Happy Birthday, Cherrie and Grandma

Yesterday would have been Cherrie's 50th birthday.  If you don't know, Michael's sister, Cherrie passed away in August 2008.  We all went to the cemetery in White Bear Lake to celebrate her birthday with her. Michael read aloud a poem that he wrote and we released 50 balloons, mostly purple, which was Cherrie's favorite color.  Yesterday was so cold and extremely windy so when we let the balloons go, some of the flew right off into the tree.  We then went to eat at Donatelli's. It wasn't a sad moment for me but a happy one to celebrate Cherrie's life.  My grandma passed away less than a month before Cherrie and her birthday would have been today and she would be turning 96! Happy Birthday Cherrie and Grandma.  We love and miss you.

Michael reading the poem he wrote

Chad up in the tree trying to get the balloons out

Flame

I went out with my friend Heather on Tuesday night to a restaurant called Flame in Rosedale mall. Neither of us had been there before.  We had plans to go here together back in January the week we had all that black ice and we just finally was able to reschedule.  We each got a martini called the Orange Blossom.  It was anything but orange.  It was green...and bubbling...and smoking when it came to the table.  They put dry ice in it and Heather asked if it was safe to drink and the server said just not to drink it fast.  Thanks for the warning!  I had the 8 hour pot roast for dinner and it was just ok.  I had a good time and it was fun to see Heather again.

 

Check out the bathroom sink.  It's all loose rocks.

Weekend Recap Valentine's Weekend

Friday:

 

M and I went to a restaurant for our romantic Valentine’s dinner that neither of us had ever been to before.  We went to North Coast in Wayzata.  It’s located on the northern part of Lake Minnetonka in Wayzata Bay right on the water.  Our reservations were at 7:30 pm and since it is on the other side of the cities from where we live, we headed out a little early to venture on our 27 mile journey during Friday rush hour traffic.  I do not know that side of the cities at all and I don’t even think I had ever even been in Wayzata before.  It’s a good thing we left early because we got lost.  I forgot my GPS at home but I did print out a map with directions from Google Maps.  The directions were not very clear once you got into Wayzata.  That said, we didn’t make a turn we were supposed to and ended up on a windy, twisty-turny, curvy road that went through the lake.  And the houses on this road!  Granted it was dark, but these were the biggest houses I’d seen in MN.  There’s plenty of mansions on the Minneapolis chain of lakes but these seemed even bigger.  We finally arrived at the restaurant about 10 minutes early.  I had made these reservations weeks ago and requested a booth.  Well, they didn’t have a booth for us when we got there and asked if a table by the windows would do.  We said yes but thought it was a little poor that despite making reservations and a having a specific request of a booth, they couldn’t accommodate that without us having to wait for a booth to open up.  We were sat at a nice table at the big window, which would have been perfect to see the water and landscape, had it been light out or if it was summer.  No one came to our table for about 5 minutes and then our server and her trainee came to greet us.  The trainee was a very nice guy but c’mon, training on Valentine’s weekend?   We weren’t quite ready for our drink order yet so they left us to look at the menu.  In the meantime, we realized we were sitting next to the table from hell.  There were 2 couples, of which 3 of the 4 were quiet.  The one lady was LOUD and apparently everything was funny because she kept laughing and laughing louder each time.  My back was turned towards the group, however M said that it looked like her husband was embarrassed at the fact of how loud she was.  They didn’t leave until shortly before we were done with our dinner.   The servers came back and took our drink order.  I ordered a Cherry Berrytini and M ordered a Butterscotch Truffletini, which was M’s first martini order ever, I think.  The drinks came and mine tasted like cherry cough syrup.  I gave it to M to drink and didn’t even taste his because I knew I would like it better than mine.   We ordered our food and it came pretty quickly.   I had the petite filet (6 oz) and it was a blood bath on a plate.  I normally order it medium well but because it was such a small piece of meat, I ordered it medium.  It was actually medium rare.  I still ate it even though I don’t prefer it that way and I don’t usually complain at restaurants.  (I wait until after the fact and bitch about it to all of you guys)  M’s steak was not quite the way he likes it either, but whatever.  The side dishes were a la carte and because M and I can never decide on a side dish together, which are often times bigger and feeds more than 1 person, we got two.  I got mashed potatoes and he got rosemary roasted red potatoes.  We finished our meal and while we did share both potatoes, there were more red potatoes left and I wanted to take them home.  (Hey, they were $8 and I like leftovers)  When the sniffling, snorting, snotty nosed, high school kid was cleaning off our table, he started to take away the potatoes and I told him that I would like a box for them.  He gave me a horrendous look, like, are you serious?  and actually snickered at me.  That pissed me off and made me feel embarrassed.  Maybe he didn’t have a cold, maybe he is just a stuck up little high school kid with a coke problem.  We finished off with mini crème brulee and something else that was supposed to be chocolate cake and as you can see below, it’s not cake.  The bill came and it was $120.  Would you have paid that much for this type of experience?  M and I go out to a fancy restaurant 1-2 times a year and pay this much but I cannot say I have experienced this before.  We have spent that much money at Kincaid’s numerous times but have never had a problem there and have always walked out satisfied and don’t mind doing so if everything is great.  I have a fairy tale mind so I am sure my expectations were high because it’s V-Day weekend and I wanted everything to be perfect but it was far from it.  We went home and because we were both so tired, just went to bed.

Saturday:

Valentine’s Day! We woke up really early, considering that we went to bed earlier than we normally do than on a work night. M left to visit his friend and that’s when I started working. My goal: Make my own chocolate for M. I bought the materials at Joann’s a week earlier and I was nervous about doing this because I always have good intentions when it comes to some craft but I they don’t always turn out like I would like them to. The chocolate was a success! I made both dark and white chocolate, which is the red chocolate below. Not only did I think it looked good, it tasted good too. I wrapped a couple of gifts I got M and finished the book I started last week while I was waiting for him to come home. Here are my pictures below.

M came home and loved the chocolate. He ended up giving me a huge heart filled with chocolates and heart peanut butter cups so we have lots of chocolate around the house. We took a nap to prepare us for the rest of our night.

For the last 3 years, M and I have gone to the same place for Valentine’s Day. White Castle! If you don’t know, White Castle is M’s favorite food on earth. 3 years ago, I thought I would be the good girlfriend and make reservations at White Castle (yes, you have to make reservations and they fill up quickly!) and surprise him. He was surprised and LOVED it so we’ve been doing it every year now and will continue to do so in the future. We went to the Lexington/University White Castle because our first choice of location was already booked. Michael goes to this location on his lunch break from work sometimes and he has a favorite employee there. We were seated at 7:45 in a candlelit White Castle with people in dresses, suits and even a tuxedo. You have a server and they give you a menu and they bring out the food to you and they take your picture at the end of the night. I just looked and we’re not on their website yet but we’re on there from last year. Just look under Minneapolis and the Lake and 36^thStreet location and you’ll find us on the first page. (I think the casino bus in the background is a perfect touch, don’t you?) We gave our young high school server a $10 tip (on a $13 bill) and she was extremely excited and went right to her manager to show her. M’s favorite worker was behind the counter. He’s is a short African American guy who’s missing teeth, has a high voice and appears to be mentally challenged of some sort. He recognized M before he could even say hi and then he gave me his tiara he was wearing. I asked him if he was sure he didn’t want it but he said, “I’m over it already”. For $13, I enjoyed myself more than I did the night before. Valentine’s Day, or any day for that matter, has nothing to do with money.

Our heart shaped chicken ring!

After White Castle, we ventured to Famous Dave’s in Calhoun Square to meet Tanya and Chris and to see Big John Dickerson. While the band has been around for 40 years, Chris’s friend, Jamela has been in the band for 3 years. I’ve heard about her since early 2000’s from Chris, talked to her on the phone and even had her at my apartment in Uptown (but I wasn’t there) but we had never met. Finally I got to meet her and wow, does she have a great voice. If she were on American Idol, she would be going through to Hollywood in a heartbeat. The place was packed and the band was awesome. My honeybear even asked me to dance to Louis Armstrong’s, “Wonderful World”, which was perfect. It was a lot of fun to hang with Tanya and Chris as always. Did you know that Chris is my ex boyfriend? We met in January 1995 and were together for almost 5 years. He’s one of my best friends and it’s great to know that Tanya and Michael are ok with us being ex’s and it’s not awkward in the slightest. M and I are even in their wedding in October! Here’s lots of pictures from the night.

I love him!

Our $1.50 heart shaped brownie

Big John Dickerson

M and I with Jamela

Sunday:

I went out to eat with my sister for lunch, bummed around Fleet Farm waiting for a movie to start (bought a new book for me and some pecans for M) and then went to see He’s Just Not that Into You. Is Fleet Farm the weirdest store you have ever been to? I think they have everything there. If I wanted shampoo, a leather motorcycle vest, some bird seed, Spanish peanuts, a crock pot, a Christmas tree, farm equipment and a shotgun, I could purchase them under the roof of Fleet Farm. Back to the movie…my sister wasn’t too excited to see it at first but she really enjoyed it and so did I. There were many stars in this movie and one that I could have done without was Ben Affleck. Does anyone like that guy?

I know this was very long but I hope you enjoyed it and hope you had a great weekend!

Dana after Dentist

I went to the dentist Wednesday after work. Because of insurance reasons and not wanting to spend any money out of my own pocket and go to the dentist that I want to go to instead of insurance telling me of the dentists THEY want me to go to, I hadn’t been to the dentist since October 2007 just before I got laid off from my job. (What a run-on sentence!) They took x-rays and while I already knew that I have 1 impacted wisdom tooth (no, I’ve never had them removed), I also found out that I only have 3 wisdom teeth. The dentist said that some people do not get all of them and some get none at all. Besides the impacted one, which does not bother me in the slightest, the other 2 are only barely there.
Remember one of my New Year’s resolutions? It was to start flossing my teeth and get to the point where my gums don’t bleed after every time I do it as it was very infrequent. I floss almost every day now and it has become a habit. This is how the conversation went while I was there:

Dental Hygienist, Angela: Your gums look good. You must floss.

Dana: As of January 1st, yes, I do. That was one of my New Year’s resolutions.

Angela: That’s a weird resolution.

Ok, so the conversation didn’t go over as well as my flossing and the results of the flossing.

BTW, my gums do not bleed anymore when flossed. And I had no cavities! Woot! Woot! Time for some sugar!

And here’s my perfect segway to talk about David after Dentist. Did you watch the video? Isn’t it hilarious? It’s been talked about everywhere. The video went from 19,000 views to 1 million views in 1 day. Now it’s approaching 9 million views. And of course all the spoofs of the actual video are just as hilarious, including the audio from Christian Bale’s freak out on the set of a movie intertwined with David after Dentist. Go to YouTube and take a peek.

Have a good Valentine's Weekend!

Thoughts for Thursday-Valentine's Day

With Valentine's Day this coming Saturday, I thought it would make a good TFT topic.  I have always liked Valentine's Day.   When I was a kid,  I loved decorating my shoe box with tissue paper, stickers, glitter and cutting out hearts out of paper doilies and bringing it to school as a sort of mailbox for all the other kids to drop Valentine's cards and candy into it.  

Fast forward as an adult and I still like the "holiday".  I like to go out to dinner or have a nice dinner at home with M and celebrate each other but I never expect gifts, even though I usually get something, and M has been more than generous throughout the years.  We will be going out to dinner this weekend at a place we have made our tradition.  I know M goes along with the whole Valentine's thing for me because I do like it but with our latest tradition, I think he enjoys Valentine's Day more now than ever because we do something he really loves.  I'll blog more on that after the weekend. 

Despite the fact that I like V-Day, I believe it is all hype and I feel it's gotten worse in the recent years.  I feel like society makes the guys feel like losers if they don't buy their significant other jewelry or flowers or candy.  People say that V-Day is silly and that you should appreciate your significant other every day, not just that day.  I agree, but not everyone does  and it's nice to have a reminder.  It is nice to have a day dedicated to relationships, of any kind, whether it's a dating relationship, marriage or just friends.  

How do you feel about Valentine's Day?  Have you always felt that way?  Has anything significant ever happened to you on V-Day?  How do you normally celebrate?  Do you have plans for this Valentine's weekend?

I'll post other TFT blogs as they get posted.  

3 Girls, a Guy and Lots of Sushi

Last night I went out to dinner with Kristi, Erick and Ang for sushi at Akita in Woodbury.  Ang is a friend of Kristi and we have followed each other's blogs for quite some time and I finally got to meet her.  All 3 of us had been trying to plan a dinner date for a while now and we finally made it work last night in celebration of Kristi's birthday, which is today.  Happy Birthday, Kristi! Meeting Ang was so easy as I felt like I already knew her from reading her blog.  It was nice to meet you, Ang!

We each had all-you-can-eat sushi at Akita.  I like sushi but I haven't branched off and tried much more than I normally get but I did just that last night.   I had edamame, sashimi, sushi, maki rolls, as well as a fried scallop and beef teriyaki.  For the sashimi, I had salmon and tuna.  For the sushi, I had Unagi, AKA eel.  I was nervous about this one but wanted to try something different. As for the maki, I had spicy tuna, dragon rolls, salmon and I also had one of Ang's philly rolls.  All of it was very good.  Oh, and I even tried Sake too!

  

Kristi will also be doing a review of the restaurant at some point on her other blog, Twin Cities Restaurant Blog. Visit her blog to see what restaurants she has reviewed.  And if you'd like to subscribe, you can do so by entering your email address on the site or subscribing in a reader. Show her site some love. She does this on her own and for free so check it out! 

Beautiful!

Notice the chopsticks bunny ears Erick is giving Kristi

My Unagi (eel)

Before the Unagi

And during...hey, it was a really big piece! (And yes, it was good!)

Ang's Sushi--pretty, huh?

Me, Kristi, Ang

Weekend Recap February 6-8

Friday:

Because I have been having problems with my camera and the battery not holding a charge, I spontaneously (one does not usually put spontaneous and Dana in the same sentence) purchased a new digital camera on my lunch break from work. Nothing fancy, just a decent point and shoot that I hope to get as much time out of it as I can. I bought it at Circuit City. As you know, they are going out of business and their employees lack of care shows. I went to the Edina store and none of the employees were wearing any sort of uniform so you couldn't identify them. They did not have any information listed for any of the products and they only had hand written price tags and they had heavy metal/hard rock blasting from the speakers. I finally was able to track down an employee and the girl next to me asked him why they don't have name tags or Circuit City shirts on and he simply said, "Because we don't care. We are losing our jobs and none of this matters to us." Nice! (I actually went into the Maplewood Circuit City store on Saturday and I found it to be completely professional still) Anyways, that's where I bought my new camera that was supposed to be 30% off. It's obvious that Circuit City raised their prices and then put a % off on each product. I still got a decent deal as the range of the camera I bought is $82-$200 online and I got it on the lower end of the spectrum.

Michael (from now on, I am calling Michael "M" on here. I don't know why but I hate typing his name out every single time) and I went to see the MN Wild on Friday night. This was only the 2nd Wild game I have ever been to since their inception. Hockey isn't my favorite sport but if you're going to watch it, it needs to be in person. Despite the Wild losing, I still had a lot of fun.

One of the first pictures I took with my camera.  Isn't Powder cute?

The teams during practice

Saturday:

M and I went out to breakfast to Pannekoeken (wow, I spelled that correctly the first time). I then went to Joann's and bummed around the store and then I went to a movie. I went and saw The Reader. I just finished reading this book and I really couldn't get into it and for me, it was one of those books that you can't wait to finish. I liked the first half of the book but I didn't care for the second half. I really liked the movie and the second half of the book that I didn't like was much more interesting on screen. This movie is one of the nominees for Best Picture in the upcoming Academy Awards. It is my goal to see all of the movies nominated for best picture. It's actually a goal of mine every year and I usually end up seeing 2-3 of them but I am going to see all 5 before the Oscars this time. Kate Winslet is also nominated for Best Actress for this movie. I have never disliked or particularly liked Kate Winslet as an actress but she deserves to be nominated for this movie.

In the evening, M and I went to Pepito's for dinner, one of our favorites. On our way home, I wanted to test out my new camera, so we went over to the Cathedral and Capitol and took some pictures. Not the best but it was dark and it's hard to take pictures in the dark with a point and shoot or without a tripod.

The Cathedral

The Capitol and the Cathedral in the background

The Capitol with its reflection on the top of the car

Downtown St. Paul--I LOVE this city!

Sunday:

M and I met my sister, BIL and their family at the VFW in South St. Paul. They just came from church and we were all there to celebrate my sister's new job by having the Commander's breakfast. My sister has been in the hotel industry since she was 16 and she has finally accepted her first General Manager position at a hotel in Stillwater. She has already worked at this hotel brand before and also has used the same computer system so she will hit the ground running at her new job. Congratulations, Jamie. You finally got what you wanted. This was the first time I had seen my sister since my birthday and she gave me an awesome purse, jewelry, shirt and candle holder. Love it all, Jame! For the rest of the day, I hung around the house, watched part of the Pro Bowl and then cleaned part of the house.

Keith and Hunter

Tom and Jamie

Hey, didn't M just have a beard?

Glamorous Glue

I got this from Ang's blog, and thought I would post my answers. It's just a silly thing but you will see that some of the songs really make sense with the questions! (I wrote the name of the artist/band after the song name in case you care who it's by)

Instructions:
I. Put your music player on shuffle.
II. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
III. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS!
IV. Tag friends who might enjoy doing this.

1. If someone says, “Is this Okay?” you say…
Tell Me Again-Ron Sexsmith

2. What would best describe your personality?
My World- Sick Puppies

3. What do you like in a guy?
I Need You-Tommy Lee

4. How do you feel today?
The Humor of the Situation-Barenaked Ladies

5. What is your life’s purpose?
Lift Me Up-Karelia

6. What is your motto?
Go Your Own Way-Fleetwood Mac

7. What do you think of your parents?
Come Out Clean-Tito & Tarantula

8. What do you think about very often?
I’ll Come Along-Magnet

9. What is 2+2?
Writer’s Block-Just Jack

10. What do you think of your best friend?
I’ll Be Waiting-Chris Walla

11. What do you think of the person you like?
Seeing & Believing-Wild Sweet Orange

12. What is your life’s story?
Home-Staind

13. What do you want to be when you grow up?
The Hindu Times-Oasis

14. What do you think when you see the person you like?
Notion-Kings of Leon

15. What do your parents think of you?
Every Breath You Take-The Police

16. What will you dance to at your wedding?
Liezah-The Coral

17. What will they play at your funeral?
Closest Thing to Heaven-Tears for Fears

18. What is your hobby/interest?
Easy Lover-Phil Collins

19. What is your biggest secret?
Jaded- The Crystal Method

20. What do you think of your friends?
Lilian-Depeche Mode

21. What’s the worst thing that could happen?
From Where I Am-Enya

22. How will you die?
Language Barrier-Mike Doughty

23. Does anyone like you?
Lie After Lie-Filter

24. If you could go back in time, what would you change?
Trip-Bliss 66

25. What hurts right now?
E-Ville-Sonic Animation

26. What will you post this as?
Glamorous Glue-Morrissey

Happy Friday!

This is a video I got from YouTube. Here is the back story behind the video and it is posted next to the video on YouTube also.

"This is my 7 year old son who had an extra tooth removed last summer, 2008. I had the camera because he was so nervous before and I wanted him to see the before and after. He was so out of it after, I had to carry him out of the office. The staff was trying to keep from laughing. I had tears from laughing so hard. He is doing fine now and the teeth are great.Best of all he is the best kid as is his brother William. I couldnt have asked for two better sons! 2/3 Update: Video camera is a flip video. not bad for $150 bucks!"

It's Been Way Too Long...

I had dinner with my friend Tanya last night for sushi at Saji Ya in St. Paul.  I haven't seen Tanya in about a year yet I still consider her my best girl friend.  It's never ackward when we haven't seen each other for awhile and we can always pick up where we left off.  I wanted to take a picture of us but you guessed it, my camera was dead AGAIN.  Ever since I bought that battery, it doesn't hold a charge.  I am going to look into getting a new camera.  I did however take a picture with my cell phone of my martini.  I had to because it was just so pretty.  I ordered a cherry blossom martini and when it arrived, it had a cherry blossom flower in it.  And it was delicious!  Thank you, Tanya for taking me out last night for my birthday!  I can't wait to take you out for yours in July (or August if we don't quite make it on time).  :)

Thoughts for Thursday-Vices

I tried to think of a vice I have in life and the only one I can come up with is food. I love food...and it shows. I never started smoking. I am a social drinker. I don't drink caffiene. I don't do drugs. My vice is food. I love it, as I think many of us do, but it's always been a part of my life that I haven't been able to control as much as the other things in my life. I've gained and lost weight many times over throughout my life and have never been that successful with getting my weight to where I want it to be.

What's your vice(s)? Do you consider it be a little or big part of how it effects your life? Have you taken any steps to control it?

Other TFT's:

Jenny-Who does your taxes?

Kristi-Celebrating Birthdays

Ang-How do you use Facebook?