It's the Little Things

Life is really chaotic right now so I haven't had time to blog.  I will be back soon, with substance once things settle down a bit.  For now, I'll just brag that I'm undefeated in my fantasy football league...which means because I'm saying something about it and making it public, I'll lose week 4.

Benefit For My Dad

We're having a benefit for my dad this Saturday.  If you don't already have plans, please come out and join us.  We'll have a lot of silent auctions items up for bid, a bake sale, meat raffle, a full bar and DJ and you'll get fed a chicken dinner.  My dad isn't doing very well so I just hope he can enjoy Saturday, especially since it's also his birthday.

Music and Technology

This has to be one of the most creative videos and ideas I've seen.  It's from the band Arcade Fire and you need to do this.  Follow the instructions for a music video catered to you.  It's brilliant!

Don't touch all the windows that pop up.  Just sit back and enjoy.

*You need to have Google Chrome as a browser in order to do this.  If you don't, you can download it here.  If you're still using Internet Explorer, get in gear and get the best browser!*

http://www.thewildernessdowntown.com/

Random Schmandom

I had an incredible long weekend last Thursday through Sunday but to be honest, I don't have a lot of energy to write about it now so you have to settle with this until then.  I've had some neck/back issues and today I stayed home from work because I thought I had the flu.  I still haven't eaten or drank anything today in fear of not keeping it down.  Woe is me.  

95 degrees in September feels way better than 95 degrees in July.  We had over 30 days of 90+ degrees this summer.

A carrot from my lunch at work.  Imagine the possibilities of what it looks like; legs, fingers, legs with butt, etc.  How exciting. 

One of my coworker's brought in their dog to the office.  It's always funny seeing a dog in an atmosphere where it doesn't belong.

Vikings vs. Jaguars Home Opener

Sunday, September 9th was the home opener of the Minnesota Vikings vs. the Jacksonville Jaguars.  Before I talk about tailgating and football, I have to talk about the night before.  I just did a post on a Night at the Races yesterday.  That night, the night before home opener, we got home just before midnight.  M's dad had an hour plus drive ahead of him so we told him to spend the night.  Since we don't really have a guest bedroom set up, he had to sleep on the couch.  By the time I made his couch bed and we settled down and got into bed, it was about 12:30 am and we were tired and it looked grim making it out to our tailgate lot at 8 am.

Just a couple of minutes before 1 am, the most incredibly loud sound started going off.  It was our house alarm system.  In the 5+ years I've lived here, I've never heard it.  We woke up and was confused but our adrenaline was pumping through our bodies.  M went downstairs to turn it off.  You would think it would have scared the crap out of M's dad lying on the couch but it didn't seem like he cared too much. The alarm ended up going off again and M had to turn it off for a total of four times.  M came back upstairs and we were curious as to why the alarm company didn't call like they are supposed to.  After about 5-7 minutes in bed, we see flashlights all around our house and M looks out the window just before hearing a big pound on the door.  Two Ramsey County Sheriffs came over and asked if everything was ok.  M told them yes and they asked to see ID.  Of course this isn't the time not to find your ID, but M couldn't find it.  I ended up finding it in his computer room but not before I had to go down and show my ID as well.  They were very nice and left.

We got back into bed and both the adrenaline was still running high for both of us.  By the time we settled down and finally fell asleep, the phone rang about 30 minutes later.  It was the alarm company asking if everything was ok.  M asked why they didn't call earlier and said that the code that went off for them was a panic code where they don't call because the intruder still may be in the house but just send the cops instead.

So what happened?  M had his keys in the car while we were at the races and they fell into the cooler.  The cooler shorted out the alarm key fob and set the alarm off.  The cops said that we should take the battery out the alarm for at least the night.  Once it dried out, it's been fine ever since.

We woke up late and ended up not getting out to the tailgating lot until 10 am.  We still parked within a few spots of our normal spot.  The weather was beautiful and I didn't need the extra shirt underneath the debut of my Jared Allen jersey that I received for my birthday.  We didn't have any friends that came with us but we did see our buddy Josh in our lot so we hung with him a bit before going inside.

Once inside, the Vikings starting offense was announced and everyone was cheering and once they called Adrian Peterson, the crowd erupted and it was so awesome to see him on the field ready to play for the first time since his Christmas Eve tragedy of tearing his ACL and MCL. I lost it and started tearing up...hard.  It's pretty embarrassing to be wiping tears away from your face at a Vikings game.  (They may make you cry at the end of a lot of games this year though.)

Jordis Unga sang the National Anthem. 

The Vikings were down 23-20 with 20 seconds left.  M wanted to leave, so we did.  By the time we got to the parking lot, we heard loud cheering from inside the dome.  There were people watching the game in the parking lot and they said, "We're going into overtime!"  What?!  Our rookie kicker, Blair Walsh kicked a 55 yard field goal to tie and send the game into overtime. While in OT, the Vikings kicked another field goal.  With the newer OT rules, the Jaguars also had a chance to score and didn't so Vikings win, 26-23.  And we didn't see it.  And Adrian Peterson passed Robert Smith as the all-time rusher in Vikings history.  And we didn't get to see that either.  And I'm over it.  Really, I am.  Ok, maybe not completely over it but I'm getting there.  

We learned our lesson...and we NEVER leave early!  As much as we'd like to sometimes, we endure the pain that is the Vikings and finish the game, for better or worse.  

The Vikings did not sell out the home opener.  This is sad/bad news.  They have sold out every single game since 1998, around 140 consecutive games.  There were so many visible open seats of entire rows throughout the upper level of the dome and it's probably going to get worse for this year.  We'll see. 

A Night at the Races

One of M's coworker is a race car driver named Eric at Elko Speedway, of which M's company is also one of the sponsors of Eric's car so they decided to have a very windy, chilly Night at the Races on Saturday, September 8th where they would provide tickets, food and transportation for the event.

M received a total of 4 free tickets but he rallied up a total of 13 family members and friends including us to come support Eric and have a good time.  M and a bunch of the same family members went out to see Eric race earlier this summer.  I had never seen a race before until that day and I liked being there.  The track is 3/8 mile, which I thought it would be bigger. It did get a little long at times but the day we were out there was their Eve of Destruction day where they had a lot of different types of races and activities going on between races.  They had motocross jumping off hills and ramps, bikes doing tricks, a monster truck driving around, the cops featuring the canine units, drifters, an RV that jumped a ramp (and sent the driver to the hospital), school bus races and the finale, a bus driving through that same RV.  It was a redneck-kind-of-night but it was fun to have such a big group and to support Eric, despite him not doing that well overall. That didn't matter to us though.  It was still a lot of fun to cheer him on.

After the race, everyone goes down into the pits and checks out the cars and talks with the drivers asking them questions.  We went down there for a little bit but it was 11 pm and we were a long ways from home considering we had to get up for the Vikings home opener the next day.

Fun Fact:  M's dad was a very successful race car driver back in the 50's and 60's.  One of the tracks he raced on was this same speedway when it was a dirt track, which was only for one year before changing to asphalt.

Two!

Happy Birthday today to my little nephew, Colton.  He's two already!

Breakfast with Grandpa

Last Saturday the 8th, M and I picked up my grandpa and went to Key's Cafe in Woodbury.  The Woodbury location is located inside an indoor mall, which was kind of different.  It's been hard trying to meet with my grandpa on a regular basis with everything else that is going on with life but I'm trying my hardest, even if we were normally scheduled to go to dinner earlier that week.  Oops. Better late than never.

  

Birthday BBQ

Last Thursday, we met at M's sister Kim and BIL Greg's house as they hosted a BBQ birthday party for Chad.  Chad is M's nephew of the sister (Cherrie) that passed away.  He went to visit grandparents (M's parents) in Florida for Christmas almost 3 years ago and didn't come back.  He stayed in Florida, established himself and started making a living down there but decided it was time to come back to good old Minnesota...for now at least.  

We've barely had any rain this summer but of course it rains on the day we're grilling.  Kim got an ice cream cake for him and we sang happy birthday to Chad.  Everyone was happy to see him and that he's back in Minnesota but it might not be for long.  His latest plan is to go into the Marines, which will take him everywhere but we'll enjoy his company while he's here.  Happy Birthday Chadley!  His real name is not Chadley but just a name Uncle M calls him. :)

Leave it to M to tell us to do something weird for the pic...like bend over.  Everybody listens though.

Labor Day Weekend

My typical Labor Day weekend usually involves hanging out at M's parents house and partying with his family.  This year, we helped my parents move to a townhouse back in the old neighborhood. My mom has been working so hard the last month having a garage sale and packing up everything while I'm sure my dad feels frustrated that he can't do much to help. 

Despite it being a holiday weekend, we had a nice crew of people helping and it really only took less than 2 hours to empty their house and about an hour to unload it on Saturday.  Once unloaded, we ate good food that my aunt prepared for us.  The girls helped unpack the boxes and make the beds while guys put together furniture and hooked up electronics. (Sounds so sexist, doesn't it?) 

By mid-afternoon, my parents were already enjoying the weather on their patio.

By evening, my dad and I walked around the pond, seeing lots of crayfish and fresh deer tracks.  

Pond from their view

Looking towards my parent's place.  My mom is on 2nd patio from the left.
  

I went back to their house on Sunday and just shortly after I got there, a turkey was walking right by their patio door.  I love turkeys! I tried to take a picture but I scared it away.  

I helped my dad with the garage, moving boxes into the house and other parts of the garage and organizing it.  My dad's goal was to get a car in the garage by Monday evening and we had the car in there by Sunday afternoon.  We hung around doing really nothing other than listening to music when I realized that I missed my fantasy football draft.  Oops. 

It feels really good to have my parents back on the north side of the cities again and only 3 minutes away by car.  

I didn't really do anything Monday than just go out to breakfast, watch some TV, do some stuff around the house and relax. 

Did you have a good holiday weekend?

Week in Pictures

I thought I'd share with you some of my favorite pictures from this past week.


Last week I went out with a coworker one last time before his last day as he accepted a new job.  Here's the beautiful lunch I had.  If you get a chance, go to Good Earth and get the Planet Burger...it's so good!

I bought this cupcake from Whole Foods for my nephew Hunter for his birthday.  Isn't it cute?  They had both hot dogs and hamburger cupcakes to choose from.  And only $2.99.

I've discovered that I like Oktoberfest beers.  I didn't realize that Oktoberfest is a type of beer, which only comes out at this time of year.  M picked up 5 different types of Oktoberfest beers for me and so far, this one from Left Hand Brewing is the only one I've tried so far but I like it.

This photo is from the car wash on Monday.  We are in M's car and the Vikings sticker looked neat against the multicolored soap.

Finally, a picture of my baby Powder on Monday.  He's found a new chair and cushion and he's just...cute and fuzzy. 

Cheri's Party

We went to M's niece's birthday party on Sunday, August 26th.  She just turned three and she's so cute and innocent.  She received a bunch of new toys including a new bike from her mom and dad. I wanted to call M's sister Lisa to ask her what Cheri would want as we know she's more of a trucks kinda girl instead of a dolly/baby kind of girl.  M didn't want me to call because he says that takes the fun out of it so he picked everything out himself and it was perfect. Uncle Michael bought her a bunch of nice stuff including probably one of her favorites of the day, a microwave.  All the little kids played with that microwave.  I would have loved to have had that when I was a kid.  You put fake food in it, set the timer and the light goes on in it and the timer counts down and when it's done, it beeps.  Cheri would get so excited when it beeped and yell, "It's done!".  Happy Birthday Cheri!

"It's done!"

Another gift from Uncle Michael