A Win?!

As of Sunday, December 1st, there were two tailgating opportunities left until the big one, the last one at the dome, the one and only, Cherrie Jones Tailgating party.  Because of this, we decided that we want to tailgate one more time in our lot and one more time walking around and in other people's lots.  We decided that we'd walk around this time so the first lot we went to was to our high school friend's parking lot.  Yep, M and I both have high school friends that have tickets together even though M and I went to different schools and we're 3 years apart.  It was kind of weird making that discovery many years ago.

We met up with my friends Chris and Scott and M's friend Todd, AKA Sea Bass.  Not sure about that one. We didn't stay too long with them but continued to walk around looking at everyone else's setup when M ran into another high school friend named Jesse.  At this time we were playing phone tag with M's other friend Wayne who happened to be out there too and in our usual lot looking for us.

We eventually made our way back to our regular tailgate lot and found Wayne and Tyler and didn't spend much time with them either as they had free beers coming their way on the plaza.  I did manage to get a picture and we did get time to play with the random dog that was hanging around. 

This dog was fun, playful and very smart.  He had a tennis ball and he wanted to play with anyone that would play with him.  He would catch the tennis ball in his mouth when thrown to him and then give it back to you to do it again.  M played with him until his glove was full of dog saliva. 

We played the Chicago Bears and in my experience seeing the Bears live, those games have been some of my favorite.  I'm not sure why but I almost always have fun at those games.  Maybe it's because most often, we win against them at home.  

I had a feeling that we were going to win this game as I had picked the Vikings to win in my Pick'ems league but as the game started and went on, it turned out to be a pretty boring game.  Ponder went out at one point with concussion-like symptoms, a reason we didn't know while we were at the game.  Cassel steps in and starts performing, at least more than Ponder did, which we all know that happens, besides the coaches apparently.  

The 4th quarter gets interesting when it's tied and we end up going into overtime, something we just did the week before with the Packers and ended up in a tie. It was a series of bloopers for both teams that kept giving each other's team another chance to score to win the game including a winning field goal wiped out by a face mask penalty and another missed one by our reliable Blair Walsh and a bad coaching decision on the Bears side to kick a field goal on 2nd and 7...and miss. The back and forth of each team having three possessions was really bizarre.  Eventually, Vikings end up winning with less than 2 minutes on the clock in OT, 23-20.  

Adrian Peterson hit two milestones that day.  He ran for a total of 211 yards, the 5th time in his career he's gotten over 200 yards in a game as well as passing the 10,000 yards mark in his career.  He did it in 101 games and is the 3rd fastest person to do it besides his two heroes, Eric Dickerson and Jim Brown.  I've seen multiple Adrian records being broken at home and I'm happy that he was able do it in front of a home crowd.

To celebrate the win, M and I had bear chops for dinner.  Take that, Chicago!

Ten Years - Meow!

It was 10 years ago this past Thanksgiving, November 28th, that I got my first fuzzy little baby.  I went with my ex-something to the Animal Humane Society in Coon Rapids in 2003 to look at cats.  I can't remember I really had intentions of getting one before we got there or if we just went to look.  Either way, I saw many cats but there was one cat that caught my eye.  No, it wasn't because he was the most playful or the prettiest, it was because he was quarantined. This cat was in a big room, all to himself because he had an eye infection that was contagious to the other cats.  He looked nice and sad at the same time with his droopy, goopy eye.  He had been there since the day before Halloween and that saddened me even more that he had been there a month.  

I walked into the empty room and walked right up to the orange tabby that was sitting high above the ground on his perch.  He let me pet him and he was gentle and easy-going.  His name was Freddie and all I knew about his age was he was born in 2000, making him around three years old.  I was sad that everyone in the last 30 days passed him up. I decided I was going to get him.  

My ex-something bought Freddie for me as an early Christmas present.  I took him home that day in a cardboard box thinking I just bought an adult cat that has a bunk eye, ear mites and an extra long tail .  

I got home and Freddie was laid back, exploring my Minneapolis apartment.  He didn't mind it if you pet him but he wasn't going to sit on your lap.  He would follow me into every room I went though and he still does it today.  

I didn't want to keep the cat's name as Freddie but the woman at the Humane Society said that it might be difficult to change a cat's name after 3 years.  I did it anyway.  At first I named him Mangy and then Chewy and then back to Mangy.  I finally settled on Fuzzer.  Prior to getting this cat, anytime my sister and I would see a cat, we would say, "Oh, look at the baby fuzzer!"  Fuzzer was just a generic name for a cat.  He never had a problem adjusting to his new name.  Every once in a while, M and I will call him Freddie just to see if he looks.  Sometimes he does but most often he doesn't. 

Fuzzer has been my baby since the beginning.  It was just him and I before his little brother Powder joined us 4 months later.  He'd sit with me in the bathroom while I'd get ready for work and "sing".  He doesn't meow, he sings.  It's this cute little "mock-mak-mak-mock-mak-mak-mack-meh-mah..." that sounds like he's singing.  It was MANY years before I actually heard him meow and it's still rare when he does.  

He's been a devil at times and my innocent little angel too.  In his older years, he is most definitely a lap cat, almost always opting for my lap over M's.  He's 13 now and I can't imagine living my life without him, even though that day will be coming sooner than later.  I cherish him every single day.  Love you, Fuzz!

 

Thanksgiving

How was your Thanksgiving?  Mine was good, but I was missing my dad big time on Wednesday night.  Oh, how I wish he was still here.  :(

I made two pies on Wednesday night.  Both were pumpkin but neither too traditional.  One I made with a graham cracker crust and with sweet condensed milk instead of evaporated milk.  I don't even know if it tasted good because I don't really care for pumpkin pie and never tried it.  M took that one to his family on Thanksgiving.

I also made a pumpkin pie with a ginger snap and brown butter crust with cinnamon/brown sugar topping and cinnamon whipped cream.  I had two small pieces of this pie over the course of the holiday weekend sans the whipped cream (yuck!) and it was yummo.

It tasted better than it looks!

On Thanksgiving morning, I made green bean casserole and brought it to my aunt's house in Somerset, where most of my mom's side was.  We missed my aunt, cousin, his fiancee and their kids as they couldn't make it. 

The food was delicious, I loved seeing my family, I didn't overeat and I didn't go shopping afterwards.  Win!

Sister's family

Sister, Me, Grandpa, Mom

Pouty and Happy

Productive and Fun Weekend

I had a super great weekend November 22-24th.  There was nothing in particular that made it special except for the fact that I didn't have anywhere to go and the whole weekend was on my terms.  Sometimes you just have one of those weekends and this was one of them.

FRIDAY:

Friday started out awesome as Carrie and I both had pink hoodies on.  Oh, we sit right next to each other too.

I made an awesome organic, grass-fed steak salad for dinner.  So.delicious. 

I got my monthly essential oils order on Friday as well.  Fuzzer was just as excited. I can't believe I haven't talked to you guys yet about essential oils.  That day will come soon. 

SATURDAY: 

This would be the last day I would see this car.  I sold it.  I should have sold it months and months ago but I just didn't get to it.  Craigslist is the best.  Goodbye, Killer Bee.  

I got to see the new $100 bills.  I thought they were fake and had to verify with Michael before I accepted them from the buyer.  That shows you how often I have a $100 bill in my possession.  

I successfully ate a pomegranate.  I had never eaten a pomegranate until earlier in the week.  I bought it a cup of them seeded already and I thought they were strange.  Juicy but crunchy.  Turns out I love them. How I went this long in life without eating a pomegranate, I don't know.  Have you eaten one before?  I've had another one since this weekend and I have two more on my counter waiting for me.  Good thing they're in season from September to January because I plan on buying a bunch.

It's a little bit of work to get the seeds out but it's worth it.  Watch out for your clothes though.  Those puppies stain everything.  

I wrapped 85% of my Christmas presents.  Yep, I started shopping in late September here and there and man, does it feel good to be pretty much done.  Just a couple of last minute things and I can sit back and enjoy the holiday season with no stress.  I can't say I've ever had my presents wrapped a week before Thanksgiving and before the tree is up.  

Creepy Crawly Lunch

I went to lunch with Carrie and Megan and we met our old friend Kristen and her son Alex at Ruby Tuesday's on November 19th.  Alex wanted to keep a secret from us girls until we sat down but he couldn't so all of a sudden he pulls out a spider out of his pocket and says, "Look what I've got!"  Geezus.  I'm so glad he did that before we got seated otherwise I would have been screaming at the table.

I got to sit next to Alex and his spider.  He had it sitting out on the table in close proximity to me the whole time. Hey, I know it's just a rubber spider but it's still hard for me to take and look at through lunch but if it meant that I got to catch up with friends over good food, it was worth it.

Conscious Box- November

November's Conscious Box was ok, as usual.  I like the natural toothpaste I received but what I didn't like was the piece of cheese.  There was a sample piece of cheese so M and I split it.  I hate milk but like cheese.  This cheese was made with raw milk and it was nasty!  I should have brushed my teeth immediately with the new natural toothpaste.  Someone wasn't thinking.

Neighborhood Activity

It was just around 1 am, technically Sunday, November 17th when I was getting off the couch and heading up to bed.  As I was getting up, I saw police lights outside the house flashing through the curtains.  This happens quite a bit as we live on a busy street and cops fly down the street to wherever their call is but last weekend was different.

I tried listening to my county's sheriff department on my phone's app, but I couldn't find out what was going on.  I also tried researching online what happened but it looks like it might be too early to be published.

Both M and I looked outside through our living room window to find that that there was a car pulled over directly in front of our house along with many county sheriff's pulled behind it.

Here's what we saw through our dirty windows throughout the house....lots of lights, guns drawn, sheriff dogs barking, sheriffs yelling and finally two surrendering male and female, both minutes apart.  What happened to lead up to that point, I don't know but I'll update this post when I find out.  Finally, a tow truck came and picked up the car.  My adrenaline was running a little high at that point to go to bed!

Click on each picture to enlarge. 

Sheriffs with guns drawn behind the door of their cars

Second suspect kneeling while they handcuff her with guns still drawn towards the car

Bye-bye car

50 Years

It was 50 years ago today that President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963.  There are so many conspiracies surrounding the events that took place and I wish there were more concrete information that the was available to the general public.

I asked my mom if she remembers the day and while she was only 8 years old, she does remember a little. She remembers being in her Catholic school and finding out the news.  She remembered everyone praying, sad and in shock.  I wish I could have had my dad's account of this day as well.

I've been to the site of where Kennedy was show on two separate occasions; once in 1998 and again in 2007.  The pictures below are from October 2007.

The book depository where Lee Harvey Oswald allegedly shot Kennedy. 

The other side of the street looking across at the grassy knoll.

On the grassy knoll looking at the street where Kennedy's car was.  If you look in the street in the middle lane, there is an "X" painted in the street right where his car was when he was shot. 

View from sidewalk looking back at the book depository.

Have you visited this place in Dallas?

HH

M and I met our friend John at HammerHeart Brewing shortly after work on Friday, November 15th.  Our plan was just to go for one as M wanted to try Hail to the Dark Gourd, their smoked pumpkin ale, which he loved.

John, Me, Tanner and Photobomb John

After two beers for me, it was already close to 10 pm so we decided to get food.  The three of us went to Grumpy's in Roseville to eat.  Our conversation again was hours long and we didn't end up leaving until 12:30 am, which was really late for me considering I was only going out for one!  I haven't gone out on multiple weekends drinking in ages.  

Surprisingly, We Won

The Vikings played the Washington Redskins on Thursday, November 7th.  It was a game that was televised on the NFL network.  I had a scheduling conflict that night so before I could go to the game, I went to the Westin Edina Galleria for my employer's Director of Servicing's retirement party.  I wanted to stay the whole night at the party but I also wanted to go to the game so I wrestled for months on what I should do and decided on doing both.  I went for a little more than an hour to the party and then hustled downtown where I planned on being a little late.  I ended up arriving up at our seats greeting M with about 8 minutes left on the clock in the first quarter.  The score at that point was 3-0, Redskins.

Ponder started the game and had a decent game (it's all relative, folks) until he had to go out in the 3rd quarter with under 2 minutes left with an injury while going into the end zone for a touchdown, which turned out that he dislocated his shoulder on his non-throwing arm.  Matt Cassel would step in for the remainder of the game.

The score was 27-21, Washington when Ponder left and Cassel stepped in with his first snap being handed off the AP for a touchdown and somehow we pulled off a win.  Adrian Peterson had two touchdowns, Cordarrelle Patterson had his first NFL receiving TD and John Carlson came in and did a great job while Kyle Rudolph was out totaling 98 yards and a touchdown.  Vikings win, 34-27.  The crowd was into the game, more than I have seen this year, which is probably because we were winning.  The crowd was also the loudest I've heard since at least last year.

Cris Carter was elected into the Football Hall of Fame in 2013 and you get a ring presented to you.  Cris wanted that ring to be presented to him in at the Metrodome in front of the fans and so he was presented it during a halftime ceremony.  He spoke for a few minutes and was very humble in his speech.  He is a great speaker, very polished and it was a highlight to be able to see him accept his ring in front of us fans.