My Everyday Life

Flat Earth Brewery

2012-01-31T21:08:00.001-06:00

M and I went to Flat Earth Brewing Co. for a beer brewery tour last Saturday. Flat Earth is located in St. Paul and is a stone's throw from Summit Brewery. The brewery was founded in 2007 by a husband and wife team and they're celebrating their five year anniversary this year. It's a very small operation with just a handful of employees. Even the co-founder, Jeff Williamson was our tour guide. We walked down a set of stairs into a room with all the beer vats and the tour guide said, "You've now completed the walking portion of the tour." That's how small it is. After hearing about the beer and allowing questions, we were able to try and few beers. Some of the beer we had was just in the vat two days prior so that's probably the freshest beer I've ever had. They have a beer called Red Cape Ale, which has a Vulcan on the label. I've always had a love/hate relationship with the Vulcans. I was scared of them as a kid but fascinated with them at the same time. We also tried Cygnus X-1 Porter and Angry Planet Pale Ale. After being there and knowing they bottle everything by hand and especially after watching the documentary Beer Wars recently, it definitely makes me want to support the Minnesota local breweries. Jeff said that the Minnesota breweries help each other out and are not in competition with each other but with other craft breweries in other states. Summit Brewery tests all their beers for them for alcohol content and IBU's for free. We had a great time and I'd definitely recommend scheduling a free tour which are held every other Saturday. They even have delicious root beer on tap.

The tour was short and sweet and afterwards you could purchase beer and merchandise. Michael left with a growler of Winter Warlock and another growler of Cygnus X-1 and I left with a t-shirt and a slight buzz.

Michael and co-founder, Jeff Williamson

Ten Years Ago Today

2012-01-29T19:55:00.000-06:00

Imagine you are vacation in Florida with your best friend. You head to the beach in the morning and soak up some sun and have some beers. You're both drunk by noon but since you drove the beach, you spend the entire afternoon sobering up. Your buddy continues to drink all day long. You both grab some dinner later that night. You haven't been drinking for close to 8 hours now. You stop at a bar for one beer. After an hour, you stop at another bar for one more beer. You are driving in an area you only have limited familiarity with. All of a sudden, BAM! Your life changes forever. This is not a TV show or a movie. This is my boyfriend Michael's life. Read on for the very true story of what has happened in the last ten years since that day.

Some of you know bits and pieces of what happened. Most of you do not. I've been very weary to bring up this subject but being that today is the ten year anniversary, I feel today is the right day to say something. I cannot give every single detail of the last ten years but I'll do my best give you an idea of what has transpired with obviously having to cut corners. Here's a warning...this will be a long post.

The accident:

It was bad. It was really bad. So bad in fact that the homicide unit shut down the road to reconstruct the accident and deem it a crime scene as there was no way two people should have survived this crash.

Michael had over 100 cuts to his entire body. A broken sternum. Cracked and chipped vertebrae in his neck. Bruised organs. He suffered a concussion and was unconscious.

Best friend was reported dead on one of the reports. He had all ribs broken on one side, broke his hip and shattered his pelvis. He had a punctured lung and both of his lungs would collapse at separate times after the accident. Both his liver and pancreas were lacerated. He also suffered a concussion and was unconscious in a coma. He would come out of the coma, only for the doctor's to induce it again later at the hospital.

Michael went to one hospital and his passenger to another as best friend had to go to a hospital with better specialists.

Best friend spent weeks in the hospital.

To the best reconstruction, an SUV ran a red light and smashed into Michael's and his best friend's rental car, pushing them into a palm tree. A palm tree that when hit, is like concrete.

The Legal:

Remember, I'm cutting corners here with the story.

Michael finds out that he is being sued by the rental car company.
Michael finds out that he is being sued by the driver of the SUV that hit him. She is suing him for $25,000 because after the accident she claims she has "lost the ability to have fun". She wins. I suppose I should mention that her husband at the time was an NFL player...who had signed for over $100 million in contracts during this era.
Michael finds out that he is being sued by his best friend...for $1 million dollars. Best friend is no longer Michael's best friend.
Michael finds out that attorney for rental car company is also representing Michael together. Rental car company offers ex-best friend $600,000 to settle. Ex-best friend's attorney says no. After years of anguish, ex-best friend ends up with $79,000 in his pocket in 2007, paid by rental car company. Friendship remains a thing of the past.

September 12, 2010:

Michael is driving home from his cabin on a sunny, Sunday morning. He is in a hurry to rush home to me and to watch the start the Vikings in the start of the football season. He gets pulled over by the state patrol for speeding. He gets handcuffed, arrested and is taken to the Chisago County Jail as he has a warrant out for his arrest stemming from the accident in 2002. He is not worried as this is a mistake.

It's not a mistake. He was charged with DUI- seriously bodily harm in May 2002, five months after the accident and no one bothers to tell him. He's had the same address and phone number for 38 years and no one has ever once tried to contact him. Since he's been "fleeing" all these years, he is considered a "Fugitive of Justice". We didn't know this at the time but this charge equaled the following...a felony and a minimum of 4 years in prison with a maximum of 5 years.

Michael is not allowed to be bailed out per the charge but the judge he sees after spending one day in jail, the high security area, mind you, agrees to set bail at $75,000. Do me one favor. Next time you read a story or listen to the news, pay attention to the amount of bail that is set. Crimes of the worst kind get less than that. This bail is outrageous but what other choice does one have other than to post bail. It's that or lose your job and Michael would have had to stay for two weeks when they may have had him extradited to Florida. I spend the most amount of energy I have ever spent in my life finding the original attorney in the case, calling Michael's boss to explain what has happened, getting his car out of impound 50 miles away, finding a bondsman and coming up with $7500 to bail Michael out. All of this comes with gracious help on Michael's side of the family as well as my side of the family. Family matters.

Michael was released from jail late Tuesday night after being booked around 12:30 pm the Sunday before. He was released to the bondsman and myself. I had never been so happy to see him.

The Legal...Again:

This is the part that is the hardest to summarize.
Michael hired a wonderful lawyer who is also his friend. This business relationship started in September 2010. Michael fly to Florida for court dates in October, November 2010 and February, March, April, May and June 2011.
Remember all those Florida vacations Michael and I went on during February, March, April and May of last year? Yeah, not really on our terms. They were for court dates. There, I said it. That's the part that has been eating at me for so long. I never wanted to disguise the court dates as Florida vacations but I had to at the time. Now my conscience is free.

Due to Florida law, Michael had to hire a Florida lawyer too as it's necessary to establish local legal counsel. These two lawyers would end up being Michael's dream team. There is so much to tell about the actual details and how the legal system works. The amount of time that had passed since the accident was a good thing and lack of evidence helped. We were told unexpectedly after court in May 2011 by Michael's Florida lawyer that the state would be dropping the case. It was unbelievable and surreal. Michael would still have another court date on June 14, 2011, and that is the day it became official. The State of Florida dropped the case against Michael. That is the day he was officially free, forever.

The Present:

Michael is now friends with his passenger again. They've been friends for awhile now.
Michael is in debt up to his eyeballs due to legal bills and repeated travel expenses.
Our relationship has been affected by this whole situation. We were together during much of the first round of legal and of course this past year. There's been times when our relationship didn't feel like it was going to make it. Michael had to do a lot of administrative stuff to prepare me to have the house alone for potentially five years. Would I even want to stay and "wait" for him? It's easy to say yes but putting yourself in the situation. Then there were times when all we had was love and that's all we needed. It just depended on the day and news that was received from that month's court hearing. But this isn't about our relationship. It's about an anniversary.

We're happy that all of this is truly now, a thing of the past. We're happy to have moved forward with life. I'm happy that Michael and his friend are alive today.

I've saved the pictures for last. I don't think it needs to be said but Michael and his friend's car was the brown car.

Birthday Dinner and Shopping

2012-01-28T17:58:00.000-06:00

My sister and I didn't get a chance to hang out for my birthday until this past Wednesday. We met at our favorite AYCE sushi place, Akita. We ate lots of sushi but I didn't feel like we overdid it. We still had plenty of energy left to go to Gordman's and shop for 2+ hours afterwards.

I bought a handful of items which all was on clearance except for the tan purse. I don't know why but I just had to have it. I didn't get any photos of my sister and I because she didn't want to (boo!) but I did take some pics of my finds for the night...makeup, jewelry and purses. Go figure.

We're Baaaaacccckkkk!

2012-01-27T22:08:00.000-06:00

It's been awhile but the Alphabet Gang got together this past Tuesday after a hiatus since October. Instead of meeting for dinner and drinks at restaurant or bar as usual, we got together at Tiffany and Aaron's house. We lost our "B" for the night as Beth bailed on us but we gained another "C" and Carrie joined us. We also gained an "E" as in Tiffany's last name starts with an E. That brings out Alphabet Gang to single A, single B, double C's, double D's (!) and a single E. Our goal is to find F-Z for 2012, in alphabetical order.

We hung out T&E's awesome basement bar which also had the computer command center. We had some appetizers and drinks and we partied like it wasn't Tuesday at all. I even decided to come over twice that night. I left the first time, got home and realized I left my phone there. Good thing we only live 4 miles away from each other. We had lots of fun as always and I can't wait for the next one.

Nerd Station

Testing the self timer and camera

All real laughs!

Aaron taking a picture with my phone as I come over for the 2nd time

Perfect Cookies

2012-01-26T22:29:00.000-06:00

How many times have you made cookies only to have them be too hard or crispy despite following the directions? Below is a guide to the perfect cookie. I can't remember where I found this but it's a guide to create that perfect, soft chewy cookie that we love. Happy baking!

Click to enlarge!

I Love My Fuzzies

2012-01-24T22:13:00.000-06:00

Ode to my fuzzy babies.

Thirty Five

2012-01-23T20:00:00.000-06:00

Thirty Five. Effective Saturday, January twenty-first, that's my age for 2012. Weird.

I had a very low-key birthday but before it's all said and done, I'll have had a lot of activity. I went out to dinner with my girlfriends on Thursday, had a birthday lunch with my team at work at Big Bowl on Friday, going out for sushi with my sister on Wednesday and a finale of game night with my family at my sister's next Saturday.

As for this past Saturday, I woke up at 7 am to a chilly -2 degrees and watched the sun rise 45 minutes or so later. Having a birthday in January, I know I'll never have a warm one so the best I can hope for is a sunny birthday. The sun was beautiful on the ice crystals built up on our energy inefficient windows. I know it sounds cheesy, but I teared up because I was happy to be alive.

M woke up hours later and greeted me with the following:

I don't have a Jared Allen jersey and I've always wanted one but I didn't want a home jersey but an away jersey. I have searched for them in person and online for two years and I came to the conclusion that a women's Jared Allen away jersey did not exist. M has proven to me that it does. While I can't do much with the jersey now, I'll definitely be excited to put it on in seven short months. He also gave me a Sephora gift card so I can get some girly-girl stuff!

My mom called me in the morning and sang to me the entire Casey Jones birthday song.

I lazed around all day blogging, watching Portlandia and the Red Bull Crashed Ice competition on NBC that was held on January 13th in St. Paul. My parents stopped over for a quick minute to give me a card and a wonderful gift card that will be used in conjunction with a coupon and another gift card I have to buy a blender I've been wanting.

I finally mustered up enough energy to get in the shower and get ready for dinner. We went to French Meadow in Uptown and I had a fabulous dinner. I started out with a hot mulled cider and a mixed greens salad and then my entree:

sage scented tempeh cutlet, organic sautéed greens, mushroom gravy, pickled red cabbage, brown rice, garbanzo beans, sweet potato puree

I even got a free dessert because it was my birthday, a piece of vegan Decadent Turtle Cake, which I was too full to eat and didn't get around to eating it until last night. Yum!

This is what 35 looks like in my world.

After dinner, we went to The Four Firkins in St. Louis Park for some beer and to Target for a couple of necessities. I paid for my items and it came to an even $21.00, which was ~~kind of nerdy for me to have noticed~~ neat since it was my birthday, January 21.

Goofing around in the tampon aisle nonetheless

We went home and watched some more TV before calling it a night at a little before midnight for me.

I took advantage of some birthday perks earlier in the week that I received from both Kohl's and JC Penney's. Kohl's sent me a $10 coupon so I got this for $9.99:

I saw this cute little guy and wanted him too. He's a Valentine owl but I almost wished he didn't have a heart on his cheek. He currently resides on my desk at home.

As for JC Penney, I got $15 from them so I bought two scarves. I need more scarves like a hole in my head but I just love them so much.

I also picked up my free Sephora birthday gift of some tinted lip balm. I also took advantage of a free bowl of noodles from Noodles & Company last Tuesday. M took this picture of me which is kind of funny because I had my t-shirt scarf on which looks like noodles.

Thank you to everyone who made my day special. Thank you to everyone for the gifts as well as the cards I received in the mail from Kris and Jim, Dennis and Pat, Kim and Greg and Jim and Lorrie. Thank you to Jamie and my grandpa who called me and thank you for all the texts and Facebook messages. I'm looking forward to the second half of my 30's!

Birthday Dinner with the Girlz

2012-01-22T18:00:00.000-06:00

On Thursday I went out to dinner with some of my favorite people for a birthday dinner: Ang, Heather, Kristi and Tanya. All of us but Tanya first met up at Joe Senser's for a quick drink or two before meeting up with Tanya at the Good Earth in Roseville for dinner. This dinner date was second in a series of birthdays. I had great fun with all my lovely ladies chatting and eating. Thank you for the bottle of wine, bowling gift card, paid dinner and "coupon" for "Sushi Indulgence"! See you next month for Kristi's b-day!

My pretty drink from Joe Senser's:

At Good Earth (Thanks to Kristi for the picture):

Look for a restaurant review of Good Earth soon on Kristi's Twin Cities Restaurant Blog.

Dinner with Grandpa- Week 2

2012-01-21T23:00:00.001-06:00

Last Wednesday I went out with my Grandpa to Famous Dave's in Woodbury. It's been years since I've been to a Famous Dave's and I've never been to that location but it was very cabin-like and cozy. I finally was able to give my grandpa his photo book that was incorrectly put together and he loved it. He even teared up a bit when he paged through looking all of the pictures. Just a tidbit...my grandpa had jeans on, which I've never seen him wear before. He has one pair but he said he really hasn't worn jeans since he was 14!

Timberwolves Birthday

2012-01-20T23:00:00.002-06:00

Monday was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day and it was also the day that M and I went to our first Timberwolves game for this season. We try to go at least once a year. Despite it being birthday week for me, we were going for M's birthday which was earlier this month. I bought tickets before they went on sale to the public and we had a fabulous time. For one night, we were La-Di-Da, hifalutin, hoity toity and high society....or at least that's the way we felt.

We decided to go to the game two hours before it started. We rolled up to the front of Target Center on First Avenue and dropped off my ~~Lexus~~ dirty, rusty Nissan Sentra with the valet. He kindly asked us what time would be best for us to pick up our car so he could have it staged for us. 10 pm was answer. Impression Analysis: Neat!

We walked into the Target Center and looked to where we were to go. Off to the side we saw a special entrance called the Lexus Courtside Club. We floated over there, had our tickets scanned and walked through to the special area. Impression Analysis: Cool!

We check in at the Lexus counter, get our Lexus wristbands and are given a key for our Lexus locker to put all of our belongings in. Impression Analysis: Fancy!

After dropping our belongings in our personal locker, we are escorted through the NBA City restaurant to a special roped-off section in the back area where only Lexus people can go. We are offered an all you can eat buffet as well as unlimited free beer, wine, pop or water. Impression Analysis: We're famous!

We eat a little and enjoy our libations and then through a door to the entrance to the Target Center to watch some practice. Impression Analysis: Are we really supposed to be walking in right onto the floor? Heck yeah we are!

We find our padded leather Lexus seats, (the same exact type of seat the Timberwolves are also sitting in) which are courtside, on the floor. We're row 4 of 4, on the aisle with in-seat service for food and beer. Impression Analysis: OMG!

Timberwolves practice is taking place at the basket right in front of us and we're snapping a ton of pictures from our seat area. Impression Analysis: Is it legal to be this close?

We rub elbows with some local TV and radio personalities...Sid Hartman, Meatsauce from KFAN, Paul Allen, Mike Max, oh and owner of the Timberwolves and Lynx, Glen Taylor (net worth: ~ 2 billion) Impression Analysis: Yep, we're famous.

The game is about to start and introductions and warm ups are coming up. Impression Analysis: We still get to see a game after all this?

The Timberwolves play the Sacramento Kings. We are so close players look like their looking directly at you and you can see all their visual queues and even the sweat dripping off of them. Impression Analysis: !!

It's halftime and we walk around a little bit to come back to our seats with a paper detailing all stats from the 1st half of the game. We received texts from our friends Chris and Tanya who are watching the game, pausing TV and taking pictures of us on the TV. Impression Analysis: We're definitely famous.

Final score: Timberwolves 99, Kings 86. Impression Analysis: Wolves win!

We waited a little bit for our car to be ready and then pick up our car and go to Pizza Luce for beer and pizza.

Once we got to Pizza Luce, they had a reserved table waiting for us. Ok, not really but for whatever reason, it said "Reserved" at our table. Within minutes of sitting down, I hear M say, "Nice game, man.", followed by a "Thanks". It was Derrick Williams from the Timberwolves walking by. Not even five minutes later, I'm faced towards the door and my eyes are fixated in that direction. M keeps asking me, what are you looking at? I reply with "nothing" trying to be cool. M goes to the bathroom and looks back at what I'm looking at and walks away but comes back three seconds later to say, "Is that Kevin Love?" Yep! Two T-wolves sightings at Pizza Luce after the game. Impression analysis: We are way cooler than we already know.

Tuesday morning:

We have the day off from work but wake up remembering last night and how it was a perfect, fun night. Impression analysis: We're far from famous today but once in a blue moon it's fun to pretend you are.

Happy Birthday Michael!

Hockey Jamboree

2012-01-19T06:00:00.000-06:00

I must admit, I've never seen my eight year old nephew play hockey. He's been skating since he was four and has been on a team since he was six. I finally got to see him play this past Saturday alongside his parents, brothers Colton and Hunter and sister Emily. Keith and his team participated in a hockey jamboree for the Winter Carnival. He plays for South St. Paul and his team played against Tartan. They play for 45 minutes and don't keep score. Considering this was held outside, 45 minutes was just about the amount time that you'd want to stay outside before going inside. The weather was probably in the high 20's, low 30's and it started to snow at a pretty good pace for part of the game. Keith wears number 13 and he's a pretty good skater. I will be going to his games a little more often now.

Attention Scarf Wearers!

2012-01-18T06:00:00.001-06:00

This post might appeal to all the lovelies that wear scarves as part of their outfits. As you probably know, I love scarves and I thought posting a video that (quickly) details 25 ways to tie a scarf would be helpful for some of you. For all of those that see scarves out there and wasn't sure how to achieve that look, here you go!

Birchbox- December and January

2012-01-17T10:44:00.000-06:00

I forgot to post about my December Birchbox and my January Birchbox arrived last week so I thought I'd show them at the same time. If you remember, Birchbox is a service you subscribe to for a $10 monthly fee in which you receive a box full of goodies, mostly deluxe samples of higher-end beauty products. I wasn't that impressed with my December box as has been the case with most boxes I've received but that element of surprise and getting a package in the mail has apparently been worth it to me since last May. I really liked my January box which also included a full size product, which I love. So, I'm not ready to cancel yet. Maybe I'll get another fun box next month for Valentine's Day.

December:

January:

Goodbye Christmas Tree, Hello New Memories

2012-01-15T12:00:00.000-06:00

I didn't get a chance to take the tree down until a week ago. There's a couple of things I wanted to mention about this past Christmas and ornaments that I sort of forgot to talk about.

First, Michael and I did our first ornament exchange this year. I suggested it and to my surprise, M was on board right away. We exchanged our ornaments in early December and I took a picture of our first ornaments from each other while I was taking down the tree.

M gave me a Mistletoad and I gave him a piece of bacon. I would say that equates to a successful first year in our book.

Lastly, on Christmas Eve, my Gramma's birthday, my Aunt Terri had a special Christmas tree decorated with all the ornaments that were my Gramma's. Towards the end of the night, anyone who wanted to take some ornaments could so it was mostly the girls that gathered around and picked and plucked the ornaments they wanted. Most of us had a shoe box or two of ornaments that we will now remember as Gramma's when we put up our trees in the future.

Dinner with Grandpa- Week 1

2012-01-14T12:04:00.000-06:00

The first dinner with my grandpa for 2012 took place Wednesday, January 4th. His birthday was Friday the 6th (he turned 77) so I considered this his birthday dinner. We went to DeMori's which is pretty close to his house. This was the second time I had been there and I thought it was really great and our server was awesome. For my grandpa's birthday present, I used all the pictures that I took of us this year on our dinner dates and had a hard cover book made. Unfortunately, when I went to pick up the book at the place I ordered from, they put all the pictures the other way so you would have to read the book from right to left, from finish to start. Asinine. I called the place to fix it but it hasn't been fixed yet so he hasn't received it yet. Anyway, here's the message I put on what is supposed to be the front page:

2011 wasn't the best for us but we can't change the events that are a part of life. What we can do is enjoy all the moments thereafter and appreciate those that are still around us. I appreciate you, Grandpa. I'm grateful to have been given the opportunity to spend a lot of time with you and I will continue to look forward to our dinner dates and family events in the future. Even when something unfortunate happens, there is always something good that comes from it. Happy Birthday Grandpa!

New Year's Resolutions- 2012

2012-01-10T19:18:00.000-06:00

I'm finally getting a chance to write down my resolutions. Here we go...

Blog Makeover: I've hated the look of my blog for a very long time and I only do enough changes to satisfy me for about a minute but I don't really enjoy updating it anymore. I need find to a better, more permanent solution to make it aesthetically pleasing to everyone.
Health: Always a generic statement for me but because it encompasses so much, I prefer to keep it that way. I've been mostly eating a certain way since last September and I'd like to continue with that lifestyle with a few planned cheats here and there. I NEED to exercise. I hate it but I have to suck it up and just do it.
Not Weigh Myself: That's right, you heard me. After I just posted about how I want to continue to eat right and exercise, the plan is not to weigh myself. Why? Because me stepping on the scale equates to more unhappiness than bliss. I want to be happy. Just because I don't want to weigh myself doesn't mean I get a pass to slack off. As long as I'm doing what I should be doing to attain healthy goals, I will be content. This will probably be the hardest resolution I make, therefore I will peek in periodically to see where I'm at. Periodically = Maybe quarterly. This is something different for me considering that I weigh every.single.day.
Facebook: I'm mostly that voyeur who peeks in on Facebook and says Happy Birthday to you if I happen to get on there on your birthday. Since it is social media, I've decided I want to be more social on there. Look for more status's, likes and comments from me this year.
See a Broadway Play: I'd like to see a Broadway play here in Minneapolis this year. I've seen at least a couple but it's been so long and I've passed on many I've wanted to see before. This is the year. Now I'm sure I need to find a partner to come with me because I'm not sure Michael will be on board with this.
Birthday Cards: I've already screwed up a little on this one since there's a few birthdays the first week of January that I know of (I did send one for my grandpa though!) but I'm hoping to send out birthday cards to everyone I have an address for and know their birthday. Maybe you'll get one from me this year. If you don't, please try and not to cry. It's nothing personal.
Dinners with my Sister: Jamie and I have made this pact before but have not carried through with it. We said it again and it's our goal to go out to dinner with each other one time per month. No kids or partners, just sisters.
Organization!: I love to be organized and I love the actual act of organizing. I did a purge of personal items on January 2nd and I'll be dropping them off at Savers soon. My computer/craft room/closet (I know, weird) is looking the best and cleanest it's been since I've lived here. I also already organized my Gmail account and all the emails I've saved since 2006. That was a great feeling to be completely organized with labels and deleting all emails I don't need anymore. M and I also went through a closet/cubby space under the stairs and got rid of a bunch of stuff, mostly because it's going to become a beer cellar for him but nonetheless, it's still getting rid of junk! Now I just need M to get going on his stuff with a lot of help from me.

Did you make any resolutions this year? Have you broken them yet?

Year In Review- 2011

2012-01-07T13:57:00.000-06:00

Here's a Year in Review of 2011 with one just photo from each month. No explanations or captions, just photos from events that stood out this year.

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

New Year's Day- Vikings Style

2012-01-05T20:14:00.000-06:00

Did you spend your New Year's Day hungover or were you up and at 'em? We went to the see the last Vikings game of the year. Due to us being up late the night before, we didn't tailgate. We were able to park at a meter very close to the dome for free though since they don't enforce meters on holidays. We played the Chicago Bears and I thought we were going to win because the Bears aren't that good without some of their key players as well as the fact that it would have meant a higher draft pick for the Vikings. They did lose though, 17-13 which secured the Vikings a 3rd pick in the draft. Now let's see what they can do with that pick. There were a lot of open seats scattered throughout and lots of Bears fans too. Bears fans are truly some of the worst fans I know. They have more attitude than most other team's fans.

The MOST EXCITING part of the game was that Jared Allen had 18.5 sacks for the year going into this game. The NFL record is 22.5. Most would think you wouldn't have a chance to get 4 sacks in one game but on rare occasions, it happens. Unfortunately, Jared fell just a half of a sack short of tying the record or one sack short of breaking the record. He got 3.5 sack for this game and ended up surpassing the Vikings sack record (21) that was previously held by Chris Doleman, who was on the sidelines to congratulate Jared Allen on his accomplishment.

It was also potentially the last time the Vikings will play in the Metrodome since their lease has now expired and they are homeless. Who knows what will happen with that situation. Anyway, M said that maybe I should take one last picture of the dome in case it is our last time here for a game. While I was taking the picture, the crowd erupted. I, by accident, got a photo of Jared Allen's 22nd sack. Unfortunately, you can't see much of what's going on but just know that's what it is. If you zoom in, it's a perfect picture of him in action.

Another event that happened on Sunday was the retirement of tight end Jimmy Kleinsasser. He's been on the team for 13 years, his whole football career. He's seen the ups and downs of the team since 1999 and now he can retire healthy and uninjured at an age 10 days younger than me. He's a great guy on and off the field. Good luck Jimmy!

Finally, we took our last picture of us in our purple and gold gear for the year. As much as love football, I'm always excited at the end of the season as I am at the beginning in August. I'll of course watch the playoffs but I'm ready to focus on other things, especially after our 3-13 season!

Last Year's Resolutions

2012-01-04T22:43:00.000-06:00

Before I can write about this year's resolutions, let's check in how I did for last year's resolutions.

Be healthy. This is my resolution every day and I'm always conscious about it, whether I am living healthy or not on that very day. This is a big generalization so here are some examples of what I'd like to do within this resolution.

Eat less processed foods
Cook and eat more at home
Get more calcium
Eat organic when I feel necessary and can afford it
Exercise more
Meditate

UPDATE: I succeeded on number 1 and 2 but that's about it, however I KNOW my insides and numbers like cholesterol and triglycerides and blood pressure are lower. I lost 14 lbs from Sept-Dec with just some eating changes. Grade: C+

Floss my teeth. I had this as a resolution two years ago and I did fantastic and then I stopped doing it regularly. I've picked this habit up again late this year but I still want to try and do it every time I brush my teeth. I don't know why so many people can't stick to flossing their teeth. Do you floss? Actually I know why it's not just an easy task. It's because I had braces and I still have a permanent retainer cemented to the bottom front six teeth and in order to floss those teeth, I have to use a plastic thingamajig that threads the floss and then you feed it through your bottom front teeth and then floss underneath the retainer. Not a big deal but just one extra step when it's already hard enough to pull out the floss. I must floss somewhat often though because my cat is conditioned to the sound of me pulling out the floss. He comes right up onto the bathroom sink and watches me floss because afterwards he knows he gets to play with the floss.

UPDATE: I started off great for months, then quit, started up again and then quit. Grade: C-

Write hand written notes and letters. The art and appeal of sitting down and actually writing a note or letter and sending/giving it to someone is disappearing. Maybe you'll be one of the people I send letters to this year. I'll probably go to a store like Bibelot, Electric Fetus or Patina and pick up some unique or eclectic note cards or stationary. I hate even responding to emails or texts but I think I can do this one.

UPDATE: I did write letters to people but especially sent more handmade cards. Grade: A-

Get a facial. I've never had one and have always wanted one and I will buy myself one because I feel like I deserve it. I also want to get two pedicures this year and get my eyebrows waxed more often, at least four times this year and hopefully I can just pluck in between visits and be consistent instead of having eyebrows that resemble caterpillars.

UPDATE: I did not get a facial but I did get one pedicure and one eyebrow waxing. Grade: D

Buy fresh flowers. I read a blog of a girl who made a resolution last year to purchase fresh flowers on a weekly basis. She accomplished her goal except for a couple of weeks throughout the year. I would not be able to have such pretty bouquets of flowers at my house because my cats are too curious and then either eat and chew on the flowers or just knock down the vase so it will have to be at my desk at work. I'd like to do this at least once a month.

UPDATE: I never bought fresh flowers for my desk. Grade: F

Continually organizing the house and personal items. I'm good at this but I think I still have way too much stuff. I don't want to go as far as committing to be a minimalist but I think I want to steer towards that idea. M and I were successful already this year by going through one of our rooms in the house and going through some of M's old clothing and items. In just an hour's worth of time, we were able to fill three large lawn bags full of clothes and items which two of the bags we brought to the Goodwill on New Year's Day and one of the bags is going to Plato's closet to drop off and try and get some money for all the name brand clothes M had. We're both excited to go through the rest of the house in the same manner and get rid of stuff we don't use or need. I did get a good start on my own items last year by putting them in my sister's garage sale. I now know that I do not miss any of that stuff, nor am I afraid to hold onto stuff just for the sake of keeping it. We probably sound like hoarders or pack rats but we're really not. I'm a very organized person and M just isn't good at getting rid of stuff because he doesn't make it a priority.

UPDATE: I am constantly organizing and getting rid of stuff. Grade: A

Read more books. I enjoy reading but I don't do enough research to find out who's a good author or what books are popular right now. I would like to read some of the classic books as I can't even think of one classic book I've read in my life. I've read mostly non-fiction over the last handful of years and I want to stray away from that and read more fiction.

UPDATE: I did read more books this year than probably I've read in any other year but I'd still love to read more. Grade: A

Blog more. I enjoy blogging but I don't always have the time. I want my blog to not only document my life and the daily activities but I also want to write more and discuss topics and just write about things...and hopefully you'll comment on those things.

UPDATE: I did blog more than I have in any other year. Grade: A

Focus on debt. I have debt like most people but I would like to focus on it more. I had made some good headway with paying down some credit cards in 2010 but I had some unexpected out of pocket medical bills this summer as well as some car trouble so it negated some of my financial progress. I will do a 2011 budget and stick to it the best I can.

UPDATE: Oh, I focused on debt alright...like racking up more of it. Bad me. I'm a little more in debt than last year but considering how much I did pay down, that's not good. Grade: D

Be the best person I can be. I don't know how many of you consider yourself a good person but I consider myself to be a very good person. I volunteer my time and money to different causes, I donate blood regularly, I'm a good friend, sister, daughter, employee and partner but there is always room for improvement for all of us. We can all be better and we should strive to do so.

UPDATE: I do toot my own horn on this one because I really do feel like I'm a good person and am very generous and thoughtful to others. Grade: A-

So as you can see, I wasn't very successful, however that won't stop me from having resolutions for this year. Stay tuned.

New Year's Eve

2012-01-02T20:55:00.000-06:00

M and I went bowling Saturday morning to test out my new bowling ball. I'm happy to break 100 but my first game I bowled a 146 and my second game a 127. I'm guessing my new ball has a lot to do with that. My average has been 108 for the past couple of months and now it's 124.

When M was coming down the stairs at our house, this is the shirt he came down with as a joke. I told him he had to wear it to bowling.

My ball's debut

We cleaned the kitchen after we got home, took a quick little power nap and then got ready to go out to dinner. M took me to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. It is by far my favorite steak restaurant. After a very nice dinner, we headed back home to celebrate with just the two of us as we most often do on New Year's Eve.

We broke out a little bit of our favorite champagne, turned on some music and hung out with the cats.

Ok, we actually missed the countdown to midnight. M went upstairs shortly before midnight to check on something and I was hanging out in the living room. When I looked at the clock, it as 12:01 am. M didn't come downstairs until 12:07 so we decided to ring in the new year at 12:10 am. Oops. I stayed up until 3 am and M stayed up until 4 am. Quality champagne = No hangover in the morning.

Check out the video of our yard before we went to dinner:

And after!

I hope you had a great New Year's Eve and start to 2012.

Words of Advice for the New Year

2011-12-31T08:00:00.001-06:00

We are on the cusp of 2012 and I hope you appreciate every breathing living day you will have this new year. I want to share the following list with you. It was in Whole Living magazine this month and I thought it would be perfect for the new year, which brings another new start, another chapter of life and another set of memories.

Warm your Soul: Savor a hot drink.
Be aware of the difference between anticipating and living. Joy is rooted in the present.
Let go of perfection: The most delicious moments are often the messiest.
Living better doesn't always mean trying harder. Ease up.
Avoid getting trapped in someone else's story. Be the author of your own life.
Forgiveness isn't about them, it's about you.
Make something, anything, from scratch.
You can remember good times without losing yourself in nostalgia.
The best gifts let someone you know how much you love, not how much you spent.
Rest is not a luxury, it's a necessity.

Enjoy ringing in the new year tonight. Be safe and talk to you again next year!

Christmas Hangover

2011-12-30T18:05:00.001-06:00

Both M and I had Monday after Christmas off and woke up to a wonderful, warm, sunny December day. This picture is straight out of my phone!

We had breakfast at Twisted Fork on Grand Avenue in St. Paul. M went there about a year and a half ago and they screwed up on his order and so they gave him a gift card to come back. It took this long to finally go but the service was horrible (as it was the last time he went there) but the food was really great. Despite how great the food was, we will not go back because of the service.

Root vegetable hash-very delicious

We went to Northern Brewer just down the street to get a beer kit for M. While it can be a nightmare to park on Grand Avenue, M parallel parked just fine into a spot...right? He had plenty of space but I was laughing so hard that he was so far up on the curb.

I don't know the official temperature for the day but I believe it hit 50 degrees and it might have been even 52 degrees. Sounds like a nice day for a motorcycle ride! M took his bike out of storage mode from the garage and he went to get some gas and we drove around briefly since it was still cold but not as cold as I thought it would be. How many can say they went on a motorcycle ride on December 26th in Minnesota?!

On Monday night, I was starting to think I wish I had taken off Tuesday from work. Be careful what you wish for! I went out and attempted to start my car on Tuesday morning and it wouldn't start, despite just driving it the day before. My typical piece of crap car was acting up again and having issues with the fuel line/injectors. M finally got it started after working on it off and on for an hour after he came home from work. This day was only one day early of my 9 year anniversary of getting my car. My car really knows how to show appreciation doesn't he?

Christmas Weekend- Christmas Day

2011-12-30T11:31:00.005-06:00

Christmas Day was another fabulous day weather-wise, again around 40 degrees, sunny and brown everywhere. We went to my sister's house in the afternoon, along with my parents, my grandpa and my BIL's mom, Carol. We ate baked spaghetti (a delicious recipe from my aunt Pat on the other side of the family), salad and bread sticks. My grandpa and Carol opened a few present, finished with the peppermint ribbon cake I made and then they went home and the rest of us opened our presents.

My nephews with their grandmas and grandpa and great grandpa

I swear it took us 4 hours to open presents but I'm sure it really wasn't that long but it was hours. My favorite part of Christmas is getting together with my immediate family like this and opening our gifts. We're slow and organized about it and go around in a circle one by one, opening a present. Well, maybe for the exception of my nephew. He's usually pretty good but this year, he ripped into all of his at once and was gone for the rest of the time playing with everything.

I received A LOT of nice things from everyone. I normally don't tell everyone everything I received but for documentation purposes, I'd like to. I received a microwave, a tea kettle, a big box set of tea, cutting board set, glass nested bowls, 4 scarves and 2 pashminas, a butterfly scarf holder/hanger, two books, a hat, gloves and scarf set that's purple and yellow, six framed professional photos of my nephews, a HUGE Vikings ornament, a bracelet that my nephew picked out for me all on his own and two necklaces...I think that's it. This is on top of everything else I received in earlier days including a another scarf and necklace I received from M's sister Kim from the gift exchange on Christmas Eve. I love scarves! Also thank you to my mom who wrapped each and every gift so beautifully. Your efforts and love did not go unnoticed.

Colton got a Dirt Devil vacuum. He has a love/hate relationship with the real vacuum.

Colton enjoying a ride in the car I got him.

Keith loves anything from a Diary of a Wimpy Kid.

Posing all serious for their card game

Their cat Smokey with two lemurs named Keith and Colton

After our long stint of presents, my sister broke out some more food and we had veggies and dip, crackers and cheese, chips and salsa, etc. My parents left shortly after which a little before 10 pm, while my sister, BIL and me talked and M and my nephew played pick up sticks and card games. Jamie, M and myself were talking about scary TV shows and movies as my sister received Tales from the Crypt, Seasons 1 and 2 on DVD. (She loves anything horror, scary, Halloween, etc) We got to talking about what we thought was called Tales from the Darkside way back when and describing the movie/show from the early 80's. Not even 10 minutes later, my sister is flipping through the guide on the TV and finds Creepshow and then we all remember that that is what we were talking about and not Darkside. What are the chances of talking about a show from 30 years ago and then it being on for you to watch minutes later on Christmas Day? We thought it was pretty neat and so we watched a good chunk of it before we saw my sister and nephew conked out on the couch and chair. M and I left just after midnight.

I think I said this last year too but this Christmas was one of my favorites. I hope they continue to get better and better. I love my family!

Thank you for hosting Christmas this year, Jamie and Tom. I always try to bring a host/hostess gift to everyone who hosts an event and I made this for both my aunt Terri and Jamie for hosting Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. It's an angel made of dish towels and a pot holder.

Christmas Weekend- Christmas Morning

2011-12-29T19:25:00.001-06:00

M and I decided to open our presents to each other late Christmas morning. I woke up with a headache so I wanted it to be gone before I started in on the fun stuff. I forgot to take a picture of the tree with all the presents underneath it when it was dark so a day picture is all I have to share.

We plugged in the tree and was ready to open. I took a picture of the cats and they were so cute, each sitting in a window.

Santa came to our house and here's what we received in our stocking:

Michael: Bourbon caramel bacon popcorn, bacon dental floss, meatball gumballs (bubblegum flavored) and a $10 gift card to White Castle

Dana: A Piano Tribute to Mumford & Sons CD, The Most Relaxing Piano Album in the World...Ever! CD, (it's really called that!) Vikings socks/footies and a t-shirt that says, "I'm left-handed. What's your super power?"

We went back and forth opening gifts from each other and here's what we received:

Michael: Smurf lounge pants, Jack Black beard lube, a Vikings desk and wall calendar, a battery powered toothbrush and a beer chiller. The beer chiller is not as exciting as it might sound as it's just copper piping that you use to cool down the wort when you brew beer. It's a huge time saver though! Oh, and I even got him some bacon candy canes. They taste nasty as I assumed they would.

Dana: A Bubbles (from Trailer Park Boys) t-shirt, a caged barrel and a caged wine bottle that holds wine corks, a bowling bag and a certificate for a bowling ball. We actually went out and got a bowling ball for me on Monday. They had it in stock in the weight I wanted and they were able to drill it right then so I had it that day. I know I've completely graduated to full-nerd status but it's exciting to now go to the bowling alley and to have my own bag that carries my own shoes and own ball. No more sticking my fingers in a dirty ball that everyone else uses. Plus, I never even thought that I've been using a right-handed ball all this time. I never knew there was a difference but the holes are drilled with a different pitch for both a left and right-handed ball. I'm curious to see how my first game will be!

One thing I forgot to mention is that Michael's parents sent me a gift and I received a necklace in a Daughter box that said, "If Daughters were flowers, I'd still pick you." First, I started tearing up when I saw it and second, I absolutely love the necklace. It's so simple and dainty.

Next post: Christmas Day at my sister's house

Christmas Weekend- Christmas Eve

2011-12-28T21:18:00.001-06:00

I don't even know where to start when it comes to summing up Christmas weekend so I think I'll just narrow this post to Christmas Eve.

First, the weather was great! Sunny and about 40 degrees with NO SNOW. I don't mind a brown Christmas at all.

Second, I did some last minute baking which included chocolate chip butter cookies, brownie cookies, (which didn't turn out very well) S'mores bars, mint meringues and a peppermint ribbon cake.

I went to my aunt Terri's house in Wisconsin for Christmas Eve. If you remember, my Gramma passed away in February. Christmas Eve was her birthday so a lot of the focus of the day was on my Gramma and watching her open all her birthday/Christmas presents. I wasn't sure how everyone would handle the day without her and I think most of us did just fine. We didn't mention her collectively as a group but tears started to fly when some gifts were given. My sister gave every person/family an ornament that was heart shaped wings with her picture in it. My aunt Donna gave some of us a framed picture of my Gramma as a baby with her mom. My Gramma's mom died when she was three. Finally, my Aunt Terri gave some of us a santa boot with an LED candle in it to be lit in my Gramma's honor.

Opening presents on this side of the family is a chaotic mess:

We ate lots of food as usual. We go overboard with all different types of appetizers to graze on through the afternoon and then we had ham, turkey, Italian sausage and hot dish. We have many foods that have become tradition but one that my Gramma used to make was Liver Pate. It sounds horrible but is completely delicious. We had it again this year so I'm happy to know that someone will continue to make it for future Christmas gatherings.

As for football, the Vikings thought they would give us fans a win, which came against the Redskins, which may end up screwing up their draft pick. As of right now, we will have anywhere from 2nd to 6th pick in the draft. Not only may the pick be affected, Adrian Peterson went down in the game and has torn is ACL and MCL in his knee. Add in a concussion for Ponder later that game and we're down to bare bones with no depth in any position. Joe Webb is extremely athletic and has been the rally man to get the job done for us. Word on the street is that Ponder is starting on Sunday against the Bears in the last game of the season so let's just lose and write this season off. We'll see.

On the agenda for tomorrow's post: Christmas Day

Dinner Date- Plan B

2011-12-27T07:32:00.000-06:00

My Grandpa and I went out to dinner the Wednesday before Christmas. The plan was to go to Wild Bill's in Woodbury but after getting there, we found out it was a 25 minute wait...on a Wednesday at 6 pm? I figured everyone must have been out Christmas shopping or something. We decided against waiting and went to eat down the street at The Machine Shed. I had only been there once but my grandpa had been there a few times. I had the Shepherd's Pie and my grandpa had liver and onions. (Ick!) Both of our dinners were excellent and if you like good ol' comfort food, this is a great place to go.

Yummy Shepherd's Pie

Vikings vs. Saints

2011-12-26T19:16:00.000-06:00

Last Sunday, M and I went to the Vikings/Saints game on December 18th. This was our Christmas game as the Vikings were on the road for Christmas Eve. We didn't tailgate but instead just watched the Vikings get completely blown out by the Saints. The final score was 42-20 but we left when it was 42-13. We normally would never leave early but sometimes enough is enough.

The score when we left--Look how many people had left

Holiday Party

2011-12-21T22:32:00.000-06:00

I had my company holiday party last Friday at Pinstripes in Edina. If you haven't been there, Pinstripes is sort of an upscale bowling alley with bocce, a dance floor, food and drink. We received drink tickets so anything you wanted, it was free. Because of this, I helped myself to six vodka cranberries...with Grey Goose of course. M had already agreed to be my driver for the night so it was fun to kick back and relax with my coworkers. I had tons of fun. I did use up too much fun that night because the powers that be took away all my fun for the next day as I had a hangover and stayed in bed in some capacity until 4 pm. Oops.

Here's some of my favorite peeps from work:

Cuatro Chicas

2011-12-19T06:00:00.000-06:00

Last Thursday, I went out to dinner with Heather, Ang and Kristi to Brick's Pub in Blaine. Ang turned 30 on Friday so it was a perfect reason to get us all together for some drinks and food. We shared an appetizer of Ceviche, which I have never had before and it was just ok. Both Ang and Kristi said they've definitely had better. For my meal, I order the Tipsy Brisket which was very good. We decided that we'd like to go out for dinner for all our birthdays so with Ang accomplished for December, I'm next in January, Kristi's in February and Heather's is in March. Kinda funny that our birthdays are all in a row, huh? If you're interested in a more detailed review and photos of our drinks and food, check out Kristi's review of Brick's on Twin Cities Restaurant Blog.

Heather, Me, Ang, Kristi

I Love Me Some Deals

2011-12-17T20:12:00.000-06:00

Let's face it, I'm one of the best when it comes to getting a deal and saving money. Here's my latest accomplishment...I went to Herberger's to try and find another gift for someone but I've come to realize, I just don't like the layout of a Herberger's store. They pack the store so tightly with merchandise that it doesn't feel fun to shop there because I feel like I need to dig to find something, like a TJ Maxx store, which I hate. I struck out with finding a gift for someone so I bought a few items for me. Here's what I got:

A mug. The price on the tag: $10.

A flour sifter. Price on the tag: $18

A set of 3 snowflake pins. Price on the tag: $20

Now here's the only time where math is fun as an adult. The mug was on sale for $3.75 and ended up being a door buster deal so it rang up at $2.50. The flour sifter was 30% off and the pins were 50% off. I had a $10 free coupon if you spend $10 so I used that for the mug and the sifter. Price paid for both: $5.47. The pins were $10 after being on sale but with another free $10 coupon I had, I got them for free. I literally exchanged the coupon for the pins. No money changed hands for that transaction, which means I got all three items for a total of $5.47. The mug is at work for tea, flour sifter will be used for baking and the pins are on a few of my winter jackets for display. The picture does not do them justice of how shiny and sparkly they are.

Have you found any good deals lately?

Warm Tootsies

2011-12-14T19:43:00.000-06:00

As I told you back in November, we received our Happy Feet in the mail from M's mom late last week. There hasn't been a day that I haven't worn them. They are so warm without your feet becoming sweaty. She made me an orange pair since that's my favorite color and M got purple and gold ones...of course!

The Nook

2011-12-12T18:56:00.000-06:00

The Nook Restaurant had a fire almost exactly a year ago. They reopened again this past May but I hadn't visited since the reopening until last week. M and I took my grandpa there for what I would argue is the best burger in Minnesota. If you don't think it's the best, it's at least my favorite. The restaurant looked pretty much the same except the kitchen is in a different location, it looks like they added a few extra seats and it a little bit more modern looking with the exposed duct work. The place is so tiny to begin with that no matter what they did, they can never keep up with the demand during the busy times of the day. We arrived in the 5 pm hour which was a great thing as there were probably 30 people waiting when we left. If you haven't been there before, I highly recommend it.

Vikings vs. Broncos

2011-12-11T18:28:00.000-06:00

If you watched the Vikings today, you know that the Vikings had a chance to win the game with 9 seconds left but didn't due to a forced fumble that also should have included a penalty for a face mask but wasn't called by the refs. Vikings lost 34-28 to Detroit, but that is ok. The game proved to be a decent one, at least the second half anyway when Webb took over for Ponder. If the game can be somewhat competitive but the Vikings come up just short, that's the way I would prefer it in order to have a high draft pick next year. The situation was similar last week against the Broncos at the Metrodome. There was a chance that the Vikings were going to win that game too but in Broncos fashion as they've been doing for the last 5 out of 6 games, they've had a 4th quarter comeback with Tim Tebow (and maybe God) at the helm. Have I mentioned that I have a crush on Tim Tebow? Anyway, Vikings lose 35-32.

We didn't tailgate that day as I wasn't feeling the greatest. We instead went out to breakfast beforehand to one of our favorite breakfast places, Coffee Cup, and then parked at a meter, which saved me $25-$35. We did not have a fiasco at the gate like the home game before with the new metal detector hand wands. In fact, there wasn't a line at all. We were only 10 minutes earlier than what we would normally line up at the gate and we got right in. Either the security staff was extremely efficient, people showed up hours before the game or they did a terrible job at security. (Example: I was "wanded" and no one even asked to look in my purse as they normally do. I asked them if they wanted to look in it and they said the ticket person would do it. No such person checked my purse.)

Both M and I had new head wear for the game. The night before, after setting up the tree and having it all complete, M wanted to give me an "appetizer" of a Christmas present. I received the softest Vikings winter hat. Well, if he was going to give me an appetizer gift, I would also do the same. I gave him a Vikings dreadlocks hat that he's been searching for for years. Kinda funny that we both gave each other Vikings hats, huh?

Did I mention I have a crush on Tim Tebow? M lovingly refers to me as a cougar because of this. Sometimes I feel younger than I really am.

Carbonated Technology

2011-12-08T20:08:00.000-06:00

M and I went to Firehouse Subs back in early November. Have you heard of them? Their first restaurant of the chain came to Minnesota in August and M was thrilled to find out they are now just miles from us. Whenever we go to Florida, we have to stop there and so he can eat there. I do have to say, their subs are delicious. What I wanted to talk about today was actually the fountain pop machine at the store. Maybe these are around in other places but it was the first time I had ever seen a fountain pop machine like this. I didn't even know how to work it at first! It ended up being really easy to figure out. Just put your cup in the metal area for ice and push the button on the machine for whatever kind of pop you'd like. Have you seen one like this before or am I out of touch?

Bowling in Blaine

2011-12-07T21:49:00.000-06:00

Last Saturday we met Greg and Anna at their house in Coon Rapids to meet their cats. They have two cats that look similar to Fuzzer. Their names are Maynard and Scooter and they're really nice cats. After meeting them, we headed to Blainbrook to go bowling. We bowled two games and I did my best in quite some time. I bowled a 126 and 124. After bowling, we went to a coffee/smoothie place called Flyte. I had a peach smoothie and everyone else had coffee. The people working there were so nice and gave us candy canes and then a little bit later came out with a TheraPets Heating Pad Kitty for each one of us. Shortly after we got home, the snow started. We went to the backyard and walked to the pond and then came back and jumped on the trampoline for a little bit. We're just big kids!

Scooter

Maynard

Scooter

Fuzzer with TheraPet Cat

Christmas Preparation

2011-12-05T21:27:00.005-06:00

Hello! After 40 posts in November, I needed a blog break to recover from my carpel tunnel. Ok, not really but a healthy handful of days away from blogging every once in awhile is always good for me. So here we are, in December already....with the 5th almost in the books. Where does the time go?

Shopping:

Have you ~~finished~~ started your Christmas shopping? I don't have to buy for too many people so I guess it's not that difficult however I tend to go overboard and want to keep buying for my family which of course gets expensive but I need to cut myself off at some point. I have quite a few items that I purchased online that still need to be delivered to me. Man, do I love online shopping. I've done quite a bit of it for Christmas the last few years. I can't online shop without purchasing a little bit for myself though. This year my presents to myself are from Sephora, which I'm still waiting to receive. It's not that special though. It's just foundation that I needed but considering it's expensive, I consider it a gift to myself. I also purchased the following set on Thanksgiving at Kohl's online. I love the white because it's classic and timeless It was $39.99 and there is a $20 rebate and then I received an additional 15% off and free shipping. Plus I earned Kohl's cash with my purchase. So after rebate, this set cost $14. I impress myself sometimes.

Tree:

Do you have your Christmas tree up? I wanted to do it the day after Thanksgiving and every day after that but I just couldn't find the time. I finally did get the tree up on Saturday evening. I do not enjoy putting up the tree and decorating it. I don't think I have patience to do it. The nice thing is M helped a little and I pretty much made him hang out with me while I did it so I would stay interested. I love it when the tree is complete and then I'm glad I put the effort in. Do you like putting up your Christmas tree? Here's a picture of our skinny tree this year:

Wrapping:

Ok, so maybe you've bought some presents and your tree is up but do you have wrapped presents underneath it yet? I just started wrapping yesterday and got eight presents done. I have a lot more to go and I'm not excited about it. I've come to hate wrapping but as long as I tackle a few presents here and there, I'll be fine. I just don't want to be that person on Christmas Ever wrapping for hours. Been there, done that.

Lights:

Do you decorate your home/apartment with outdoor lights? We do not and I actually didn't even consider it until writing this sentence. There is a housing development down the street and they have so many houses decorated in the neighborhood that it looks magical as you drive through. Here's one house that I liked but I really should drive by and take a video of all the houses. Maybe I'll do that later this week.

Baking:

Do you make Christmas cookies? I like to bake and I will be making some cookies again this year. I plan on making a decent variety as I will be giving my grandpa a tin full of cookies, all made with love of course. I think I might be over my head this year with a plan that I have for some cookies as I've never experimented like this before so I'll let you know how they turn out. If they do turn out, I'll be more than excited. Not only do they have to be pretty, I suppose they have to taste good too.

Black Friday

2011-11-30T23:00:00.002-06:00

Ok, I promise this is my last post of the day and the month. I've posted six already today and two yesterday so make sure you are all caught up on my exciting and important life. 40 posts in one month? Definitely a record for me!

Did you go shopping on Black Friday? Did you have the day off? What did you do?

I actually did a lot of my Christmas shopping online this past week as well as on Thanksgiving, which some of the deals that were being offered in store on Friday were being offered online.

I debated going out at midnight on Black Friday to go to Kohl's. Not because I wanted to shop that badly or because there was something that I needed to buy for me or anyone else but because I had two $10 coupons to spend. That's $20 for free and I have a hard time passing up free. I left my house around 12:10 am and headed to Maplewood Mall which is a mere 3 miles from my house. I had to drive by Best Buy on my way to the mall and saw that it looked like a busy New York City street with people crossing the street every which way and that's when I had the realization that it's midnight, I'm on my way to the mall and I'm an idiot. I also drove past Toys 'R Us where people had their little kids with them (it's midnight!) and pulling them across the street with no regard for traffic. Anything for a deal, right?

I luckily found a pretty decent parking spot for Kohl's, walked in and saw the lines. Holy lines! The lines were backed up half the length of the store at least for every single register. There were hundreds of people in line at each one and it was only 12:20 am. I figured that I had a lot of time to shop then while the lines died down. I did have a couple of things in mind for my family so I picked them up and was ready to check out but the lines were still very long. I decided to outsmart the system and went to the jewelry counter to check out. They were calling numbers. "Number Forty Two!" I didn't know where to get a number but I looked all around and finally found a sign that had numbers you could pull off. My number? 47. Nice! I only waited about 10 minutes until my number was called. Once called, they asked me what they could show me in the jewelry cases. "Oh, nothing. I'm all set, thanks." and I was out the door and home by 1 am. I wish I could tell you how great of deals I received but I can't because my family reads this blog and the presents I bought just might be for them but if you give me $20 free and 15% off on top of that, I can do pretty good. Thanks, Kohl's.

As for the rest of the day, I had to work from home for a little bit in the morning and then M and I went out to breakfast at The Neighborhood Cafe (so good) which turned out to be breakfast at noon and then down to First Avenue to buy some concert tickets. We then went back to St. Paul and stopped at The Wine Thief & Ale Jail, which has many rare beers which makes M extremely happy. M is a major beer enthusiast so he was like a kid in a candy store when we went in there. I do have to say that it did look pretty impressive in there and if I was into beer, it would have been exciting for me too (but it wasn't).

M went to see The Immortals in 3D while I went shopping again. We watched The Naked Gun and then M got sick which you can read about on my Thanksgiving post.

Thanksgiving

2011-11-30T22:13:00.002-06:00

Is it too late to talk about Thanksgiving? It was a beautiful, unseasonably warm Minnesota November day. We tied the high temperature record of 59 degrees. I went to my parents house where there was 26 people there. We had a delicious meal including all of the usual suspects; turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, corn, cranberries, salad, rolls and pie including pumpkin, apple and french silk. I don't know how you guys roll at your Thanksgiving dinner but there are so many of us so we just help ourselves and mostly everything is in slow cookers. What do you guys do?

My sister made this super cute turkey out of veggies.

Let's rewind to a little earlier in the day when I was still at home. Everything was going my way and I had lots of time to get the green bean casserole into the slow cooker, make a honey-orange broccoli salad and roast some sweet potatoes. I even made a pumpkin pie (for the first time) and it smelled so delicious when it came out of the oven. I set it on a cooling rack on the counter and when I opened the counter above it, a few spice containers fell down and ploop...right into the not-so-cooled but now ugly pumpkin pie. I bawled my eyes out. Michael had to comfort me and now looking back at it, I was so emotional about something so silly. I do hope that the homemade whipped cream that I made made up for the couple of divots on the pie's surface. I don't eat pumpkin pie but my Aunt Terri attested that it was delicious.

I didn't get a pic of the pie post baking, pre-accident so an in-process pic will have to do

While I would have liked to have been with M and his family, I'm thankful I was not. Why? Because 11 out of 14 people (except for one family) at their Thanksgiving got sick with food poisoning...or Norovirus...or the flu....or who knows because they can't pinpoint what it was but either way, M was spewing from both ends and I was his nurse, cleaning up puke and well, you know. You know you love someone when you can clean up all that stuff. My poor baby. I felt so bad for him but in less than 48 hours, it was done and over with and he was his good old self again.

Vikings vs. Raiders

2011-11-30T20:55:00.000-06:00

We woke up on Sunday, November 20th to a cold, 18 degree day. M and I pulled out the winter gear including boots to keep warm while tailgating. We had a pretty decent sized group with us this time. M's friend Wayne and his son along with his cousin and his son met up with us as well as my cousin Tara and her husband Troy. Ok, Tara's not really my cousin, but my cousins' cousin but I still consider her a cousin. That's four cousins in one sentence. I ate plastic-looking veggie dogs while the others had burgers that looked and smelled delicious. M even brought out some White Castle and warmed those babies up on the grill. To keep semi-warm, I had some hot apple cider with butterscotch schnapps that tasted delicious.

This day was the first day they started using the hand-held metal detectors at the gates of the Metrodome and wow, was this a cluster f*ck. We stood in line outside in the cold for 40 minutes before even getting in the dome. I don't know where everything went wrong but they better fix it before the game this Sunday. We didn't get into the dome until there was about 6 minutes left in the first quarter. The guy who sits next to us in our seats said that at the start of the game that only half the dome was filled.

We played the Raiders and they've been pretty decent this year...decent enough to win against the Vikings on this day at least. Vikings lost 27-20 and we lost Adrian Peterson due to a high ankle sprain and ligament damage. At this point in the season, it doesn't matter much. I would rather not win any more games so we can have a good draft pick.

Thankful November: Day Thirty

2011-11-30T20:12:00.000-06:00

The last day of Thankful November! I stuck with it and posted every day. Today, I'm thankful for...ME! I'm not the smartest (but I know a little about a lot of things), or the prettiest (but I do alright) and definitely not the skinniest (always a work-in-progress) but I am truly happy with myself and my life. Overall I've made good choices in life and do not regret what I've done and I hope to never regret what I haven't done. I have a family that loves me unconditionally (I think...I haven't tested the waters that much!), good friends, my health, a stable job, a college degree, two loving fuzzy babies, enough money to pay my bills, save some and have some fun and a wonderful partner who shows me love every single day. He cheers me up on my not-so-good days and when I'm having a bad self-esteem day. He makes me laugh more and harder than anyone else has. He keeps me safe and comforts me when I need a little added security. He says I always look good and thinks I'm cute, beautiful or sexy, depending on the day. I am so damn lucky to have all of these things! I truly am. I'm so happy to be alive and be ME!

Me-Today!

Joseph Arthur

2011-11-30T14:00:00.008-06:00

M and I have seen Joseph Arthur five times when he's come here in concert. The first concert M and I went to (while dating) was Joseph Arthur on November 17, 2004. (Hey, I'm a girl and I'm good with dates.) It was a very romantic night and Joseph Arthur is a special artist to us both. When we found out he was coming in concert recently, we thought about going and decided that despite how good he is and how much we enjoy him, we decided to save the $20 ticket price and forgo seeing him this time around but it turns out that we did end up seeing him and we didn't have a pay a penny to see him. M won an online contest which scored him two tickets to the show and so on Saturday, November 20th, almost exactly seven years since we had first seen him, we saw him again for our sixth time.

The show was at the Varsity Theater and while I just told you about the AWOLNATION show there and how they wrecked the theater and lights and sound, it wasn't true. It was true for that show but this show was different. The theater was back to its old self that I'm used to and the sound was just as I remembered. There were tables on the main floor and we were lucky enough to share one pretty close to the stage with a couple of girls. We also ran into one of our friends, Joey and his partner Chris, which was an added bonus. Both of them love music as much as we do so it's always fun to sit and talk music that isn't stuff you necessarily hear on the radio, music websites and upcoming shows.

Michael, Chris, Joey, Me

Joseph played a lot of songs from his new album but mixed in some old ones too and he played for about 2.5 hours. He is truly an artist of all sorts. He paints while he sings and also did some spoken word. He brought his main Minneapolis buddy, Kraig Jerret Johnson (Guitarist for The Lonely Astronauts, Jayhawks, Golden Smog and Run Westy Run) to the stage to help him with a few songs as he's done a few times in the past. After the show, a girl came up to Joseph and asked him if she could buy the painting he did while on stage for $500. They hemmed and hawed for awhile as they said he could get $2-3K for that painting if they bring it back to his gallery but apparently it's a pain to carry them on the road with them so I'm unsure if they accepted her offer or not. I looked on his art website and he had a 10' x 6 ' painting going for $20K.

Finally, if you want to do me a big favor today, listen to the song below. It's on his new album and it's such a beautiful song. If you can't tolerate the song, at least listen to until the 2 minute mark. Thank you and have a nice day.

It's Bowling Time!

2011-11-30T03:00:00.001-06:00

It's getting to be that time of year again...bowling season. Bowling would not be fun in the summer as you don't want to be a dark bowling alley in the middle of summer but it's a perfect winter activity. We went bowling for our first time of the season the Saturday before Thanksgiving week. We met our usual partners, Greg and Anna for a couple of games and wow, was I rusty. I did break 100 for the second game though. :) When we came out of the building, it was snowing for the first time this season and it was slippery. The bowling alley is just under 6 miles from our house and we saw two accidents on the way home.

We all have our own bowling shoes now- M made his shoe debut

Check out this bowling shoe in the pro shop

Woodbury Dinner

2011-11-29T23:00:00.002-06:00

It's been hard to keep up my daily "Thankful November" posts and it's been even more difficult to blog about all the other things going on in my life at the same time. I'm going to sneak in several posts yet for the remainder of this month and start fresh again for December so look for seven posts between today and tomorrow. Yeah, I know.

It's already been almost two weeks since my sister and I met with my Grandpa for dinner. We went to Bonfire in Woodbury for dinner and then went next door to where my sister works. She's a general manager of a hotel so she gave us a tour of the common areas and then showed us one of the rooms. Once we came back down to the front desk, my Grandpa told the manager on duty that he liked the room and that the bed bugs were very friendly. Of course they hate the words "bed bugs" in the hospitality industry and of course he was kidding but it was hilarious. I told my Grandpa that saying "bed bugs" in a hotel is like saying "bomb" on an airplane! We thought it would be kind of funny to take a picture of us behind the front desk at the hotel.

Thankful November: Day Twenty Nine

2011-11-29T20:13:00.000-06:00

Today I'm thankful for slippers. Our house is cold quite often and I wouldn't be able to live without slippers in the winter. I have all kinds of fun fashion for my feet already but M's mom is making me a pair of "Happy Feet" which are slippers she's been making for people since the '70s. I should be receiving them soon so I'll be sure to post them when I get them.

Thankful November: Day Twenty Eight

2011-11-28T18:57:00.000-06:00

Today I'm thankful for my state, the state of Minnesota. I was born here and I'll probably die here as at least a part-time resident. I LOVE Minnesota and can't imagine living elsewhere. I love that I live in the Twin Cities but just two hours away I can be on the North Shore next to Lake Superior. I love that I can be in another state in about 25 minutes and even another country in about 5 hours by car from my house. We're lucky enough to have multiple professional sports teams (and want to keep it that way...Vikings!), lots of great restaurants, tons of culture and a wide range of people. There's not many places in the country where it can be -60 degrees as well as 114 degrees in the summer. So for those that have never been to Minnesota but only know the stereotypes, it is not cold and snowing in Minnesota all the time! Check out more about MN weather on Wiki.

Thankful November: Day Twenty Seven

2011-11-27T17:40:00.000-06:00

Today I'm thankful for the ocean. I didn't get to see an ocean in person until 2002 when I saw the Atlantic Ocean for my first time. Then I saw the Pacific Ocean in 2006. I am not a big fan of water but I love the beauty and mystery an ocean has. I would take the ocean for granted if I saw it every day but on cloudy days like today in Minnesota, it's fun to dream of the ocean which makes me appreciate it each time I do get to see it in person.

My first view of the Pacific Ocean- California 2006

Thankful November: Day Twenty Six

2011-11-26T13:41:00.000-06:00

Today I'm thankful for my health. My overall health is good. I've been old enough for awhile now that I think about the big picture when it comes to health so I try and lead my life preventing diseases such as diabetes, coronary heart disease by eating healthier and paying attention to my diet. I need to exercise more though!

As for the state of temporary health, my poor Michael got food poisoning and was violently sick all night long. I'm glad I'm here to be his nurse until he gets over this.

Thankful November: Day Twenty Five

2011-11-25T15:38:00.000-06:00

Today I'm thankful for music! I've always been into music since I was a kid and I know I always will be. Music shapes my soul and I'm so glad I have a partner who loves music also, actually more than I do. Today we went to The Depot at First Avenue to pick up these tickets to a concert both of us are extremely excited to see. Now we just have to wait until February.

Thankful November: Day Twenty Four

2011-11-24T22:19:00.000-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Today I'm thankful for my family, both immediate and extended family. It was hard to wait to until the 24th to say I'm thankful for my family as I wanted to be thankful for them on Day One of Thankful November but I thought it was appropriate to save them until today since I was with them all day today. No family is perfect but I wouldn't change what I currently have for anything. I love you Mom, Dad, Jamie and the rest of you, extended family.

Thankful November: Day Twenty Three

2011-11-23T18:58:00.000-06:00

Today I'm thankful for dark chocolate. Sometimes I just want it and sometimes I need it. It's a perfect treat that makes me feel better and just a small amount tides me over...usually.

Thankful November: Day Twenty Two

2011-11-22T19:56:00.000-06:00

I hate milk. I stopped drinking it when I was eight years old. Because of this issue, I can't eat cereal, traditionally at least. Until now. Even though it's been almost 27 years since I stopped drinking milk, I am thankful today that I've discovered soy milk. I was definitely scared of trying new beverages that resemble milk so I've been reluctant over the years but finally sucked it up and tried it. And it tastes good. Good enough for me to be able to have cereal now!

Thankful November: Day Twenty One

2011-11-21T14:30:00.000-06:00

Today I'm thankful for friends. My friends have come and gone through the years from kindergarten to now but some have stayed with me for double-digit years. You've all impacted me, whether it was good or bad, which ultimately has shaped my life. Mass love to you all.

If you are not in a picture below, of course that doesn't mean I don't value your friendship!

Thankful November: Day Twenty

2011-11-20T21:22:00.000-06:00

Today I am thankful for vacations. I don't know anyone who doesn't welcome a break from the everyday grind. It doesn't matter if you travel somewhere far, by plane or car or just have a staycation, I love them all.

Here's a city that M and I went to in 2006. I love this city and would love to go back. There's a very big hint in the picture if you can see it. Click on the picture to enlarge. What city are we in?

Thankful November: Day Nineteen

2011-11-19T17:21:00.000-06:00

Today I'm thankful for the snow. It's the first snowfall of the year and I'm even more thankful that it happened on a Saturday.

AWOLNATION

2011-11-19T10:05:00.000-06:00

On Thursday, November 10th, M and I went to the Varsity Theater to see a concert. I don't think we've been to a concert since September and I can't remember the last concert we'd been to at the Varsity. They had remodeled the place awhile back but they had remodeled even more since we'd last been there. The place looks more modern in a sense but I feel like they've wrecked some things. The lighting was terrible and the sound was not the best, which was not the band's fault and I'm unsure if it was the sound guy or the actual system. I will be going to another concert there tonight so we'll see if it was an isolated incident or not.

Anyways, we saw AWOLNATION. You may have heard of them, or not. I guess you would describe them as Indie Pop. They have been become quite popular in the past couple of months. We discovered the band last March and have definitely been a staple of our everyday music. We have a longer history of this band and if you reach way back into the music past to 2006, the singer and the bassist used to be a part of a band called Under the Influence of Giants, which we had seen live one time but are a band no longer.

Twin Atlantic and Middle Class Rut opened up for them, both bands that we have music from but we missed Twin Atlantic and caught about half of the MCR show. I was not impressed with them but again, it might be the sound of the theater.

AWOLNATION only has one album which I think they played all of it or most of it so the show was short and sweet. I would definitely go see them again.

Here is a video of their hit song, "Sail", which was featured on the TV show House. Check it out and let me know what you think! And because I'm so impressed with this band, I've included more videos of my favorite song by them.

Thankful November: Day Eighteen

2011-11-18T06:00:00.001-06:00

Today I am thankful that scarves are popular again for this fall/winter season. I love wearing scarves as part of my outfit, even with short-sleeved shirts. Here are the scarves I have and I want to collect more. I think I'll ask for an infinity scarf for Christmas.

Thankful November: Day Seventeen

2011-11-17T15:42:00.000-06:00

It's green....and stucco....and old and needs a lot of work, but....it's where I live. Today I'm thankful for the house I have lived in for the past 4.5 years. It's not the warmest in the winter or the coolest in the summer but I'm thankful to have shelter. It was built in 1900 with an upstairs addition at least 50 years later. Michael's parents bought this house in the 50's I believe and he bought it from them in 1997. I'm also thankful for the big yard we have and nature and wildlife that encompass it.

Groveland Tap

2011-11-17T07:58:00.000-06:00

Last Wednesday we brought my Grandpa out for dinner at Groveland Tap in the Merriam Park/Highland Park area of St. Paul. None of us had been there before but they have a pretty impressive beer selection which excited Michael. It's just a neighborhood bar/grill and we sat in the corner right by the big window so we could see all the action going on around us. I had the tempeh sandwich which was pretty good and I would order again if I went there and the guys had burgers. If you love beer, I would definitely check this place out.

Thankful November: Day Sixteen

2011-11-16T06:00:00.001-06:00

Today I'm thankful for being an auntie to both Keith and Colton and a Godmother to Keith. With plans of never having kids of my own, Keith and Colton are as close as I'll get and are very important to me. Keith is at an age where he's fun to interact with and Colton is just super cute to watch. I love both of them very much!

Thankful November: Day Fifteen

2011-11-15T17:24:00.000-06:00

Today I'm thankful that I'm still only seeing leaves and not snow. That said, I am still VERY thankful of the changing of the seasons here in the state of Minnesota. There's just some seasons that I prefer more than others. :)

November Birchbox

2011-11-14T14:30:00.004-06:00

Last week I received my November Birchbox. I really liked getting the Zoya nail polish and the eucalyptus lotion. I used the face mask already and it made my face pretty soft but getting two paper coasters? C'mon.

Thankful November: Day Fourteen

2011-11-14T06:00:00.002-06:00

Today I'm thankful for yummy, fall treats, like a pumpkin smoothie.

Thankful November: Day Thirteen

2011-11-13T10:20:00.000-06:00

Today I'm thankful that I don't ever have to eat what is in that can. I saw this at the grocery store yesterday. What the?

Thankful November: Day Twelve

2011-11-12T18:00:00.000-06:00

I'm thankful today for hearing of news that a kidney donor has been found for my aunt, Pat. The process started in the summer and I submitted health information about myself to become a donor for her as I knew I was the matching blood type but never even thought that I am not blood related to her as she is my aunt by marriage, which reduced my chance of being a prime candidate like a sibling-like match. Fortunately, there is a match within the family and once her kidney functions drop below a certain level, the transplant will happen.

I know I'm supposed to show a picture of what I'm thankful for but I didn't want to show a picture of my aunt just in case she would like her privacy. Instead I settled for a picture of a kidney bean.

A kidney bean.

Thankful November: Day Eleven

2011-11-11T06:00:00.009-06:00

Today I'm thankful for my senses, all five of them. I would be so different if I was missing any one of these.

I made these cards for M back in September and presented him with a present for each:

Feel: Massage
Smell: Candle
Sight: Went on a picnic at Mounds Park
Sound: Lindsey Buckingham concert
Taste: Went out to Jax Cafe for dinner

Bonus: Today is Veteran's Day and I'm thankful for the military men and women.

Thankful November: Day Ten

2011-11-10T06:00:00.000-06:00

I received a call from the Memorial Blood Center yesterday stating that I'm eligible to donate again and that they need my blood type. I donate blood almost as often as I'm eligible, which is every 56 days. Today I'm thankful I can help out humans in need with this random act of kindness.

Sushi/Shopping/Sister/Slacker/Solo

2011-11-09T21:06:00.000-06:00

Last Friday my sister and I went out for a fabulous sushi dinner at Akita. It had been many months since I had sushi and I was not disappointed. After sushi, we went shopping in the Woodbury area and would continue shopping for the next 4+ hours. We found some awesome jewelry and NY & Co for 70% off, free undies at Victoria's Secret as well a free $10 there but we really did our best saving at JC Penney. I had a free $15 coupon, a free $10 coupon and then we had lots of spend $25 get $10 off coupons. I bought a couple of Christmas presents already and got a few pieces of much-needed work clothes. We went to Gordman's (I love that store) and the finished at Kohl's where I had a free $10 to spend.

Since Michael went up to his cabin for the deer hunting opener, I was sleeping solo on Friday and Saturday night. When I woke up on Saturday, I laid in bed for awhile and got up and went to the computer for awhile and then went back in bed.....until 4:30 pm. I was soooooo lazy. I didn't even sleep when I was in bed. I just laid there, thinking. I finally mustered enough energy to go to the grocery store, only to get back and watch two movies, Something Borrowed and Black Swan, then Saturday Night Live and then go to bed.

I woke up somewhat early and started to make a slow cooker recipe, curried lentil soup and I also made some pumpkin peanut butter oatmeal bars. Michael came home shortly after noon and we watched football all day. It was a complete lazy weekend and I didn't get much accomplished but sometimes you need times like this. Normally I love my alone time but I really missed my honeybear and was glad to see him come home early on Sunday.

Thankful November: Day Nine

2011-11-09T06:00:00.002-06:00

Today I'm thankful for books, both paper and electronic. I love that I can read to learn and gain knowledge as well as escape from reality.

Thankful November: Day Eight

2011-11-08T06:00:00.000-06:00

Today I'm thankful for makeup. Makeup allows me to be a girly-girl. Makeup allows me to hide my imperfections and skin when it's no-so-great. Makeup allows me to have a day or night look. Makeup allows me to be dramatic even when my personality isn't or be subtle when my personality is fierce and can be ever-changing with my mood.

Some fabulous goodies I received in the mail today:

Thankful November: Day Seven

2011-11-07T06:00:00.000-06:00

Today I'm thankful for my car. It's a 2003 Nissan Sentra SE-R that I have had since December 2002 and while it truly is a piece of sh*t, I'm thankful it gets me to work on most days. I haven't had a car payment for almost 4 years so that I'm also thankful for. My car is running extremely rough right now so I know my Killer Bee won't be holding on for too much longer as my make and model has a history of many documented issues, yet Nissan doesn't seem to deal with them. I guess I don't sound like I'm that thankful anymore, do I? Let's just leave it as I'm thankful for transportation.

Thankful November: Day Six

2011-11-06T06:00:00.001-06:00

Today I'm thankful for what what I had for dinner on Friday night...sushi. Laugh if you think it's funny but for those that enjoy it, it is one of the best things in this world. I know some ladies that know exactly what I'm talking about!

Thankful November: Day Five

2011-11-05T06:00:00.006-05:00

Today I'm thankful for my job. I'm not only thankful to be employed in this terrible economy, but thankful because I like my job. Today is my four year anniversary at my current employer. I was laid off from the residential mortgage industry in October 2007 after working in residential mortgage for 5 years. I was offered a job in the commercial mortgage industry in November 2007 and I accepted immediately because the economy was starting to tank (one month before the official start of the recession) and today I'm still there.

Part of my cube at work

Thankful November: Day Four

2011-11-04T06:00:00.000-05:00

Today I'm thankful for sunsets. Whether it's a gorgeous sunset on Lake Mille Lacs in Isle, MN or a tropical one in Fort Myers, Florida, I love the ability to see a sunset on this planet.

Thankful November: Day Three

2011-11-03T06:00:00.002-05:00

Today I'm thankful for my cats, Fuzzer and Powder. I like them more than some people I know. Seriously, I don't know what I would do without them. I love my fuzzy babies.

Thankful November: Day Two

2011-11-02T06:00:00.001-05:00

I am thankful for butterflies. They are beautiful, delicate creatures and I light up every time I see one.

Thankful November: Day One

2011-11-01T14:00:00.000-05:00

I saw on someone else's blog that they posting a picture each day during November to show what they are thankful for. I would link back to the original blog but I'm not sure where I saw it.

Being today is 11/1/11 and today is our 7th anniversary, I'm very thankful to have Michael in my life. He is my partner in life which includes comedian, best friend, lover and so many other things. Thank you Michael for all the times we've had with each other over the years. I love you.

Michael with his other love, White Castle

Halloween Party

2011-10-31T18:40:00.002-05:00

My sister hosted a Halloween party for our immediate family on Saturday. My sister and her family love Halloween so she encouraged everyone to dress up. I am not a big fan of Halloween but to make my sister happy, I bought a long black wig with silver streaks in it on Friday on clearance for $4.17 and spent .97 cents on some white cream for my face and figured I'd wear a black dress I already own and put some makeup on my face. It turns out my costume, especially my makeup, turned out great. Here's the run down on the rest of the costumes:

Jamie: Elvira
Tom: Skeleton hoodie
Keith: Jason
Colton: Owl
Michael: Hockey mask
Mom: Gypsy Witch
Dad: Mental Patient

My dad looked awesome as a mental patient, which I suppose I could argue that it wasn't that big of a stretch for him. Of course I'm kidding, Dad! He had a hospital gown on with dark circles under his eyes and a messy wig and he kind of just wondered around with a blank face and his mouth open carrying his rubber chicken.

We had a potluck of party food, desserts and candies and played Catchphrase and Mad Gab throughout the night and had lots of fun.

I made Rice Krispie Mummies and white fudge that looked like Candy Corn.

Twenty years ago today, Minnesota experienced the infamous Halloween Blizzard of 1991, where 28.4 inches fell in the Twin Cities. For those that don't get snow, 10 inches of snow equals 1 inch of rain. Do you remember that day? I was trick-or-treating as a 14 year old in my neighborhood with my sister and we were walking through snow that was easily past our knees as we went through the yards.

Halloween Eve Giveaway

2011-10-30T11:32:00.001-05:00

I've partnered up with Eversave again to offer you $25 in site rewards credit which would act just like cash to be used towards any of the Saves on Eversave whether it be in the Minneapolis market or any Save offer around the country in a different market. Eversave also offers an Online Save where it's another daily deal in addition to one that may be offered in your market so what I'm saying is that you can use the $25 for any deal on their site, regardless of where you live!

It's easy to sign up for this giveaway and you'll get up to 3 chances to enter. Leave separate comments for each choice you do below.

Be a follower of this blog through Google Friend Connect and tell me what your favorite Halloween memory is and your email address
Like Eversave on Facebook. (If you already like them, go ahead and leave a comment!)
Follow Eversave on Twitter (If you already follow, leave a comment!)

You'll have until 10 pm on Sunday, November 6th to enter and I'll announce the winner on the following Monday. Good luck and Happy Halloween!

Halloween Weekend

2011-10-29T15:27:00.000-05:00

Last night, M and I went to Punch Pizza for a little date and wound up back at home to watch the rest of game 7 of the World Series. Not nearly as an exciting game as the night before, which I didn't watch but heard all about the next morning. Last night was the first time I've watched baseball probably since I went to see the Twins live at Target Field which was early September.

I woke up super early this morning so I could start some food projects that I need for tonight and when I came downstairs, this is what I saw:

Bad Fuzzer! I bought these different colors of grass-thingies yesterday and I haven't really done much with them yet and there he is up on a shelf chewing on them.

We went out to breakfast with Greg and Anna this morning in Uptown to French Meadow Bakery and Cafe. I lived just 4 blocks from here for 3.5 years and despite wanting to go there, I never did because it was always so busy. Today was no different. We parked down the street and there was a line out the door when we got there. Luckily, we got a place to sit in just a few minutes of waiting. Mostly everything they serve is organic or vegetarian/vegan or fresh like the delicious freshly squeezed orange juice I had. It was pretty good and I think we'll be back for breakfast or maybe a lunch or dinner. M wanted coffee afterwards so we headed across the street so he could get his fix.

I don't drink coffee but Greg's coffee looked so good

Lionel Ritchie says, "Hello? Is it me you're looking for?"

We picked up M's motorcycle after having its brakes done and then I started working on making my famous (as proclaimed by myself) guacamole for tonight. I have other little food projects yet to complete today but I'll discuss at a later date. If you're going out tonight for Halloween to a party or a bar, have fun and stay safe and girls, don't dress too slutty. Wait, it's Halloween, OF COURSE you're planning on dressing too slutty! Never mind.

La Mia Famiglia Italiana

2011-10-27T20:56:00.000-05:00

Tonight my mom's side of the family met for dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Yarusso's. We met there last August and decided we would try and do this quarterly. Since every three months would bring us to about Thanksgiving, we met early this time. I hadn't seen anyone besides my aunt Donna and my grandpa since Colton's birthday party on September 17th, including my sister and parents so it was definitely good to see everyone again.

LinkedIn Request

2011-10-26T17:30:00.000-05:00

I had a spam invite request from an insurance agent/agency on LinkedIn and I had to share the picture of the staff with you that was on their profile page. My favorite is the unhappy girl in the middle and the owner of the agency at the bottom. Do you guys get spam invitations on LinkedIn from people you don't know? Even though it doesn't happen very often, I'm annoyed by it. If you have a LinkedIn profile, do you use it?

Vikings vs. Packers

2011-10-25T19:10:00.001-05:00

I knew Sunday was the day that the Vikings played the Packers because why? It always rains on that day, literally and figuratively for the past couple of times. It was a late game, 3:15 pm, so that always throws off our tailgating schedule. I prepared and marinated some veggie goodness for kabobs the night before and M got his meatball marinara sandwich with provolone and bacon all ready for grilling but before we left, there was one big problem. We could not find the heat regulator/thingamajig for the grill, therefore we were SOL. Then we remembered we had a small gas grill that we dusted off and brought that instead. So not ideal but it definitely worked in a pinch and our food turned out pretty good, except for M's charred bacon.

There were of course lots of Packers fans tailgating which always makes me a little queasy when I see that much green but everyone was nice to each other in the lot. It was just M and I tailgating and we spent more time in the car than we wanted to as it was raining pretty good for about 30 minutes and we didn't want to get wet.

It was Christian Ponder's first start in the NFL and more importantly his first start for the Vikings. McNabb doesn't bother me as a person but it was refreshing to have a new start in this already awful season and we're all ready to see what Ponder can do. First, the Vikings lost and that should be no surprise for so many reasons but we hung in there....way more than I thought we would or could. The final score was 33-27 so despite the loss, there was no complaining or blaming Ponder for anything but I do wish we would have gone for it on 4th down in the last 4-6 minutes of the game as that was our last chance to win.

Target was having a promotion during the game and they picked a section and row in the entire metrodome to give gift cards to. The section they chose was our section but the row was 4 down from us. Each person in the row received a $250 gift card to Target! That would have been nice!

During halftime, Chris Doleman was inducted into the Vikings Ring of Honor.

Look at that technology!

Casual Friday and Saturday

2011-10-24T18:09:00.001-05:00

Friday:

Lately we've been watching movies on Friday nights. I'm loving that the hectic schedule of the summer and the overflow of that into September is done and we can relax and take it easy. We watched the King's Speech. We're about 6 months overdue from the time it was released so I'm glad we finally had a chance to watch it. I liked it and Colin Firth deserved his Oscar for Best Actor. I also thought Geoffrey Rush was fantastic. Have you guys seen it? Did you like it?

Saturday:

I love the fall days where the sun is shining and it's warm for fall standards and there is nothing planned which means you can do whatever you want to enjoy the day.

We ate breakfast at Pizza Luce:

We went to Cherokee Park in St. Paul where we found the bench and plaques that were dedicated to Eyedea. There was a celebration of his life, music and the unveiling of two plaques and a bench last Sunday which marked the one year anniversary of his death.

We went home and watched some of the Gophers football game and decided we had had enough so we walked to the park to shoot some hoops.

And we relaxed and ended the evening with a movie called Cedar Rapids which I thought was pretty funny and Saturday Night Live, a rerun, but we had never seen it so it didn't matter to us. In the words/lyrics of Ice Cube, ♪ I got to say today was a good day. ♫

Eversave Deal- Target and Restaurant.com

2011-10-22T09:22:00.001-05:00

Eversave is offering a great deal right now. For $25, you get a $25 gift card to Target and a $50 e-gift card to Restaurant.com! This is a great save because you can take advantage of this deal no matter where you live in the country. This save ends on Monday evening and you can buy up to three of them. Christmas is just around the corner. Happy shopping!

Click on the picture below or link to be directed to the site.

http://www.sharethesave.com/myeverydaylife/online/target-and-restaurant-com

Target and Restaurant.com

Today's Save:$25 for both a Target gift card and a Restaurant.com e-gift card

Expires 11:59 PM - Oct 24, 2011

Hot Dogs and Hangovers

2011-10-21T18:40:00.000-05:00

Last Saturday M and I went to Sean and Beth's house for the 2nd annual Hot Dogs and Hangovers party. Each person was to bring something for the potluck and they provided hot dogs in addition to a bar that you could buy shots from. They also had a raffle where you could buy tickets for some of their prizes which included a 50/50 raffle. Both M and I bought tickets and when it came time for drawing, I won two times in a row. I won a stuffed Harley Davidson pig (hog) and a home security system that has two cameras and a surveillance monitor! The person who won the 50/50 raffle ended up winning $108. They also had a jar full of candy that you could guess how many pieces were in there. M ended up winning that contest (he guessed 182 and there were 207 pieces) so we were big winners by the end of the night. There were lots of people there including a good chunk of people from the Cherry Ride and Tailgate Party and some of M's cousins. We mostly hung out in the garage but there was also a nice fire in their yard. We ended up staying later than most people, leaving at almost 2 am. I can't remember the last time I stayed out that late, or up for that matter. Thank you Sean and Beth for a good time!

Check out the hot dog cake! It was pretty big as you can tell by the box of crackers next to it.

Caramel Goodness

2011-10-19T21:03:00.000-05:00

M went to Marine on the St. Croix to visit our favorite chocolate place, St. Croix Chocolate Co. for their annual Caramelpalooza. While M sampled different caramels and looked at llamas, another guest was there to give me a message. Check out the video below. :)

My own caramelvis--M did bring me home the scarf from Elvis. :)

October Birchbox

2011-10-17T18:38:00.000-05:00

I received my October Birchbox in the mail last week. While I really like one of the products, the tinted primer, I'm thinking I might be done with this whole monthly thing because it no longer feels worth it for $10 each month, especially when you get shampoo and conditioner sample packets. I'll evaluate after the December box but what girl doesn't love getting beauty product surprises in the mail?

Dinner and Hospital

2011-10-16T12:24:00.000-05:00

Last Wednesday both M and I met my Grandpa and my aunt Donna at the Lake Elmo Inn for dinner. It was a rainy, chilly October evening. We had never been there before but I've always heard good things about their brunch. I didn't expect it to be as small and quaint as it was. One the inside, there are thousands of salt and pepper shakers everywhere in cases. We all ordered something different; Walleye, Prawns and Pasta, Filet Mignon and Vegetable Pasta. Before you eat, they give you a lemon sorbet to cleanse your palate and after dinner, they bring hot wash cloths and chocolate covered strawberries for dessert. Even the leftovers are wrapped intricately in aluminum foil. My grandpa's looked like an Easter basket and Donna's was in the shape of a swan. We all enjoyed our food however the service was extremely slow for Wednesday night. It took over 2 hours from start to finish and our server was not very attentive to our needs.

After dinner, we went Woodwinds hospital in Woodbury where M's dad was staying overnight as he had surgery on his foot. I think I mentioned a different post that he had shattered his heel recently. We only had about 15 minutes to visit him since visiting hours were until 9 pm but he was very happy to see us as we were his last visitors of the night and two of his other kids had been there earlier in the evening. He looked so cute lying in his bed and his hair all messy and the surgery earlier in the day went better than expected.

Nothing to Share but Veggies

2011-10-15T14:46:00.000-05:00

I'll admit, this is a probably one of the dumbest posts I've ever done but because I loved the picture, I get to share it with you. I went to lunch with my friends Kristen and Carrie last Tuesday at the Mall of America and I had to take a picture of the salad I created from the salad bar. It's just too pretty and colorful and heaping not to have shared. If you can appreciate and love veggies, maybe it looks as enticing and yummy to you as it was to me. That's it!

Vikings vs. Cardinals

2011-10-13T19:27:00.000-05:00

Instead of tailgating in our usual spot this past Sunday, M and I decided to park at a meter and walk through the rest of the tailgate parking lots and see what's going on. We do this usually once a year and while we both love our tailgating parking lot and spot mostly due to how close it is the dome, we are missing some really hardcore fans in the other lots. This post is basically just pictures of some of the fun Vikings stuff we saw while walking through the lots. We did meet up with some of our friends and spent some time with them. We discovered years ago that a guy that I graduated with in White Bear Lake and a guy that M graduated with in Roseville were friends with each other and have season tickets together. Oh, and I suppose I should talk about the game. It was week 5 and the Vikings not only got their first win at home, it was their first win of the season. Granted it was against the Cardinals but the final score was 34-10. Adrian Peterson had a great day with 122 yards and 3 TD's which made him the NFC Offensive Player of the Week.

Check out this blender!

I had to take a picture of the cops checking out the motor of a scooter

Some random who wanted to pose with the meat

M with his HS friend Todd

Me with my HS friend Chris

On the plaza

The frisbee dogs at halftime. It's our favorite halftime show.

Alphabet Happy Hour

2011-10-12T18:05:00.000-05:00

I can't even remember how long it's been since the entire Alphabet Gang got together but that happened last Thursday evening. We met at Crave in the Mall of America for dinner and drinks. I had a stir fry over rice that wasn't very good. If you've been to Crave, you know how much it costs. Despite the cost, it was so great to see everyone together again under one roof. Even though we ate indoors, it was nice enough to have had another HH on a patio somewhere as we had something like 7 days in a row of 80 degrees or more. We won't have many more of these days here in MN.

I paid $19 for this:

I don't know if the plate looks large but it was not

A big boatload of sushi

Blogger Dinner

2011-10-11T20:05:00.000-05:00

I met with a bunch of lovely bloggin' ladies last Wednesday night for dinner. The group consisted of myself, Ang, Kim, Kristi and Krysten. I know both Kristi and Kim from high school and I've met Ang a few times now so Krysten was the only one I hadn't met yet and I was excited to meet her as she seems (and is) so nice and cute and has a great sense of style. We ate at Axel's Bonfire in St. Paul on Grand Avenue which also doubled as a restaurant outing for Kristi and her Twin Cities Restaurant Blog. (Check it out!) I had the veggie fajitas which were deliciouso. We had lots of fun and I'm sure we'll be doing it again in the future. The only bad thing about the night was that Ang, Kristi and myself all received parking tickets for parking on the streets off of Grand Avenue. There was some tiny little print about permit parking on the sign and none of us saw it. Boo!

P.S. I was of course the last blogger in our group to write about our meet up! I'm less than a week behind in my blogs now but Ang, I'm trying my hardest to blog in real time! :)

Photos are courtesy of Kristi

Ang, Me, Krysten- We're all lefties :)

Kristi and Kim

Kim, Me, Krysten, Ang, Kristi

Julian, Bubbles and Ricky

2011-10-10T21:19:00.000-05:00

If you know who Julian, Bubbles and Ricky are, I'm impressed. They are characters on a Canadian TV show called Trailer Park Boys. The show is everything that is stereotypical of a trailer park and stereotypes in a Nova Scotian trailer park are no different than in the United States. The series ran from 2001-2008 and they had two movies. The show is full of drinking, drugs, illegal plots, jail and tons of swearing. And it's hilarious.

Last Tuesday, M and I went to see Trailer Park Boys live....the Drunk, High and Unemployed Tour. The show consisted of the three main characters; Julian, who is never seen without a rum and coke in his hand (and I mean ever), Bubbles who wears coke bottle glasses and lives in a shed with all his kitties and Ricky who is considered the dumbest of all of them with tons of malaprop's (or Rickyisms like "it's a catch 23" or "get two birds stoned at once") It basically was a live episode of their TV show. It was very entertaining and kind of surreal to see these characters in real life. I bought tickets to this probably four months ago and we had really great seats, 3rd row on the aisle.

If your are into crude comedies, check it out! Has anyone out there seen Trailer Park Boys before?

Via

Before I show pictures from the show, we walked past this place on Hennepin which featured art from Dana-something. It was creepy!

Now for the show:

Ricky (my favorite), Julian and Bubbles

Thanking the crowd out of character