrived. Cherrie's last Vikings game she attended was against Detroit in December 2007 and from that day, we will celebrate Cherrie for the Vikings/Lions game each year. Our house in Little Canada was the headquarters and anyone who wanted to meet at our house had to be there by 7:20 am. We had about 7 cars carrying 20+ people come to our house, which was low compared to what we anticipated. Some people had called us that morning saying they were running late and they would meet us down there. A couple of minutes past 7:20 am and we were on our way. We arrived at the tailgating lot on 3rd and Chicago around 7:45 am and had many others from our group coming in around the same time. We set up our area that we'd be in the for the next four hours.

People had given M money to purchase their Vikings tickets for them for the last two months and I got to pass them out. Along with the ticket, each person received a set of purple and gold beads and most of the girls received a purple lei. M purchased over 87 tickets for people and with the others that bought tickets on their own, our best count of how many people came to tailgate was 113, all for Cherrie!

There were tons of food. We had two great donations of burgers and buns totaling 90 burgers. We also had a 5 gallon pot of chili in addition to the long table of food. The Vikings Skol Drum line showed up and did 4 songs for our group and the cheerleaders made an appearance too. The weather could not have been more perfect for November 15th. Bright and sunny and an afternoon high of around 50 degrees!

There was a raffle that took place to raise money for the maintenance of Cherrie's website and to benefit liver cancer. A Percy Harvin jersey was donated and given away. We also had a donation container for anyone to donate to the cause. We ended up raising $255.

When M purchased tickets, he bought as many as he can in strips so people could sit together. Mostly everyone got to sit in big groups with their friends and family once inside the dome. We all got to see another Vikings win, making them 8-1 on the season as well as the following records: 1) Brett Favre's 300th consecutive career start (including playoffs) 2) Sidney Rice catching 7 passes for 201 yards (and later being announced as Offensive Player of the Week) and 3) Adrian Peterson becoming the 4th fastest person in NFL history to reach 4,000 rushing yards.

Lots of pictures ahead. If you look at the pictures, our group went all the way down to where the billboard starts (side view). We went from one end of the parking lot almost the other end. I wasn't able to take pictures of every group but I tried my best!

A Change of Plans

I went out with Tanya and Chris on Friday night to downtown Minneapolis and met them at Applebee's in Block E. M was out of town just for the evening as he went up to his cabin for one more Saturday morning deer hunt. I had asked Tanya and Chris if they wanted to see a band with me at First Avenue that I have been wanting to see since the spring but due to different engagements, I have yet to see them so I was excited to go. I could have purchased tickets in advance but I didn't think it would be a big deal to buy them at the door. I was going to get them at a ticket outlet in Maplewood but First Avenue had already picked up their supply of tickets on Friday by the time I got off of work so I chanced it and lost. The concert was sold out when we got there. I was bummed but there is always next time. Instead, we walked a couple of blocks north to The Imperial Room. With Tanya on the brink of 30 and Chris and I into our 30's, there are not many places that we belong at in downtown. The Imperial Room was perfect. They had a DJ playing great music with an area to dance but they also had a couches in the back to relax on and we were lucky enough to get one. The Imperial Room has a great list of martini's and that is exactly what I wanted to order. I ordered the Key Lime Martini, which is something out of the ordinary for me but it sounded good since it came with a graham cracker crust. When it arrived and I took my first sip, I didn't like it at all. There was cream in it, way too much cream in it that it tasted too much like milk. (I HATE milk) I "returned" it for the Southern Angel, which was very good. I can't remember what was in it besides vodka, southern comfort and mint leaves. We sat on our couch until 1 am listening to the music and watching all the people. The one thing that DOES NOT make girls unique in this day of fashion are skinny jeans. Every girl wears them, whether they should or not and it's almost annoying to see that no one else is wearing anything different, except for the girl that had on the hot pink spandex pants! The other item is boots. Whether you have a skirt on or leggings or pants or jeans or tucked in your pants or out, or up to your knees or just past your ankles, boots are everywhere. I like boots but again, every girl is dressed the same.

My huge drink at Applebee's---Red Apple Sangria-Delicious!

My not-so-good martini

Click on the pictures to see the spandex!

Bobcat

This month's Quest for Comedy was back at Acme to see Bobcat Goldthwait. I'm hoping you all know who he is but if you don't, you might remember him from Police Academy movies and also his very distinct stage voice. He didn't use that voice during his stand up though. In recent years, he has been behind the camera directing popular TV shows instead of on-stage. Last Thursday's show was his first (I believe) in 3 months as he just had back surgery and was returning to the stage. He seemed a bit rusty but I don't know if that was just him. He is all over the place with his words and thoughts that a story/bit is never told very smoothly. I thought he was very funny at times. He was very dirty at times and pushed the boundaries on some certain jokes (Michael Jackson) but you wanted his show to be politically correct, you probably wouldn't have been there in the first place. John Evans opened the show and he was also very funny. He's been on Comedy Central and Last Comic Standing.

I didn't get any pictures of the comics on stage as you cannot take photos so the posters will have to do.

Catha's House

I went over to my friend Catha's house last Monday to join the alphabet gang for some pizza, beer and baby. The alphabet gang is pretty good at getting together monthly for happy hours but with Catha having a baby, we all decided it would be best to go to her house for November. Letter A from the gang could not make it but Beth (B), Catha (C) and D's (Deanna and me) were there. We had a margherita pizza from Pizza Luce and just hung out with each other and admiring Catha's new baby, Violet. Catha already went back to work on Friday after being off for 5 weeks. We had a great time hanging out as usual and while I brought my camera, I forgot to take any pictures but December's happy hour is already on the calendar.

Friday's Fun Facts

The facts are all about airports today. Have a great weekend!

• In 2008, 87 percent of airline passengers made a phone call within 5 minutes of disembarking from the plane. Among those who did not make a phone call, 72 percent sent an SMS text message.
• The Munich airport has the highest ratio of ATMs to departing passengers of any similarly sized airport in the world.
• Dallas-Fort Worth airport serves 2.87 percent more departing passengers than arriving passengers, which is the largest differential of any airport in the world.
• Codes for Canadian airports start with 'Z' because the man who desgnated them was named Zachary Zebedevelamov and, he said, he wanted to 'leave his mark on Canada."
• From 1950 to 1958 three airlines had daily scheduled service between Idlewild (now JFK) Airport and Newark Airport.

Cherrie Jones Tailgate Party this Sunday

Calling all Vikings fans! The 2nd annual Cherrie Jones Tailgate Party will be taking place this Sunday, November 15th. There are multiple reasons why you should come out and see us:

• We are really fun people to hang out with
• It's going to be a party!
• Favre will start for the 300th consecutive time!
• Adrian Peterson, Jared Allen and Percy Harvin
• You'll probably see a Vikings win
• It's in honor of Cherrie!

We are approaching 100 confirmed people for the tailgate party so come and join the fun. Michael's sister, Cherrie Jones attended her last Vikings game in December 2007 and we have a party in her honor every year for the Detroit game. Tickets are still available for the game and the best place to get them for cheap would be Stub Hub.

Here is the email that M sent out late last week. If you are thinking about joining us, please let me know!

Hi People!

Here is the info that you need to know about the

2nd Annual Cherrie Jones Tailgate Party

Meeting time:

We will be meeting at my house between 6:45-7am.

I understand that this is very early, especially on a Sunday morning, but we need to leave my house at 7:20 SHARP in order to reserve our parking space.

When you arrive at my house, we will then consolidate and carpool.

This is not mandatory so you do not need to do this but I know that some people would like to tip a few and not have to drive and this would not only help the situation, but also help save on parking costs. Please note that you may be asked to drive if you come to my house. If you are planning on coming to my house first, please let me know soon so we can coordinate the parking and transportation of all vehicles as well as look for you the day of.

My address:

Michael W. Sack

674 East County Road D

Little Canada, MN 55117

Parking:

Parking will consist of two options;

Option #1 - Park in the official Cherrie Jones Tailgate Party Lot

I encourage all to do this so that we have plenty of room to party. If we do not have many people that choose to do this, we will not have enough room for all of us as we cannot stay contained to just a couple of parking spots.

This lot is located on the corner of Chicago Avenue and 3^rd Street South, just 1 block from the dome. Please see attached map and please note that 3^rd street is a one-way going west and you cannot turn into the lot from Chicago Avenue.

The cost is $45 a vehicle so if you carpool and everyone pitches in, this will save you all some money.

This is the cheapest lot around the Dome.

For those of you that do not live close to me and would rather meet us out there, that is also fine however, if you are not there by 8am, you may miss out on parking your car with our group because spots can fill up very quickly.

Option #2 - Park at a meter located near our lot

You will need about $8 in quarters. There are 4-hour meters and 8-hour meters so please make sure that you choose the correct meter. The price is $1 per hour and meters ARE enforced on Sundays.

What to bring:

I am asking everyone to bring something to share; A pack of hot dogs, a bag of chips, soda, a dessert, a pasta salad, etc.---We don’t want 100 bags of chips and nothing else so be a little creative with what you share. You don’t have to go all out, just bring a reasonable amount of something. If everyone contributes, we will have plenty of food for everyone.

Halloween Clearance:

Go out to a store and find that clearance Halloween purple wig, hat, mask, make-up, etc and come in your full gear to get into the Vikings team spirit but most importantly….

DRESS WARM!

To see Adrian Peterson and Brett Favre on the same team is quite the historic event, and it should be fun watching them DESTROY the Detroit Lions. So grab all of your purple clothes, make-up, and anything else that is purple and get ready to have a BLAST at the 2ND ANNUAL CHERRIE JONES TAILGATE PARTY!!

As Cherrie lived her life of being an all accepting person: Anyone with a smile is invited!

See you soon,

Michael W. Sack

Tailgate Map

In the Land of Cheese...

I hope you enjoy this post. I spent four and a half straight hours working on it.

M and I headed almost exactly east on Friday, October 30th for a place I never really had any desire to go (ever)....Green Bay, Wisconsin. Before I go into the actual trip, here's a little background as to how we choose our "vacations" each year.

When M and I were just months into our relationship, I suggested we go to Philadelphia to see the Vikings play the Eagles for the divisional playoff game. From that trip forward, we have planned our vacations around the Vikings. Since January 2005, we have seen the Vikings play around the country in each of the following cities in this order; Philadelphia, Seattle, San Francisco, Dallas, Tampa Bay, Jacksonville and now, Green Bay. It's a very exciting time each April as the NFL team's schedule is released and we just wait to analyze it to see who the Vikings are playing, when and where. Actually you can find out who the Vikings are playing for the 2010-2011 season already but you just can't find out the actual dates until April. (Away games for 2010-2011 season: Washington, New England, N.Y. Jets, and 1 of the following teams to be determined: New Orleans, Atlanta, Carolina or Tampa Bay)

Our first destination choice this year was not Green Bay. We actually had made the decision to go to Cleveland and Detroit for both week 1 and week 2 of this season. Until doing research, I didn't realize that Cleveland and Detroit were only roughly 170 miles apart and that would be a great way to see two games consecutively on the road. We decided last spring that is where we would go...until Favre came into the picture. I said in the beginning when the first talks of Favre coming to the Vikings happened that he was going to be a Viking. I just knew he would. And as more stories developed over the months, I looked as though I would be incorrect and then finally I did stand corrected as Favre would not become a Viking...and then I would be right again as he obviously did sign as a Viking. Through all of this media circus, M and I thought how awesome it would be to see Favre as a Viking play at Lambeau against the Packers. We dreamed of this scenario sometime in the summer before he signed. Game ticket prices were starting to go up in anticipation for this match up. M and I decided to book a hotel in Green Bay, just in case he did sign as Viking. At that point forward, we decided to go to Green Bay as our destination to see the Vikings on the road for this year. Shortly thereafter, we found out Favre would not become a Viking. We were bummed that the match up we had anticipated would not happen and that we would be spending Sunday, November 1st, our 5 year anniversary in Green Bay. While we would still be seeing the Vikings that day, as a girl, I could have found better places to be on our anniversary. Once it was announced that Favre was not signing as a Viking, those tickets prices went way down and that's when we bought them as I told M, hurry up and buy them before he changes his mind! And that's exactly what Favre did. So, we had our hotel booked and our tickets in hand before Favre signed with the Vikings. That move saved us roughly $360 PER TICKET, in hotel costs and allowed us the chance to see a game of this magnitude.

We checked into our Motel 6 at exactly 8 pm on Friday. We originally planned to leave for our trip Saturday morning but decided to leave Friday instead and booked a room at Motel 6 just the night before. It was dark so we didn't get to explore the town too much. We did have one destination in mind though...Brett Favre's Steakhouse. We arrived there and while it was a little later, there weren't that many people in the restaurant. We weren't sure how the locals felt about Favre anymore as we had already heard some mixed reactions. Hey, we have mixed reactions about Favre in Minnesota. However, many seem to be OK with him now considering how well we've been doing. M and I both knew people who had been to the steakhouse before, even as early as 2-3 months ago. We were told the food was just alright and overpriced. M and I found it to be quite the opposite. We both really enjoyed our food and thought it was more than reasonable for the price. I had shrimp bisque, salad, petit filet and the largest and best baked potato ever. If you do not like Favre, this place would have been a nightmare for you. He is plastered all over the walls in pictures, painting, murals, etc. Our server used the name, "Brett Favre" so many times that M started counting how many times she said it. I think M lost count somewhere around 15. Here are some pictures from outside and inside the restaurant:

These monuments are all around the stadium for certain Packers players of the past. This one sits right in front of the restaurant, just blocks from Lambeau Field.

Gross Michael!


After dinner, we went to take a peek at Lambeau Field. It was cold and extremely windy that it was hard to be out of the car more than a minute trying to take pictures. My first impression of the stadium was, Hey! This place looks new! I know they did a renovation about 6 years ago but I didn't expect it to look that new from the outside. Click on the pictures to get a better view.


You can tell how windy it is in this picture just by looking at the flag.



We woke up on Saturday, Halloween, and instead of venturing around the city of Green Bay, we were back on the road heading northeast to Door County, which is known for their cherry orchards and as being referred to as the Cape Cod of the Midwest because of it's 300 miles of shoreline. From Sturgeon Bay, it is roughly 45 miles to the tip before you can take a ferry to Washington Island. Sturgeon Bay is around 40 miles northeast from the city of Green Bay. The penisula of Door County is only 20 miles across at the widest point, separating Green Bay (water) and Lake Michigan. Here's a map of Door County:




We drove to Sturgeon Bay and had breakfast at a place called the Pudgy Seagull. This was the first town we encountered in Door County. It was just as imagined this area to be with little main streets and small shops. We drove up the Green Bay side and back down the Lake Michigan side. We went through so many cute towns that it would be very hard to pick as my favorite but I really liked Fish Creek, which is where we drove through Peninsula State Park. It was a cloudy, cold day with the leaves past their peak but it was still a beautiful place. I only imagine how nice Door County looks in the summer or the peak of the fall colors. Here are some pictures from the peninsula:

Sturgeon Bay


The water had a turquoise/teal color to it






Fish Creek--Again, it was an extremely windy day





Inside Pennisula State Park--there's a cemetery in there!





Another lighthouse--I believe there are 12 lighthouses in Door County.


So windy!


Ephraim--This boat house is full of graffiti. It first started out that people would put the name of their boat and the date on the wall when they docked but now anyone can write on the walls as long as it's tasteful. I didn't see anything that was inappropriate. We didn't write on the walls but I did find my name and it so happens my middle name was down just below, even with the same spelling. Dana Leigh!





At the very top of the peninsula is Gills Rock, where you can take the ferry to the island. Click on the picture below to take a look at the road. This would be a very fun road for a motorcycle.


I love this photo of the lighthouse. It was actually far away and I had to zoom in quite a bit to get it. It looks like it is a painting.

This lighthouse is on Cana Island. We took a little walk to get there and there is only about 25 feet wide passage, if that, to get to the island. This is on the Lake Michigan side. I lost my camera case here!


Lake Michigan




This is a terrible quality photo but the sky was so dark pink at the horizon while we were driving home.



We got back into Green Bay around 6:30 pm and checked into the hotel we would be in for the next two days. We got assigned a room on the 5th floor and when we get to our door, this is what we see and it's not on anybody else's door besides ours:


When we open the door, this is what we saw:











This has been here for awhile. Tampa Bay is no longer in our division but at least they put the correct helmet on top



Ummmm....what the hell just happened?!

We were so surprised when we got into the room and had no idea what to make of it. It was a neat room but not for Vikings fans! We found a dude in the hallway that had a Vikings jersey on to come and take a look at our room. He came in and we asked him if his room looked like this and he just laughed and said, "No", which made it even funnier to us. So what are the chances that we would get this room? When we went down to the front desk, we asked them if they did that on purpose because we were Vikings fans. It was quite obvious they knew we were Vikings fans because we were carrying our Vikings jackets and we have purple luggage. She asked us what we meant by doing that on purpose. We said, "putting us in the Packers room!" and she started laughing and said that she didn't even think about that! We asked her if there was room like that on every floor and she said no, that's the only one in the hotel! So the chances of us getting that room? 1 in 146, as that is the number of rooms in the hotel. But we are good sports and decided to stay in the room, even though it did smell moldy.
We drove around the city looking for something to do since it was Saturday night and Halloween. We could not find what looked like a good place to eat and have a drink or two and ended up at The Golden Corral. It was just ok and suited our needs and then we drove back to see Lambeau Field. We parked and walked around a little bit and we went up to the doors of the atrium entrance and they were open so we went in. We found out that this place is open every day for people to come in. You don't have access to the stadium but you can shop in the Packers store, eat and drink at Curly's Pub or play games in the arcade. This place did not look like stadium, but rather a mall. The atrium was all a part of the addition in 2003. We spent our night at Curly's Pub drinking Curly's Brew and admiring some of the Halloween costumes that came in, including one of Brett Favre in a Packers Uniform.

M standing next to the famous Vince Lombardi statue











M says he was getting a picture of the dude wearing Favre's jersey that says, "Traitor" on it but realized he got Ms. Witch's boobs in the picture. Actually, how can you miss them.

Isn't this picture scary? That's me in the middle as a blur.



We wake up on Sunday morning, not only to celebrate M and me and our five years together but to hopefully see a Vikings win! We had enough in our Packers room, mostly because of the smell but a little because of the saturation of green and gold so got a different, no-themed room for Sunday night. The game was originally at noon but was changed to 3:15 pm for television reasons regarding the World Series. We left the hotel around 10:30 am to go to the grocery store and liquor store, which were conveniently located next to the parking lot we were to tailgate in. Being that I was all decked out in purple, I was nervous to see how fans would react. You just never know how mean the opposing fans will be towards you. We walked into the grocery store and it was hilarious. EVERYONE was dressed in either Packers or Vikings gear. Just imagine the only colors you see are green, purple and gold. I felt just fine being in there and felt even better after receiving numerous compliments in the store that they liked my wig, headband and lashes. Yep, you heard that right. Here's what I was walking around in:

Beside the wig, I had long, fake purple eyelashes on, which causes me to look a little drunk in the pictures ahead. We parked in the K-Mart parking lot, as we were both recommended to do by people who had been there before. It was only 2 blocks from the stadium and only $20 to park. That's something we are not used to in Minneapolis as it costs a minimum of $40 to park if you are going to tailgate. M and I have never tailgated before at another stadium with a grill and our own supplies since we've always flown to our destinations. It was nice to be able to set up our own grill, Vikings table and listen to our own tunes. We played the bean bag toss with our neighbors, who were both Packers fans but one had a Vikings Favre jersey on because he still loves Favre. There was a lot of that type of confusion surrounding the day. There were people that had half Vikings, half Packers clothes on. Some even had a jersey that had three parts to it....Packers, Jets and Vikings but obviously a Favre fan. One woman even came up to Michael and told him that she hopes that the Vikings win the Super Bowl, because she wants Favre to win. That is coming from a Packers fan. The people we encountered and spoke mostly with were Favre fans, regardless of what team he was on. Then there was the other group. The bitter ones that cannot get over the fact that Favre betrayed them, personally. That's how they feel at least. They do not like him, do not want him to do good and wishes nothing but the worse for him.

The weather was amazing. It was November 1st and we could not have received better weather. Sunny with a hint of clouds and the temperature was about 55 degrees. Many were tailgating in just their jersey's. Here are some of the pictures from tailgating.








A nice warm welcome from some Packers fans:




Walking to Lambeau--There were lots of purple!


We've arrived!


Curly Lambeau

Vince Lombardi



We're in!

We got to our seats early than normal to soak it all in.




Our neighbor was nice enough to take our picture for us

See the jets starting to fly over? We've experienced this at other stadiums but this was THE LOUDEST ones I've ever heard, to the point where it was a little scary.

The Vikings got booed when entering the field but wow did they boo for Favre. I read that they booed for 28 seconds while he was coming onto the field. After looking at coverage on TV, he just winked and smirked.

It was so warm out that we didn't even need our jackets in the stadium, until the sun started to go down and it got a little cooler. I was never cold the whole time I was there though. Can't say enough how lucky we were when it came to the weather.

The Vikings biggest lead--24-3 and that was when the Packers scored 17 unanswered points to make the score 24-20 and it was time to get a little nervous.

Not only did we get to experience Lambeau during the day, we also got to experience a night game due to Daylights Savings Time. We spent our extra hour at Lambeau. :)

Vikings Win!

A sign that M found on the ground

Yes, thank you Ted!

Game Stats:

Favre got 4 TD's, the most he's ever had a Viking, Harvin ran one back for 77 yards and Jared Allen sacked Rodgers 3 times and Rodgers was sacked a total of 6 times between 3 players. This all equates as follows: Favre was the offensive player of the week, making that the 15 time he's done it in his career. 11 times with the Packers, 2 times with the Jets and 2 times with the Vikings, both against the Packers. Harvin is in the lead for Rookie of the Year and Jared Allen is the league leader for sacks after week 8. I hate to even mention anything about the Super Bowl but I can't help thinking about it. As with any game on the road, they are very hard to pay attention to. You are not only trying to concentrate on the game, you are taking in the atmosphere and your foreign surroundings, in addition to worrying about the fans and if you are going to get your ass kicked. The Packers fans for the most part were good. I wonder how it would have been if the Vikings wouldn't have won. We had a dude in front of us that was quite the hot head and he would get mad at certain calls that were obviously against the Packers but he didn't quite see it that way. While he was passionate about his team, he didn't appear to be that knowledgeable of the game. He hated Favre. He also booed our kicker, their former kicker, Ryan Longwell. We asked him if he would boo Darren Sharper if he came back to Lambeau and he absolutely said yes. Some people will always have a chip on their shoulder.

We ran into Syd outside the stadium. Does he look familiar? He goes by "100% Cheese Free" and has been featured in many aspects of the media nationally. He's from Winnipeg, Canada and comes to the dome for every home game as he is a season ticket holder.

We finished off our evening by eating at Green Bay Pizza and retiring to our Non-Packer room. We got up and went to breakfast at a pancake place that was recommended. It was delicious and the size of the pancakes were huge! We slowly made our way back to the Twin Cities, taking pictures of random things, including the horse below. We went to see Couple's Retreat when we got back and saw Michael Jackson's, This Is It on Tuesday before winding down and heading back to work on Wednesday.

It was a fantastic weekend!

Leaving Green Bay

I had to get a picture of his butt!

Brenna, you would have loved these pancakes!

A horse on our way back home

Friday's Fun Facts

Have a great weekend!

• The electric bellows that blows air for the pipe organ at the Ely Cathedral in England could fill the Hindenberg with air in 18 hours and 4 minutes.
• Nolan Ryan has touched more baseballs than any other person.
• Sydney, Australia has the highest percentage of classical music lovers of any city in the world.
• There are currently three potato-battery-powered vehicles registered in the state of California.

Week in Review

Before I can write about this past weekend's activities, I need to get up to speed with the prior week's events.

Friday, October 22nd:

M and I went out with Chris and Alyssa and Chris and Tanya to the American Legion in Hopkins to go see a band called Headband and to see M's guitarist friend Chris (another one) play for the night. We spent a good majority of the night there and then continued the evening with Chris and Tanya at Legends in NE Mpls. M and I had never been there before and the moment we walked in it smelled like puke. Gross. We went downstairs where they had a DJ and it was better smelling down there. This was the first time we had been out with Chris and Tanya since they had gotten married. M tried on Chris's ring and his wedding gift from Tanya, a Movado watch. I had to take a picture of that because I may never again see a ring on M's finger!

Saturday, October 23rd:

M and I woke up and went out to breakfast at a place in St. Paul called The Copper Dome. When you walk in, it has such a small town feel to it and you would think you are somewhere on the North Shore. There are old antique flour sacks and tins that decorate the whole place. We had read a couple of reviews before going there and one was terrible and one was ok. We had fabulous service and very good food. I would recommend this place to anyone for breakfast. We then headed to the West 7th/Bloomington area to take some photos and went to Fort Snelling State Park. It was a nice park to drive around in and take some photos which some became part of my photo hunt. We saw a few deer while we were in the park and got out of the car to take some photos of them when a couple walked past us and asked what we were attempting to take a picture of. We told her that we say some deer walking around in the woods when she responded, "Oh, been there. Done that a thousand times." Well thanks for your two cents, lady. It was our first time in the park and we weren't going to let her dumb comment discount our time seeing the deer. We drove home and then took a nap for the afternoon. I love Saturday afternoon naps! We ventured out later for dinner at Pepito's before coming back home and going back to bed shortly thereafter.

We took Fuzzer out of the house and let him roll around in the grass. He loved it and kept eating the grass.

Did you know this is a water tower? It's on Snelling and Ford Parkway.

Fort Snelling Park:

Sunday, October 24th:

Vikings vs. Steelers. It was the first loss of the season and while I did not think that the Vikes would have hung in there as well as they did against them, I was impressed with what I saw and realized that the Vikings are a real contender. I cried after they lost but moved on after 30 minutes of being sad. We watched football for the remainder of the evening and called it a night.

Monday, October 25th:

I went over to my sister Jamie's house for dinner. She made delicious tacos. I brought over some Halloween trinkets and treats for Keith and Hunter and Jamie. Keith was very excited to dance for us. He is usually pretty shy and won't let me hear him sing or see him dance or do anything like that so this was a rare event. We both had our camera's so we videotaped a little of it. I recorded 5 vidoes of him but here is the shortest one. The quality isn't the greatest but it's so cute.

After leaving their house, I stopped by a house on the East Side of St. Paul that I saw was all decorated for Halloween. It was pretty cool!

Then I went over to M's cousin Jason's house to check out their annual display of carved pumpkins. We weren't able to join them this year for the carving. The picture quality isn't very good in the dark.

Tuesday, October 28th:

M and I went out to dinner at Norman Quack's. It's a little far for us to travel on a work night just for dinner but we had a $10 gift certificate. I had only been there one other time but I really liked their food. I planned on getting chicken but we ended up going all out and ordering the filet. It was ok but not worth the price in my opinion.

Wednesday, October 27th:

I went to Old Chicago in Roseville to meet my friend from the past. I met up with Garrett, one of my former coworkers who I hadn't seen since at least 2003 but we weren't quite sure on the year. We reconnected on what else than Facebook. Both of our lives have changed quite a bit since we last saw each other and it was very fun to catch up and listen to each other's stories. I had my camera with but I forgot to take a picture. I forget that almost every time I meet someone for dinner.

Well, that about brings me current. My next post of my fun weekend coming soon!

Photo Hunt Results

October's photo hunt is over and I scrambled a little too much this month to complete it but I'm done. I'd love to hear comments about the pictures! I will update you once Kristi chooses her favorite photos from each category to be voted on at a later date. To see all of the other participants, click HERE.

1. A Fall Activity

2. A Fall Treat

3. A Harvest

4. Leaves

5. Fall Colors

6. Something Orange

7. Something Spooky

8. A Cemetery

9. A Costume

10. A Black & White Photo

11. A Critter

12. Symmetry

13. Contrast

14. Texture

15. A Logo/ Mascot

16. Something Neon

17. Something Inspiring

18. Something Entertaining

19. Something Fast

20. Something Slow

Friday's Fun Facts

Happy Halloween!

• Experts have calculated that if a person could see everyone who came within 168 meters of Times Square in New York City, it would take less than 7o hours for that person to see someone he or she has met previously.
• Grand Rapids, Michigan was the first city to put fluoride in their water
• 90% of the continental US is still open space or farmland
• Architect James Horan was awarded $500 and a parcel of land in Washington, D.C. for his 1792 winning design for the President's House, now known as the White House.

The Old Crew

I went out to lunch last Thursday with a group of former coworkers from my last job. Most of us were laid off in October 2007. After it was all said and done, the company ended up laying off 5,000 people. I hadn't seen Shannon or Greg since the layoff...actually since a week before we got laid off as I was on vacation in Texas when I got the call from Michelle that we had been laid off. I have only seen Michelle a few times and I see Catha on an ongoing basis and Beth every day since we work together again now. We met at Fuddrucker's in Edina. It was fun to catch up with everyone and what they are doing now. Shannon and Greg work together again, Michelle has her own business and Catha is on maternity leave from her job as she and her husband just welcomed their daughter, Violet Rae into the world on October 2nd so we got to meet her. Shelley was also with us and is going to school but she left before we took the pictures. Shannon had cancer in her eye and had to have her eye removed back in July. After the surgery, she was cancer free! She now has an acrylic eye that she told us took less than a day to make it. I love that Shannon is so candid about her eye and cancer that you can ask her anything. I missed everyone and I miss that job. I had a great time catching up with some of the old crew and we hope to do it again sometime soon.

Back: Greg, Beth Front: Catha, Shannon, Michelle

Check out that hot dog!

BeanBoozled

Check this out:

Jelly Belly's wildest collection dares you to compare some of our tastiest, most popular flavors with our craziest ones. But here's the catch - you won't know which ones are which! The black Licorice bean looks exactly like the Skunk Spray bean! Sweet Caramel Corn might also be Moldy Cheese. You may think you're choosing our world-famous Buttered Popcorn bean, but what you'll be biting into could actually be Rotten Egg. The only way to find out what beans you're getting is to eat them!
The Jelly Belly BeanBoozled collection currently contains 10 colors of beans, and 20 flavors (10 "real" ones and 10...well...different ones). Also, coming this Fall from Jelly Belly: the BeanBoozled Spinner Game Gift Box, which brings our spinner promotion game to life. The second edition of BeanBoozled introduces two new flavors: Canned Dog Food and Centipede. See the chart below and then get ready to have some fun.

Friday's Fun Facts

Happy Friday and cross your fingers for a Vikings win this weekend.

• Every day, $164 million worth of ties are worn in Washington, D.C. alone.
• In the 1893 case Nix v. Hedden, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the tomato is a vegetable.
• One out of 15 Americans don't know the order of the months.
• The average strip club's operating hours are longer than the average public library's.

Weekend Recap

On Friday night, M and I went out to dinner at Acapulco and then went to see the movie, Law Abiding Citizen starring Gerard Butler and Jamie Foxx. Before watching this movie, I thought it might turn out to be really cheesy but it was really good and intelligent, and that's not just because Gerard Butler is hot. I recommend this movie.

I woke up on Saturday morning and was more than thrilled to see the sun shining bright. The days are few and far between for the sun this month and we've been more accustomed to cloudy skies and rain. I took advantage of the morning and left the house before M got up and went to the cemetery. I went to visit my grandparent's graves. I love cemeteries and have since about 10th grade. While I am afraid of death, (not for myself but for others) I do not think of death very often in cemeteries but more of history. Cemeteries are one of the most beautiful places on earth and they are fascinating. I especially like the cemetery that my grandparents are buried in. It's probably my favorite. I also went there to try and take some pictures for the photo hunt I am currently working on. After not having a charged battery, it was almost dead so I only took a few. I did see some deer there though. I have only been there one time when I didn't see deer. I hope you don't find the pictures of my grandparents grave stones creepy but interesting.

This Dala horse (Swedish horse) was on the ground. He looked like he fell off of something.

After I got home, M and I went out to breakfast to a cafe in St. Paul. We hadn't been there for awhile and I ended up seeing someone I have successfully avoided for the past 15 years, one of my ex-boyfriends. I don't normally hold grudges in life but there are two people on my grudge list and he's one of them. Here's a good reason why: I met him when I was 17 years old and he was my first BOYFRIEND if you can figure out what I mean by that without me having to say it. He was older than me and I was a naive, young impressionable girl (I still am) and he just hurt me. The best example of that hurt would be when I found out from someone else after he had broken up with me that he was engaged to another girl while we were together. Yeah..... So I saw HIM on Saturday. As far as I know, he didn't see me. Good. Moving on.....

M and I took a little ride in the car later in the afternoon to Tamarack Nature Center and later up to Chisago City, Lindstrom and Center City. M used to live on Chisago Lake with his brother so he took me to look at his old house. All of those towns are so cute and were founded by Swedish immigrants. (P.S. I'm about 75% Swedish-also according to Wikipedia, Minnesota has the most Swedish Americans of any other state) We also went to a pumpkin patch. I've been to places that have pumpkins already cut and ready but this place still had the pumpkins in the...patch. I've never seen that before. It was fun to walk around see all the families picking out their own pumpkin. There was a corn maze that had Wizard of Oz theme but we didn't go in there.

Michael building something with the sticks in the woods-Ok, not really. The sticks were already there. He's just posing with a stick as though he had built it.

Look at that butt... I mean the leaves!

Do you see M way back in between the trees? This was a cemetery and there was one single grave back there.

We got back to our house and I made filet mignon and baked potatoes. We relaxed and watched Saturday Night Live and went to bed and went to the Vikings game on Sunday. I already posted about that here. I hope your weekend was as good as mine!

P.S. Dad, we drove by what used to be Paradise Resort in Chisago. It's partially a park now and some other place to stay or a private residence. It brought back memories you grounding me in a room while we were on vacation. I still don't know what I did. Everyone felt bad for me. I hope you're not still thinking about it after all these years. It's obvious I haven't forgotten. Ha ha. :)

Michael and Michael

In M and I's quest to see a comedian every month, we went and saw Michael Ian Black and Michael Showalter at the Pantages Theater last Thursday. They have a show on Comedy Central called Michael and Michael Have Issues, which I've never seen. I actually won the tickets through The Onion. If you watch VH1, you will know Michael Ian Black. He's been a few Sierra Mist commercials too. I picked up the tickets at will call and was surprised when we were seated on the main level, center section, row 7. They were good seats but if you've been to the Pantages, they are all good seats. There wasn't that many people there. The ticket prices were steep, almost $30. The show itself had it's funny parts but some of it was so far out. There were some scripted parts but I think a lot of it is improvised as both Michaels are on the stage with each other and they just feed off one another. You could meet the Michael's after the show but I just snapped a quick picture while they were signing autographs. Before the show, M and I ate at Hopscotch Grill inside Gameworks on Block E. There was hardly anybody in there but my sandwich was super good. We drove down Hennepin to get there from Washington. Remember Hennepin and First Avenue are both two-way streets now! It was so weird driving that way down Hennepin! I think it's been a one-way since at least 1993 when I started driving down there.

Tony Oliva

I went to Target in Bloomington last week on my lunch break and guess who I saw? Tony Oliva. I called my Dad right away and asked him if he would be here in the off season and he said that he could be. Well after doing a little research tonight, I found out he lives in Bloomington, so of course he frequents the local Target! I literally almost ran into him too. He was walking in and I was walking about. Hey Tony, you're not supposed to come in through the out door! (Dennis, this represents the social circle of major league baseball that some dude named Bob Jackson commented about on your Six Degrees of Separation post. Ha ha!)

Tanya and Chris's Wedding

M and I were both chosen to be a part of Tanya and Chris's special day. We were asked on June 15, 2008 to be in their wedding as a bridesmaid and groomsman and of course we accepted. The day finally arrived on Saturday, October 10th, 2009. It was a very chilly day, 20 degrees cooler than average and with snow on the ground! This is what it looked like when I went outside:

Getting Ready:

I headed down to the City Center Marriott around 10 am to get ready with the rest of the girls. Tanya took care of the hair and makeup costs for us bridesmaids. We got our hair and make up done in an executive suite on the 29th floor with a beautiful view of the city while having the movie, Sex and the City on and drinking mimosas.

All of our flowers

One of the views from the room

Photos:

We were running a little late to get down to the lobby and meet for pictures. We went down to the street level to run outside and hop into the limo for the next couple of hours to take pictures around Minneapolis. Just walking from the hotel to the limo was freezing! It was so cold to be in a dress outside. We all packed into the limo, all 13 of us, including 2 photographers. We were just a couple of blocks away when we realized we were missing a groomsman! Matt was still back at the hotel so we turned around to go pick him up. We got him and we were back on our way again and about 5 blocks from the hotel, there's a cop car behind us and he is pulling us over. The photographers are in the front seat, smashed with the driver and the cop approaches the window and we hear some talk about a seat belt and improper use of it, something minor at least. Well the minor pull over turns into something major. The limo driver apparently was not licensed to drive people as a public, hired limo driver and the cop said they would be towing the limo and we all had to walk back to the hotel. It is freezing and Tanya is in her wedding dress! Chris insisted to the cop that Tanya cannot walk back to the hotel in her dress so the cop decides that we can go back to the hotel with an escort. He follows us all the way back and then tows the limo. Tanya and Chris remain very calm in the situation and do not appear to be upset, even though I'm sure they were. In the meantime, multiple people are scrambling to find alternative transportation for us because there are pictures to be taken! The photographers take the guys down the street to get some pictures while our next form of transportation can be found. After the guys, us girls head down the street to get some photos. There are guys on the street and in cars that are making cat calls to us and congratulating Tanya. There's even one guy who walked by us and asked Tanya if she was getting married. She said yes. His response? "You just threw your life away." Nice! We head back to the hotel and take some more pictures inside City Center. After about 3o minutes, the hotel provides two private taxi's for us, a Suburban and a minivan and we head to the St. Anthony area, specifically the Stone Arch Bridge. Tanya and Chris used to live in the Stone Arch Apartments right next to the bridge. We get out of the car, freezing our butts off and get our pictures taken on the bridge before heading to the next location, First Avenue. The plan was to go to First Avenue, outside of the building and take pictures in front of the famous wall, adoring stars with names of all the bands that have played there before. Not only do we get those pictures, they let us into First Ave. to take pictures in the empty club. We pose on the stairs and up at the bar but the one catch, no pictures on or of the stage with Matt Kearney's band sets up for the show that night. It was so fun and different to be in there when it was closed and empty. We headed back to the hotel to relax for about 30 minutes before having to go into a room and "hide" until the ceremony started.

Ceremony:

At 6 pm, the ceremony started. I was the 2nd bridesmaid down the aisle with my lovely groomsman escort, Michael. The ceremony itself was nice and brief and intimate. And I only cried once after Tanya started crying. Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Zenner!

Drink:

The bar was open for about an hour before the dinner started. The hardest parts of the day for everyone were over and now it was about kicking back and having a good time. Instead of a guest book, Tanya and Chris had a drum head with a picture of them on it for everyone to sign. Chris is a drummer and it was such a great idea and I wish I would have gotten a picture of it.

My honey!

Best Man, Kelley

Groomsman Wil

Chris, Jason, Wil

Me, my sister Jamie and BIL Tom

The cake


In lieu of a wedding favor, Tanya and Chris made a donation to the American Cancer Society. Chris's mom passed away from cancer when he was 17 years old.



Eat:

Dinner started in a different room about an hour later. The dinner was steak, chicken or some vegetarian choice. The cake was delicious! At the head table, there was a beautiful vase for each of the bridesmaid's to put their flowers in and to take home at the end of the night.

Kristi, the matron of honor giving her speech






Dance:

The reception was held in the same room as the ceremony and another room conjoined room that was opened up. Instead of a DJ, they had the band Big John Dickerson play throughout the night. Our friend Jamela shares the singing spotlight with Big John.









Me and Big John singing, "Mustang Sally"

I have no idea what dance move I am doing here! Looks pretty outdated to me.







The Honeymoon Suite:

We took a peek at the honeymoon suite that Tanya and Chris had at the hotel. It was two levels on the highest floor, the 31st. There was barely a wall, only tall windows that had remote control curtains that had to be 2o feet tall.

View from above. Michael looks like a banker behind the desk



I had a great time altogether this day. It was a little surreal for me to watch Chris get married, because at one point in my life, I wanted to marry Chris. Chris and I met on January 6th, 1995, ironically Tanya's birthday. We started dating each other and decided to be exclusive with each other on my birthday, January 21st. Chris was my first true love. Him and I dated until October 22nd, 1999, months shy of 5 years. While we were together that long, we probably shouldn't have been as we didn't always get along the greatest at times but always had a connection to each other. Chris and I remained friends, as long as the girls he was dating would allow it, which wasn't very often. He got sick of that and if a girl he was dating didn't like the fact that I was in his life as a friend, then she usually didn't stick around for too long. I am pretty protective of Chris as he means a lot to me and I didn't want him to get hurt in relationships. I was very good at knowing what girls he was dating would and wouldn't work out and none of them ever did long-term. Actually I was never wrong. Chris finally met the girl in January 2006. I knew that Tanya was a good girl and I knew that it would be a long-term relationship. Tanya is also the first girl in Chris's life to accept me as Chris's friend, a best friend, and not have a problem with it. She was also a girl that I was able to get along with and I knew she would treat Chris well. And here we are, years later and you two are married to each other. MANY girls in Chris's life always told him that he would never get married and would be a bachelor forever. Tanya, you out shined all of those girls and ended up with the prize. I love you, Tanya and I love you, Chris. Tanya, you have become a great friend and Chris, you have remained a best friend to me for so many years. Michael and I love you as individuals and as a couple and wish nothing but the best for you both. Congratulations, Tanya and Chris Zenner.

6-0

M and I woke up at 7 am to get ready for the game and we just couldn't get up so we set the alarm for another hour and sacrificed one hour of tailgating for a little extra sleeping time. We were in a rush getting out the door and we forgot such important things like BEER so we decided to just park at a meter, which means it was $34 CHEAPER to park than in a lot and walked into the tailgating lots to party with others. We met up with a couple of people I went to high school with and one that M went to high school with that are all in the same group. Chris Price, I came to look for you and say hi but Scott said you were walking around. Next time. We then met up with M's friend Loren and hung with their group for the majority of the morning. They were even so kind to give us a cup for their homemade brew, that had apricot in it. It was really good. Even though it's nice to tailgate with our own car and have our own things, it was fun to just walk in and not to be the prepared ones for once.

The Vikings got their 6th win in as many games today at the Dome against the Baltimore Ravens. Should the Vikings have won? I'm not sure, but they did so with luck on their side. The Vikings were up 14-0 early on in the game. It looked so easy the way they completed the plays for each drive down the field. The score was then 20-10, going into the 4th quarter. The Vikings got another touchdown and a field goal but the Ravens scored 21 points, taking the lead for the first time in the game with a handful of minutes left, 31-30. We scored another field goal to again take the lead, 33-30 with under two minutes remaining. The Ravens make their way down the field into their own territory and within field goal position. With seconds left on the clock and all of the Vikings fans on their way out the door, Chilly calls a time out to ice the kicker and then the Ravens kick and believe it or not, NO GOOD as the kick goes wide left. The dome erupted and it is just so hard to believe that we actually won that game. A win is a win, even if the Vikings end up giving you a heart attack in the process.

Me and Ragnar!

The Vikings SKOL line

Add another check mark in that win column!

"The Vikings Won Today, and they are 6-0, Do do do..."

Friday's Fun Facts

Have a wonderful weekend!

• Over half of the calories consumed worldwide come from rice.
• When women were asked what their top three wishes would be their answers were: Health/Longevity for self (79.4%); Health/Longevity for family and friends (64.7%); improved body figure (43%); 14.4% indicated they would wish for "better endowed partners"
• The upholestery covering the chairs in the House of Representatve's chamber of the US Capital is replaced once every 5 years. In the Senate, the rate is once every 9 years.
• While biologists have been able to determine the evolutionary need for most human facial features, there is no accepted theory for the evolution of the protruding nose.

Twins Vs. Tigers--Tie Breaker Game

M and I went to the Dome for the 3rd day in a row for me and 2nd for him to go see the Twins play the Tigers on Tuesday, October 6th. Because the Twins and Tigers ended their regular season with a tied record, a tie breaker game to determine the division champs was necessary. The game was at 4 pm. M and I didn't have to take off work because we were already off for the day due to some smart planning on our part....Never work the next day after a Monday night football game. Unfortunately, I was sick. I started to get a sore throat late Monday night and I just kept getting worse. I didn't have H1N1 but I had a cold that kept trying to knock me down. It took so much energy just to get up and get ready for the game. I had already picked up my bridesmaid dress earlier in the day but I had laid down after for a nap and getting out the house, especially with the weather and it was not easy. We headed down to the dome with the realization very quickly that it was going to be hard to find find a parking spot. Slow traffic, cold weather and pouring rain. We ended up finding parking for $5 (Good!) but it was about a mile from the dome. (Bad!) The last thing I wanted to do while being sick was to walk in the rain. Because I am short, my pants drag on the ground because they are too long so by the time we got to the dome, they were all wet.

Ok, let's get to the good part. The game itself was just ok, in my opinion until we got to the later innings. I bet part of my feeling this way was because I was sick. In the 7th inning, the Twins took the lead, 4-3. The Tigers tied the game in the 8th at 4 and that's how game went into extra innings. Each team scored a run in the 10th to make it tied 5-5 and it wasn't until the bottom of the 12th inning that the Twins scored, making the final 6-5 and the Minnesota Twins American League Central Champs. Of course the Dome erupted and it was an awesome atmosphere to be in at that moment. Many of the Twins put on their AL Central champs gear, including hats and T-shirts and ran around the perimeter of the field waving and high-fiving the fans.

The Twins flew off to New York the same night to play the hated New York Yankees the next day to start the first round of playoffs. They lost Wednesday's game. They lost Friday's game.(Joe Nathan was not very liked that day) They flew back to MN for Sunday's game and lost. The Twins were out of the playoffs just as quick as they were in and their season was finally over. So while the last Twins baseball game played in the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome should have been October 4th, it wasn't. It wasn't October 6th either. It was Sunday, October 11th. I can't say I was at the very last game ever played like I intended to, but I wouldn't have traded my game for Sunday's. I was able to see the Twins clinch the division and all the excitement that surrounded the day.

I look forward to seeing them play at Target Field next season. More about that another time...

Michael had to get me when I was crying. Yes, I cry at sporting events

October Photo Hunt

Yes, it's almost the middle of the month and I signed up for Kristi's photo hunt for October but have yet to start. But it's not too late for me and it's not too late for you if you'd like to sign up. Here's the gist of the contest for this month but for complete details, go to Photo Hunt Challenges.




Here is the list of items to photograph (all subject to photographer’s interpretation).

1. A Fall Activity
2. A Fall Treat
3. A Harvest
4. Leaves
5. Fall Colors
6. Something Orange
7. Something Spooky
8. A Cemetery
9. A Costume
10. A Black & White Photo
11. A Critter
12. Symmetry
13. Contrast
14. Texture
15. A Logo/ Mascot
16. Something Neon
17. Something Inspiring
18. Something Entertaining
19. Something Fast
20. Something Slow

Monday Night Football--Vikings vs. Packers

Yes, it was last Monday when the Vikings whooped the Packers on ESPN's Monday Night Football at the Metrodome but it doesn't get old talking about it a week later. I've been sick since the game and haven't felt good enough to sit down and write about the big day. Sorry to keep you waiting, Julie!

As for my 2nd day at the dome in a row, the day started out terribly, as far as the weather was concerned. Just about tailgating time, about 2:30 pm, the rain started to come down and it wouldn't stop for a couple of days. This did not stop all of us from having fun tailgating though. We were a group divided. M, Lorrie and myself as Vikings fans and Dolly and Rick as Packers fans. And then there was Jim who was split down the middle. He was born and raised in Wisconsin and grew up a Packers fan but has lived in MN for quite some time and also likes the Vikings. His shirt proved his alliances. Half of his shirt was Vikings and half of his shirt was Packers. The Vikings/Packers game is always the most fun game of the year for the tailgating. There are almost as many Packers fans at Vikings or at least it seems like it while you are tailgating. We tease and taunt the Packers fans all in good fun with hardly ever a true argument or fight, which makes it light-hearted. Enjoy our tailgating pics!

Buttons that were for sale- My favorites: "We'll never forget you Brent" and "Thanks Wisconsin! For Fireworks, Beer on Sunday and Brett Favre"

We pinned "We'll never forget you Brent" to the back of Rick's jacket unbeknownst to him

We needed the tent to keep us dry. See Jimmy's half Packers-half Vikings shirt in the middle?


Some seafood at one of the tailgater's parties

A huge grill




Our group under the Vikings tent




I don't know who these people were but I wanted to get a picture of the people they were posing with



AKA: Jared Allen and Adrian Peterson






Inside the dome was warm and dry. The Vikings Skol line started things off

M and his debut of his Favre jersey



Here come the Vikings out of the ship

Hall of Famer Randall McDaniel getting ready to blow the gjallarhorn


Scott Stapp from the band Creed singing the National Anthem





The Vikes scored a TD, then the Pack. Then the Vikes, then again the Pack. The Vikes scored another 2 TD's and a safety before the Packers came back with TD with a failed attempt at a two point conversion and then finally a field goal. The Vikings beat the Packers 30-23. It was a great game with Jared Allen getting 4.5 sacks including a sack of Aaron Rodgers in the end zone resulting in a safety. That's the 2nd time we've sacked Rodgers for a safety in as many meetings at the Dome. Rodgers was sacked a total of EIGHT times throughout the night. Winfield got an interception and had 10 tackles and Favre finished with three TD's and no interceptions to bring the Vikings to a 4-0 record. Skol Vikings!

Friday's Fun Facts

Have a great weekend! Tanya and Chris are getting married tomorrow!

• It takes the average American four year to earn $100,000. Alex Rodriguez (A-Rod) makes $100,00 every six pitches
• The average American adult woman owns 4.2 bras and 12 pairs of underwear. Both figures are almost double what they were 35 years ago (Dana Interjection: 12 pair of undies? Seriously? If that's the case, I have a TERRIBLE underwear addiction with about 80 pairs!)
• More people die from malnutrition than any other cause
• There are only four words in the English language that end in "dous". Tremendous, horrendous, stupendous and hazardous

Last Twins Game at the Dome..Or was it?

I went to the last scheduled sold out home game of the season and in the metrodome for the Minnesota Twins today with my mom. Well, it turned out to not be the last game of the season, nor the last in the dome. We walked into the dome and they gave us a homer hanky. The Twins started play at 1:10 pm and after the 1st inning, the Twins were beating Kansas City, 4-0, thanks to a 3-run homer by Jason Kubel and a solo home run by Delmon Young. Fast forward to the 3rd inning and Jason Kubel hits ANOTHER 3-run homer and in the 5th Delmon Young hits ANOTHER solo home run. Woo Hoo! 7-1! A home run by Michael Cuddyer in the 8th and the final score ended up being 13-4.

The White Sox couldn't quite squeak out a sweep of the Tigers and ended up losing 5-3. The score of the Tigers/White Sox game would show on the baseball scoreboards and whenever we saw that Chicago had scored, the crowd would erupt and chant, "Let's go White Sox!". Believe me, that's a rare statement from a Twins fan. Had Detroit lost and with the Twins win, the Twins would have won the division and would be heading to New York to play the Yankees in the first round of the playoffs. But, it didn't happen that way and so we are left to play a tie breaker game with Detroit on Tuesday at 4 pm in the dome. The dome has seen quite a lot of action lately. Twins, Fri, Sat and Sun and the Vikes on Monday Night Football with the Twins again to follow on Tuesday.

After the game, there was a ceremony to honor the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome as the 28 year home of the Minnesota Twins. Throughout the whole season, they have counted down the top 100 moments in the dome and today they did the top 10. They also introduced many of the Twins executives, current and former Twins players, including many players from the 1987 and 1991 World Series teams and the All Star Metrodome Team as voted by fans. And of course it was sad to know that Kirby Puckett wasn't there to enjoy the final ceremony, especially since one of his moments was the #1 favorite Metrodome moment...his game winning home run in the sixth game of the 1991 World Series allowing for the Twins to force a game seven.

It was a perfect day. We first arrived just 2 blocks from the dome while a person was leaving their metered parking spot. We pulled right in. Bonus! Only a $1 an hour for parking! (Perfect thing #1) Then we walked over to Peavey Plaza and had lunch, a North Shore Lunch, which consisted of walleye and potatoes. Yummy! (Perfect thing #2) Then a Twins win! (Perfect thing #3) After the game, tickets for Tuesday's tie breaker game went on sale. I thought I would just go to the box office outside and see how long the lines were. The lines were just starting to form so I jumped in line and after having three people in front of me, I purchased my tickets for Tuesday's game. (Perfect thing #4) We walked back to the car and found there to be only 8 minutes left on the meter. (Perfect thing #5) I dodged traffic by going through NE Mpls to University and jumped on 35W and headed home. (Perfect thing #6) And finally, the most perfect thing was being able to spend time with my mom at the game. What a great day!

Vikings Home Opener

As we are days away from one of the most anticipated games of the year, I need to share the details of last Sunday's Vikings home opener. Week 3 in the season yet only our first home game. Unless you live in a cave, you are already aware of the A-M-A-Z-I-N-G end to the game. Here's a play-by-play of our day:

Tailgating:

8 am--Arrive in our new favorite tailgating spot, only just across the street from the dome. It was a little chilly and windy in the morning but once the sun started to come out, it was warm. We mixed with the other tailgaters well. We played games, ate, drank (just vitamin water for me) and took in the tailgating atmosphere. I bought a Favre jersey the day he signed with the Vikings and it felt very odd to do. I debuted my jersey at this game.

Guess which burger is Michael's? (Yes, the grill is dirty)

You can barely see the top of the dome with the sky

In the Dome:

Minutes before kickoff and the Vikes coming out of the tunnel

Vikings lead 13-6 just getting ready to go in the half with only six seconds to go when our attempted field goal is blocked and ran back 59 yards for a 49er's touchdown and the Vikings all of a sudden trail 14-13 at halftime.

At the start of the third quarter, the momentum has been taken away and the crowd isn't that into the game until about 5 minutes left of the third when Percy Harvin returns a punt for a 101 yard touchdown one of the longest in Vikings history. This was a defining moment of the game and the crowd was back into it. Score: 20-13, Vikings. Fast forward to less than two minutes left in the game and the Vikes are down by a field goal and are trailing 23-20. Throw in six incomplete passes and with 12 seconds left, Brett Favre throws a 32 yard pass to Greg Lewis in the back of the end zone for a (wait, a challenge in the booth...OK...) TOUCHDOWN! A great pass, some fancy feet and with two seconds left, the 49er's cannot do anything and a Vikings win! The first win at home for the team, for Favre as a Viking at home, for Lewis as a Viking, as well as his first play, catch and touchdown!!! As you can imagine, the crowd erupted and I almost fainted...literally. I know as a Vikings fan that people have left the games early as they did with this game. We stayed until the end and I bet the estimated 20,000 people that left early were kicking themselves. I hope this is a different era.

Today is Saturday and it is a MN sport(wo)men's dream this weekend. The Twins are fighting to be division leaders with only 2 games left to be played, today and tomorrow and it's the last game in the dome for the Twins...EVER. The Gophers vs. the Badgers, the MN Wild's first game tonight and the Vikings vs. the Packers on Monday night. Go MN!!