Christmas

On Christmas Eve, a total of 34 people were at my parent's house to celebrate both Christmas and my Gramma's birthday.  It was a lot of people for a somewhat small area and there were lots of kids running around all over the house but it was fun and we are definitely growing as a family.  Just since the July 2010, my grandparents have become great grandparents three times.  There are 9 cousins on this side of the family including myself and collectively they have 8 kids with another one on the way next August, which my cousin Ryan (female) is having.  Up until Christmas Eve, I hadn't seen Ryan in person for at least 10 years (but it could be longer) so it was nice to see her again, even though we are friends on Facebook so I'm not completely in the dark about her life.  My cousin David was also in town from San Diego, where he lives and is a Marine and just got engaged.  It was the first time all of us cousins had been together in a very, very long time. We range from age 12 to 35.

New Jammies

My parent's beautiful 9 foot Christmas tree

Christmas Day was much more low-key and at my sister's house in South St. Paul.  It was just my immediate family with Tom, Michael and nephews.  We had appetizer-type foods as well as leftovers from Christmas Eve.  We also had lots of desserts.  We opened presents one by one and it took a long time but I like doing that way with my family.  We had a good time but the night ended before 10 for some and around 10:30 pm for others.  We had planned to play games but mostly everyone was tired and exhausted.  This is also when I started to get a sore throat and became full-blown sick the next day.  I'm still fighting this cold hard 6 days later. 

The desserts Jamie and I made

My Santa and Reindeer truffles

Jamie's Santa and Snowman cupcakes

My cornflake Christmas Trees and Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Jamie's cookie plate

Michael's Christmas Ale

I truly had a wonderful Christmas.  I feel lucky that I was able to spend it with the people I love most. I also loved giving my presents to everyone.  I also received some very nice gifts from everyone.  I hope you all had a nice Christmas and I am wishing you a very Happy New Year. 

Minnesota Vikings vs. Chicago Bears- TCF Stadium

So it's been a while since I've last written.  I have a terrible cold and want to cut my head off to make myself feel better but instead I'm trying to catch up on here and write about all the things I've done in the last 10 days or so. Not really the way I wanted to end my blog for 2010.  And if my 2010 posts spill into 2011, so what.

On Monday, December 20th, I got to experience professional outdoor football in Minnesota.  It was the first time it had happened in the state in 29 years, exactly to the day.  Because of the Metrodome collapse, the Vikings played the Bears just down the street from the Dome, at TCF Bank Stadium on the University of Minnesota campus.  When this was first announced, I was excited to experience outdoor football.  It was the logistics and media that scared me and made me nervous.  With a capacity of 50,000 seats at TCF and more than 64,000 seats in the Dome, there should have been trouble.  It was announced that Vikings ticket holders would have a general admission tickets, either in the upper or lower level, depending on where your seats were in the Dome.  Parking was supposed to be an issue also, with less parking lots or ramps around to accommodate everyone.  But the logistics of everything wasn't an issue at all.  It was just the game that turned out horribly.

M and I parked with no problem at 2 pm in a lot right next to the stadium.  While it was snowing heavily, we walked a couple of blocks to Leaning Tower of Pizza to eat lunch and fill ourselves up for the night.  We spent about an hour and 20 minutes there before walking back to the stadium to get into line and wait for the gates to open between 5 and 5:30 pm.  This was the worst part.  We waited in line for 2 hours.  We weren't cold as we were prepared.  It wasn't as cold as it was supposed to be, maybe 25 degrees.  The snow sure can accumulate on you though when you just stand there for a long time.  I estimate that we were about 50th in line in a line that went back to the parking lot where our car was.  It didn't take too terribly long to get through the gates with a pat down, scanning of the tickets and a wrist band that indicated what level you were on.  We got into the stadium and headed to the upper level where we easily found two seats in row 7 on the 40 yard line.  It was 5:30 pm.  Now it was time to sit and wait another 2 hours until the game started.  It was definitely more interesting sitting and watching old footage of the Vikings on the video screen and just looking at the place in amazement than waiting outside at the gates.  Everyone around us was very friendly and I don't think that there was anyone there who didn't want to be.  Everyone was excited to experience this.  As the time passed and it got closer to game time, the seats were filling up but there were plenty of seats still available, roughly 10.000.  I think the weather deterred a lot of people as well as the people who didn't want to be out in the elements, just chose to get a refund instead, which was an option.

It was very surreal to see the Vikings out on the field once the game started.  Favre was not expected to play so it was a bonus to see that he was going to start.  He started alright and finished almost as quickly as he suffered a concussion early on in the game.  And that's when our third string quarterback Joe Webb stepped in.  When the Vikings got a touchdown, the fans would throw snow up into the air.  It was fun to see that happening all over the stadium.

To commemorate the 50th season of the Minnesota Vikings, they announced the 50 greatest Vikings players of all-time.  Most of them were there, which was historic to be a part of.  There were many loud cheers but I think Cris Carter had the loudest cheers from the stands.  When Daunte Culpepper's name was called, the players right next to him, Robert Smith, Cris Carter and John Randle all started doing his "touchdown roll" and everyone started cheering so Daunte did the roll too and the crowd loved it. Coach Bud Grant came out last and the players picked him up and carried him back off the field.

There wasn't many highlights to the game so there's not much to talk about other than we got beat badly, 40-14.  We ended up leaving with about 10 minutes left of the 4th quarter.  At this point we knew we could not come back and getting back to our house with minimal traffic seemed more important.  We got out of there pretty easily considering the amount of snow that had fallen.

The experience was fantastic.  I loved being outdoors and watching football, especially since it was the last home game of the year.  But there's a catch to that.  I only wanted to do it once.  I don't want to do it again.  I don't want an outdoor stadium.  Or actually, I'll take a retractable roof and watch outdoors when it's nice out, but not in the winter.  It was a novelty.  A one time thing...for me.

At Leaning Tower of Pizza

Waiting in line--It's still light out

Waiting in line---Now it's dark

The Skol Line entertaining us while we waited

Bud Grant

Dinner, Movie and Brunch

To end a bad week last week, we went out with Tanya and Chris and met them at J. Cousineau's in Maple Grove. On our way there, M and I were in the car talking about the name of the place we were going and we were calling it Jacques Cousteau's and laughing. I'm almost positive it's not that funny communicated to you in this post. None of us had been there before but because Tanya had to work in the morning, we thought we'd keep it close to their area.  It was just your average, everyday bar, but it was so much fun to get together with them again because with everyone's schedule, the visits have been few and far between.  We ate a variety of foods and had a little to drink and laughed a lot. We ended the night around midnight. It was a fun time, T&C!

On Saturday, M and I went to Fleet Farm so we could buy some hand and foot warmers for a big outdoor outing we had coming up on Monday.  Hmmm, any guesses about what I'll be writing about next?  We stocked up on all the warmers but not before taking this picture of M in the store. 

We headed home for almost an hour before going back out to Rosedale Center where the movie theater is.  That area is so packed and you can never find a parking spot on a normal day so I wasn't looking forward to heading into the area on the Saturday before Christmas.  We finally found a spot before driving around a little bit.  We bought our tickets and headed in to see 127 Hours. The movie is based on a true story of Aron Rolston and his ability to stay alive and survive after a canyoneering accident which left him trapped for how many hours?  You guessed it, 127 hours.  M read Rolston's autobiography Between a Rock and a Hard Place in 2004 and said the movie was pretty accurate based on the book.  The movie was very good and I loved the cinematography and would definitely recommend for you to see it.  Here is the trailer:

On Sunday morning, we met our friends Greg and Anna for brunch at Pizza Luce in St. Paul.  Both M and I hadn't eaten there for brunch before but they had a menu you could order from versus a buffet and even better, $1 mimosa's.  I had the Eggs Benedict and was kinda nervous when I saw the eggs.  They were almost like whipped cream texture but turned out to be very good.  M has known Greg since they were teenagers, however I had only met Anna once before.  While our brunch was brief, we made plans to go bowling with them sometime this winter.  I had to run a couple of last minute Christmas errands but after that, it was a relaxing day in front of the TV watching football all.day.long.

It was a great weekend!

Don't the eggs look like whipped cream?

A Bad Week in Review

Last week was a very long week and one that was less than ordinary for me.  My life is pretty consistent from day to day, week to week, year to year so when I do get some out of the out of the ordinary situations, it's exhausts me.  Here's some of my low lights of the week:

• I normally drive back and forth to work almost 250 miles a week, which is roughly 25 miles each way.  Because of all the snow we've had lately and the bad traffic/drivers because of it, I spent over 9 hours to drive 250 miles this week, which the majority of my drive is highway/freeway. I spent over 3 hours alone on Monday. Hey, I guess I didn't drive quite 250 miles, more like 230 miles.  More on that later.
• Have you ever been lying in bed and you feel like something is crawling on you?  You quickly wisp away whatever you think it is and turn on the light.  I've done this many times and realizing it's nothing.   I sleep in a bed that no matter how hard I try, I cannot get rid of all the cat hair on it and it ends up tickling my face or body or just ends up in my eyes in the morning. On Wednesday, I felt a tickle on my chin.  I wiped that feeling away and turned on the light opening up the sheets and comforter.  Nothing.  After shaking the blankets a little bit, I found a lady bug....or Asian Beetle or whatever they are called. So I did have that thing crawling on my chin!  It grossed me out but it DEFINITELY could have been a worse bug or (gulp).... an arachnid.
• On my way to work on Thursday, less than two miles from work, my battery light and brake light came on at the same time.  I Googled it when I got to work as well as checking my manual in my car and it sounded like it could be my alternator.  I went out to check it at lunch and drive it about two miles and the lights were on but it seemed ok.  I left work and hopped on Highway 62 when my lights started to dim.  Uh-oh, I was losing power and I was stuck right in the middle of a busy highway in the left lane.  After about a mile or two, I lost power completely and was forced to coast to the left side of the highway, not a safe place to be anyways, let alone super rush hour traffic and on a shoulder that was less than a true shoulder as there was tons of snow on the side.  I panicked and called Michael first to let him know what happened and to come out and find me and then called my insurance company for roadside assistance.  After spending what seemed like an eternity on the phone with them, they said someone would come out and get me in about an hour.  Grrrr....about 40 minutes into my wait in a cold, heatless car on the side of the road, the highway helper truck came up and asked me if I needed help.  I told him I had assistance on the way but he waited there until the tow truck came since he told me I was in an unsafe area with all of the traffic.  Michael came and I warmed up in his car and shortly after the tow truck came from Bobby and Steve's in Eden Prairie came and towed me back to their shop.  Because I had no say in who towed me (the insurance company set it up) I felt as though I had no choice to go with them to diagnose my car and find out what was wrong.  I left their shop with a loaner car which was a Dodge Grand Caravan that was less than perfect but got me from Point A to Point B.  We got home at 9:15 pm and Bobby's and Steve's called and said it was my alternator that went out.  I asked them how much it would cost and with parts and labor it would be just over $500. I told them I would call them back and I Googled the part and I could find it new for $200 or remanufactured for an average of $160.  I called them back asking if I could buy the part and they could do the labor and he said yes but they didn't guarantee the work and there would be no warranty. I am already skeptical of mechanics so I did not like that idea.  I told him of the price of a remanufactured part I found on Google and told him of the new part for $200 and asked if he could match it.  He said he would give it to me for $225.  I was ok with that and let him proceed with the work and my car would be done the next day.  I picked up my car on Friday on my lunch break and paid $419 for the part and labor.  After leaving and looking at my invoice/receipt, I see the following verbiage..."Alternator- Remfd- Standard".  Ok, so the dude asshole mislead me on the phone the night before telling me he would give me a new alternator for $225, when in fact he gave me a remanufactured alternator for that price.  I didn't call them back to bitch about it, despite how much it pissed me off.  I let it roll off my shoulders and instead decided to blog about it.  I've used Bobby and Steve's before, the Bloomington location and I was not happy with their service either so I'm telling you to not to use their services and tell all your friends about it too.  

My loaner car. It actually looks better than it really was.

• On my way back from picking up my car on Friday on my lunch break, I had to grab some food for the sake of time so I stopped at Wendy's for chili and a baked potato....a baked potato that had a really nice long, black hair in it.  Aauugghh.

So that was my week.  Things definitely could have been worse but cumulatively, it was all very draining.  We did go out on Friday night with Tanya and Chris which made my week a little brighter but I'll write about that another time.

This week has already been a lot better.  How can it not be? It's Christmas week!  Until next time...

Work Holiday Party

I had my work holiday party last Friday, the 10th.  I work for a Pohlad company so that might have something to do with the fact that the party was held in the Metropolitan Club at Target Field.  I've known since last May that our holiday party would be there and had been excited since.  The party was only three hours long with appetizers and desserts, a couple drinks and a scheduled time for a behind the scenes tour of Target Field.  Our tour started at 8:30 pm and taking about an hour and 10 minutes to complete. Our tour guide talked all about the stadium and we got to visit many areas including the press box, a suite, a corporate executive suite, visitor's clubhouse and dugout.  We went down by the Champions Club but there was an event in there so we couldn't go in there.  That's where all the people who have the great seats behind home plate at Target Field can hang out and it's not open to the general public. That's also where the 1987 and 1991 World Series trophies are.  I was bummed not to be able to go there or into the Twins clubhouse.  Regular people like you and me are not allowed in any area where a MN Twins employee may have personal items. I took a good amount of pictures, some that may duplicate the open house tour of Target Field I did in March.  After the party ended, we each were able to take home a Twins bag that had a 2010 Homer Hanky in it that was released in September when the Twins made the playoffs. It was a fun night!

They had beautiful desserts

Michael in the press box speaking to someone very important 

Bert!

Batting cages right outside the visitor's dugout