Happy Hour

I can't even remember the last time I had seen my friend Rebecca until last Wednesday.  We've made plans over and over again but something always comes up and our plans end up getting postponed but we keep in contact over email and Facebook. We finally met at Kincaid's in Bloomington for a glass of wine and a quick catch up session that lasted an hour and a half or so.  Rebecca collects menus from all different restaurants from all over the place so whenever I go somewhere on vacation or out of the area, I pick up menus for her and I had a small stack to give her and of course, I forgot them in my car and didn't remember until I got home.  Next time, Becca.

Baby Colton

I visited Baby Colton on Monday, September 20th after work.  He got out of the hospital the Friday before and to help out, I brought homemade lasagna and made some awesome salads for them to eat for the next couple of days.  The lasagna was a little dry but it still worked.  Jamie and I laugh about what it looked like but it tasted just fine.  Here are some pictures I took that day.

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

On a separate note, Happy Birthday Dad!!!!  

Vikings Home Opener

The Vikings home opener was Sunday, September 19th against the Miami Dolphins. The day wasn't as warm and sunny and September-like as I envisioned in my head anticipating this day but instead cloudy and a little chilly.  M and I didn't know any one going to the game so it was just us that tailgated in our usual spot.  The game itself was mental anguish.  The Vikings played terribly with no one in sync with each other, Favre throwing 3 interceptions and the Dolphins winning 14-10.  It was one of the worst games I've been to in such a long time and I had forgotten how bad it feels to walk out of the dome with your head hanging a little lower.  It had been about 13 months since we had to do that.

Some of the opposing fans:

   

If Facebook Existed Years Ago

Let's try this again.  I posted this earlier but a few people couldn't see the pictures.  I could see the pictures on two different computers using different browsers so I'm not sure what the issue was.  Please comment if you cannot see this again.

I hope you can find the humor in this.

If Facebook existed years ago:

I've Been Tagged

I'm behind on writing posts and behind on reading posts so I didn't notice until Monday that I was tagged on Ang's blog last Thursday to answer these questions and I haven't finished until now.  Here we go:

1. What kind of hair(color/cut) have you always wanted but never had the nerve to do it?
I've wanted to cut it shorter than I've ever had it, like a pixie cut but never would because of my big, fat, round face and I've also wanted to color it fire engine red...bright red, but not super short hair and bright red hair at the same time.
2. If you haven't been/or could do it over, where would/did you go on your honeymoon?
This one is a toss up due to cost.  If money was no object, I'd go to the Tahitian Islands, including Tahiti and Bora Bora, otherwise what seems more feasible is Turks and Caicos Islands, which is north of Dominican Republic and southeast of the Bahamas. 
3. What is your dream car?
I've wanted the same dream car since I was in 7th grade, a BMW.  I used to want one from the 3 Series but they've changed them and I haven't kept up to date with the latest ones, but really, any BMW will do. 
4. If you would move anywhere in the world where would you go?
This one is hard to answer.  I really haven't been anywhere outside of the country and there isn't any state that is calling my name louder than Minnesota already does. 
5. What famous lady would you love to be or be bff with?
Love to be (or at least look like)- Heidi Klum---Be BFF with- Maybe Ellen DeGeneres or Sarah Jessica Parker
6. What colors did you do or do you want to do for your wedding?
As much as I want to get married in my life, I've never once thought about the colors!  Why worry about it until it happens?  Orange is my favorite color though. 
7. What trashy reality show are you embarrassingly addicted to?
I'm proud to say NONE!  They are a waste of time (for me) and remember everyone...they're not reality.  They're scripted.  
8. Do you you remember your first kiss? How old were you and how awkward was it?
My first kiss was when I was 13.  It was with Troy, the summer before 8th grade.  I don't remember it being awkward but I'm sure it was.  At least I didn't have my braces on quite yet.  
9. What is your guilty pleasure?
I don't even know!  The best thing I can come up with is reading magazines and watching Sex and the City episodes while eating Chinese food to my heart's content.   I've also  just discovered how much I like Hall and Oates.  Maybe that's another one. 
10. What is your favorite chick flick?
I'd probably  have to say The Notebook.  
11. What is your favorite beverage?
Believe it or not, water.  If it's not water, then Glaceau Vitamin Water in Focus (Kiwi Strawberry)
12. What is your theme song?
I dont' have a theme song but if I had to pick one today, it would be Incubus's, "Are You In?"   Another might be Ginger Ninja's, "Sunshine".
13. Who is your style icon?
I do not have one, but I can and do admire simplicity, classic, timeless and vintage looks. 
14. When was the last time you cried and why?
Tuesday.  It happens pretty often.  Ang, I'm super emo too.  
15. What playlist/cd is on your CD player/iPod right now?
I have a different playlist of 100 different songs every month.  Some of my favorite September artists include:  Civil Twilight, Adam Lambert, Scissor Sisters, Plan B, B.O.B., The Disco Biscuits, Kevin Rudolf, Ginger Ninja, Eminem and Gayngs.
16. What is your favorite dessert?
French apple pie


Because I don't have a lot of personal blogs I visit and the ones I do, they've already been tagged so I won't be tagging anyone else to do this.  

Auntie Dana-Part Deux

I'm extremely happy to announce that I am, once again, an aunt.  Colton John Seaberg was born on Wednesday, September 15th at 2:05 am weighing in at 8 lbs 10.5 oz and 20 3/4 inches long.  Both M and I were able to see Colton and the rest of my sister's family later that day at the hospital.  Colton is completely adorable and I fell in love with him right away. I keep referring back to the pictures that I took of him so I can keep looking at him and admiring him.  And I'm very excited that I get to see him again tomorrow at my sister's house.

Random Schmandom

I haven't been blogging much about what I've been doing lately because I haven't been up to much.  If I don't blog about what I'm doing shortly after I do it or I don't have pictures to remind me, I forget about what I've done.  I guess that means I'm getting old.  I'm trying to rack my brain as to what's been going on lately and here's my best synopsis. By the way, these Random Schmandom's are more for me than you by documenting the odds and ends of my life.

M and I went to eat at Burger Moe's on Labor Day.  Neither of us were really impressed with the place.  There weren't that many people there so the time it took to get service and actually have our order delivered to us made a negative impression.  The food was just ok.  M had the Kobe burger, I had the bison burger.  M did say the Tuscan Fries were very delicious and better than Smash Burger's Smash Fries. The patio area is really colorful though.  It used to be the old Mexican restaurant El Patio and I don't think they changed the theme. I forgot my camera that day and sorry for so many pictures of the place but I took these with my phone, which I rarely do so I wanted to check out the quality of the pictures.  Not too bad for a phone, huh?

I went over to my sister's house the day after Labor Day.  I wanted to bring my nephew Keith any dinner that he wanted since it was his first day of school.  He chose KFC.  I brought it over and hung out with Keith and my sister Jamie while her husband was at a city council meeting.  She was very pregnant when I went over there and ready to have the baby so I needed to take one last picture of her.  By the way, she's not pregnant anymore.  That post coming very soon.

Later that week, I got home from work on a rainy Friday and I decided on a whim that I wanted to take M out to dinner to Porterhouse, a steakhouse less than a mile from our house since he was going out of town for a night the next day.  We weren't able to make reservations until 8:45 pm but when we were waiting for our table, we saw M's brother in law Greg walk by.  M had recommended earlier in the week some places for them to go for their anniversary, including Porterhouse so it's obvious which one they chose.  We talked with them for a little while before being seated ourselves and enjoying an awesome steak and crab dinner.  I meant to take a picture of us at the restaurant but I forgot so we just took one when we got home and I might as well add a picture of one of the cats too. Happy 27th Anniversary, Kim and Greg!

Last Saturday marked the nine year anniversary of the tragedy in NYC.  There were lots of Facebook status's about "never forget", etc, but really, how can you forget that day?  If you're old enough, Tuesday, September 11, 2001 is forever in our minds.  

I spent the majority of the day with my parents.  They were going shopping at the mall, particularly Macy's to begin with because we all had a coupon that was only good until 1 pm.  I don't know if my parents actually knew I was going to the mall at the same time as them but when I got there, I found them in Macy's and we ended up just shopping together.  We all used our coupon before 1 pm and headed over to all the anchor stores in Maplewood Mall except for JC Penney's.  My dad had said that he hadn't been in the mall with me since I was a little kid and that he actually had fun shopping with us together.  I ended up leaving them and going to run some other errands while they did the same but then met back up with them later for dinner at their house.  We ended up having takeout Chinese food from one of my favorite places, Joy's Kitchen.  While I could have been with my friends or doing whatever else while M was away, I enjoyed hanging out with my parents. 

I ended the night back at my house and watched 2 movies....Leap Year and Remember Me.  I didn't care for Leap Year and Remember Me was different than I thought it would be.  That movie came out on DVD back in June so when at the very end of the movie (*SPOILER ALERT*) you find out that it is the morning of September 11, 2001 just before the attacks happened and then the movie ends.  I just thought it was SO CRAZY that I ended up getting that movie from Netflix at the time that I did not knowing what it was actually about and happening to watch it on September 11th.  WEIRD.

The next day was the first Sunday of the football season so the majority of the day I watched the games and paid attention to my fantasy football teams and weekly picks. I ended up winning my first week in fantasy and it was fun to start football as I just finished up with a horrible season of fantasy baseball.  I did go out and take a much needed walk later in the day though so my whole day was not inside in front of some type of screen. 

Finally, we're getting ready for the Vikings home opener which is tomorrow.  I hope we can pull off a win against the Miami Dolphins. I went to the grocery store in preparation for tomorrow and also for Monday as I am bringing dinner over to my sister's house.  While at the grocery store, I bought ingredients for a salad that I've been wanting to try for so long so I finally made it....Wilted Spinach Salad.  It was very good and I had to take a picture of it because I thought it looked very presentable. 

Ok, I'm pretty much caught up again with a few more posts coming in the next few days. 

Lastly, I want to say congratulations to my cousin Mike and his new wife Tonia who got married today in north central Wisconsin. We wish we could have been there but we are definitely there in spirit!  

The Great Minnesota Get-Together

M's company treats their employees and up to a total of six family members with admission tickets to the Minnesota State Fair each year.  M's company is right next door to the fair so employees are allowed to leave at 1 pm and go to the fair and get paid for it.  This year's outing was on Wednesday, September 1st. 

We walked over to the fair wearing shirts provided by M's company displaying the company name in what was beautiful weather....sunny and almost 80 degrees.  His company had 3 different photo scavenger hunts that you could sign up for and participate in all of them if you wanted.  M signed us up with our team name of The Snapping Turtles.  We participated in the photo hunts as best we could but we weren't able to complete all categories. 

The food of course was delicious.  We had cheese curds, root beer, roasted sweet corn, a pickle dog, Big Fat Bacon, toasted spicy ravioli, honey ice cream, viper jerky, caramel apples, deep fried cheeseburger, pork chop on a stick, Sweet Martha's cookies, etc.

We didn't go on any rides except for the ferris wheel and the skyway thing where you can relax and tour the fair from above going to Machinery Hill and back.  We did go to the Midway though where one of the carnival workers will either guess your weight within 3 lbs, your age within 2 years or your birth month within 4 months.  M went up there and told the guy to guess his weight.  He guessed 199 lbs.  M is 196 lbs.  M loses.  I went up there and asked him to guess my age. Many people in my life tell me that I look younger than I really am.  I get anywhere from 23-28 years old quite often.  The carnival worker apologized in advance and said that he's sorry if he puts me at more "tired" than I truly am.  He guessed 26 years old.  Yay! Prize for me!  He was surprised when I said how old I was and he said that I must be drinking the right kind of whiskey. :) 

We ended up staying until around 6:30 pm, which was plenty of time for us to bum around, enjoy the sun, people watching and food.

We found out today that we ended up taking 2nd place in one of the contests, which earned us $50 and we didn't realize that all of the photos submitted were entered into another contest called "Spirit of the Fair" which they choose one photo and we ended up winning that contest for another additional $50 prize.  So what does the winning of the "Spirit of the Fair" photo look like?  Here you go!

I also went to the fair with the majority of the Alphabet Gang, sans Beth on Saturday, September 4th. We met at the state fair at 6:30 am.  It was dark when I left the house and a very cool 46 degrees.  The sun rose shortly as we walked around the fair with a limited crowd.  Many of the vendors didn't open until 9 am so we toured around most of the animal barns and Miracle of Birth center before deciding it was time to eat.  Because I had eaten all that I had wanted to during my first visit to the fair, I wasn't in the mood to eat much.  The first thing I ate was some buffalo chips and cheese sauce that I split with Catha.  It was basically seasoned potatoes with cheese.  I then had a fish taco.  Expensive ($6) but after eating it, so worth it.  Very delicious. Besides that, we split some cheese curds and lemonade amongst the 4 of us.  My friend Corey works at the state fair each year so he doesn't disappoint when he gives me free cheese curds and lemonade yearly.  We ended up touring more of the fair than M and I did, including the haunted house....except I didn't go in. I'm too scared and have never been in there. I ended up leaving the group close to 1 pm so I could go to a family BBQ at my sisters later that day.

Overall the state fair was super fun.  The MN State Fair ended its 2010 run (8/26-9/6) with 1,776,211 visitors, including a record breaking day on that Saturday we were there with 234,384 visitors. It must have been because the band KISS was playing at the Grandstand that evening. :)