Border Battle

Yesterday was the last regular season game of the NFL.  The Minnesota Vikings hosted the Green Bay Packers. The original time of the game changed from noon to 3:25 CST since it was now going to be a nationally televised game.  There was a lot riding on this game and here's the trifecta that Vikings fans were looking for:

1. A Vikings win
2. Advancing to the playoffs
3. Adrian Peterson surpassing Eric Dickerson's all-time single season rushing record of 2,105 yards

So let's back up.  Before we talk about the game, we need to cover tailgating.  And cover, is what we did.  We wrapped ourselves in layers and layers to shield ourselves from the Minnesota cold as much as we could.  When leaving the house, it was 3 degrees.  It warmed up to 12 degrees on my last temperature check.

We parked in our usual tailgating area and the party was in full swing.  We brought the grill out there not only to warm up but also to warm up some of M's favorite food...White Castle.  

Based on Facebook posts and likes, lots of people like M's beard mask.  He bought it online in the off season last year.

Fox Sports was there capturing the party.

Terry and the Fred the Alien flew from Maryland the night before.  Good thing we brought Frank too!

This is the mess that our neighbors had.  I thought it made for a pretty good picture.

Rally Monkey loves White Castles with jalapeno cheese and bacon. 

Once in the dome, we had towels on our seats.  

This week's guest to blow the gjallarhorn was Nicholas David from The Voice. He also sang God Bless America at halftime. 

The energy in the dome is always electric for this game, even when there's not that much riding on it.  The Packers won the toss and deferred.  The Vikings started off with a 54 yard field goal and by the end of the 1st quarter, AP would have a touchdown making the score 10-0.  We started the 2nd quarter by being the first team to score with another field goal, making the score 13-0 before the Packers scored a touchdown.  Amazingly (I say that because he was one of my kickers in fantasy), Mason Crosby kicked a 51 yard field goal to go into halftime with a Vikings lead, 20-10.

The Packers came out strong with a touchdown in the beginning of the 3rd but Vikings were still on top at the end of the quarter at 27-24.  Going into the 4th quarter with the Packers trailing isn't very comforting for a Vikings fan.  They know how to come back and win these games.   Somehow, Christian Ponder threw a deep ball for Jerius Wright for a gain of 65 yards which we later scored on.  We'd be tied twice in the 4th at 27 and again at 34.  It wasn't until there were three seconds left that Blair Walsh kicked the winning field goal to end the game at 37-34.  

The Vikings haven't scored 37 points in any game this entire year until Sunday and they never gave up the lead in the entire game, only tying at times. 

As for Adrian Peterson...what an effort and amazing dude he is.  He did not break Eric Dickerson's record but came within 9 yards!  He finished the game with 199 yards and the season with 2,097 yards which is impressive and puts him as the second all-time single season rusher.  If it's any consolation to the Vikings fans, Adrian Peterson had 25 less carries than Eric Dickerson did.  I didn't even think he'd get this close. Going into the game with having to get 208 yards sounded unattainable, but when it comes to AP, anything is possible. 

So, the trifecta did not happen but in the words of Meatloaf, 

♪'Cause two out of three ain't bad ♫ 

Even AP would say that it was about the team winning and making the playoffs.  I can't believe the Vikings are in the playoffs!  I predicted the Vikings to be 5-11 when M and I make our predictions right when the schedule comes out in the April.  His prediction wasn't much better at 6-10.  But at 10-6, we're in.  So what's next?!  The Vikings will again play the Packers at the Frozen Tundra, Saturday, January 5th.  Going on the road with six days rest to Lambeau will prove to be a chore. We've already won at Lambeau in the playoffs before.  Maybe it's our time to do it again.  Being that the game is on M's birthday, I hope he gets the ultimate Vikings present but I'm very cautiously optimistic about that. Skol!

The video board said "2000" when AP hit that many yards

Excitement on the field after the win

Holiday Time Off

Friday, December 21st was my last working day until Wednesday, January 2nd.  I tried the whole staycation thing last July and it didn't go so well due to timing so I thought I'd try it again.  While I liked my time off and am still enjoying it, I'm not sure I'm cut out for it.  I like a day off here and there but I think extended time off will be used to actually go on a vacation.

So what I have I done?

Wednesday the 26th:

I woke up at 6:30 am and laid in bed for 4 1/2 hours before I actually got out of it.  I wish I would have been sleeping during that time but relaxing worked too.  I got up and hit the 11:50 am showing of Silver Linings Playbook.  It had good reviews and I don't regret seeing it but I'm not sure it's as good as I read it was.

Afterwards, I went shopping.  Those gift cards from Christmas were burning a hole in my pocket.  I started at Kohl's where I bought two pairs of earrings.  The top pair of earrings in the picture were a pair I was admiring from one of the ads and I couldn't stop thinking about them.

Next I went to Forever 21 where I bought some more jewelry.  

Finally, I went to Marshall's and bought a banana holder, some measuring spoons, an organizer for spices and some decorative balls to put inside a bowl I already had.

Thursday the 27th:

I met my friend Justin on a snowy night on Nicollet Mall in Minneapolis at The News Room for a glass of wine and some appetizers.  We had margarita flatbread, tres hummus and the best smoke cauliflower with curry aioli and tart cherries.  So.Good.  

Friday the 28th:

I went to my uncle's house in Wisconsin.  He was going to replace my brakes in my car, which I bought exactly 10 years ago this day. I bought a bunch of parts and got there about 12:30 pm since I had to wait to pick up some parts as they were ordered and wouldn't be ready until 11:45 pm.  We had a quick lunch and then he started to work on my brakes.  There were more parts that were needed and none of the Wisconsin stores had them so we had to order them from MN and then drive back over at 4:30 pm.  Long story short, my brakes didn't get done that night.  I did get to spend some time with their fuzzy babies; Rosey, Mosely and Bobbi.

My uncle let me take his car overnight. I drove directly from his house to Plymouth, MN to a visitation.  One of my good friend's dad passed away on Christmas.  There are many similarities to our families, dads, cancer, age of death, even some the words written in each of the programs of the visitation/memorial service are the same. RIP, Marty.

Saturday the 29th:

My uncle Ken finished my brakes in the morning and I went over there to pick it up early afternoon.  He's by far the handiest guy I know and he said it was the worst brake job he's ever done.  My dad has said the same thing in the past and didn't even get as deep as Ken did.  My type of car has been known for bad brake systems.  Now that everything is fixed and all good with three new rotors, pads and a couple of new calipers, I feel like I might just hang onto this car for another year or two.

While on my way home, I had to stop for some New Glarus beer for a friend as we can't get it in Minnesota and found these at the store.  Are these in MN too?  I had to get them to try them.  They taste very similar to Cool Ranch.  Has anyone had them?  Just wondering if they are some funky Wisconsin thang.

On my way back and forth and back and forth from MN to WI, I saw many turkeys, including a dead one.  I never get sick of seeing these goofy birds.

I spent the majority of the rest of the day cleaning my computer room and purging all things old and unwanted.  I made very good headway today and will continue tomorrow and/or Monday with hopes of completion on or before New Year's Day.

I finished the night watching Moonrise Kingdom.  Have you seen it?  What did you think?  I liked it but keeping in mind it's a Wes Anderson movie and sometimes they can be lost on the general public.  The movie itself went by incredibly fast.  The movie is nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Picture (Musical/Comedy).   

Christmas Festivities

The holiday weekend started off on Friday, December 21st with M meeting me at Pepitos in S. Mpls for a quick appetizer.  We even saw Santa there with his very own pitcher of beer and appetizers. We had to be discreet taking the picture though.

Before we hauled everything over to my mom's house on Saturday, I took a picture of our tree.

Who's back there?

Hi Powder!

Last year, M and I decided to exchange ornaments each year.  This year, I bought him a nice, juicy bacon cheeseburger ornament and he bought me a nice, loving ornament.  We both love the ones we got for each other.

My sister, BIL, nephews, Michael and myself all met at my mom's house on Saturday, December 22nd for our family Christmas.  It would be the first time we had Christmas in her townhouse and the first Christmas without my dad.  We met in the afternoon and had some appetizers and drinks.  We had a fabulous sit down dinner of salad with homemade French dressing (same recipe from The Lexington in St. Paul) filet mignon roast, cheesy potatoes, green beans and cheddar bay biscuits (same recipe as Red Lobster).  During our dinner, we said a toast to all of those that aren't with us anymore, which of course made some of us teary-eyed.

After cleanup, we sat in the living room and opened presents.  There were so many presents there that it was hard to believe there were only for 7 people.  Colton enjoyed tearing open the presents but didn't care so much for what was inside.  He was just interested in the unwrapping part.  Keith is quite patient for a 9 year old but still, a kid so he had some eagerness to get his opened as well.  

My mom wraps so beautifully.  Me, not so much. 

My nephew Keith made me a poinsettia and a Native American power shield.  I love that he is gifting me his projects.

I received a lot of nice things but the most sentimental gift was from my sister.  It was the last gifts and Keith, Colton, my mom and myself all had a bag.  Inside there was a teddy bear.  A teddy bear that was made from the material of my dad's sweaters.  When my mom was clearing out my dad's closet, my sister took some sweaters of his and had these teddy bears made.  Each one is different.  It was one of the best gifts I've ever received.  

Keith and Colton's bears-it's hard to see the patterns in this picture.

My bear

My mom's bear

A close second for the best gift ever was from my sister.  Atari Flashback 4.  Ok, maybe not the best gift ever but still pretty cool.  The game console is so small and it has wireless controllers and 75 built-in old school games. It even came with an Asteroids poster.  I am totally going to hang that up in my room. 

I had to take an Instagram pic with the "1977" effect on it.  That was a very good year.

Monday, December 24th was spent at my aunt and uncle's house in Somerset, Wisconsin, which would have been my Gramma's 75th birthday.  The kids are starting to outnumber the adults on that side.  We had a huge spread of food where we just picked and picked and grazed all day.  

Have you ever had this before?

It's a super easy, delicious spread.  Take softened cream cheese and spread it over a plate, pour cocktail sauce over it, sprinkle with tiny shrimp and garnish with fresh and/or dried parsley and spread on crackers.  Easy!

Look at that belly!

My mom showing Colton Baby Jesus

My mom's boss gave me a holiday arrangement.  The picture is horrible but it really brightens up our table/kitchen.

Tuesday, December 25th was, well, pretty sad for me.  We didn't have any plans as a family so that felt weird altogether.  M and I went to the cemetery to see my dad.  It was pretty cold out but sunny.  Thanks to the cross at my dad's headstone otherwise we probably wouldn't have been able to find him under the snow.  I dug him out the best I could but the ice was still there.  I talked to him a lot and left a penny for him for his forehead. (A joke my dad would do)  I also brought along the teddy bear that my sister gave me. 

I didn't do much for the rest of the day other than clean up, organize and getting ready to purge some stuff from the house, particularly my closet.  

Look at the glow of the red bows on the wreaths in the sun

The cats playing with their stocking stuffers on Christmas Day-Ok, maybe not playing with them

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas holiday spending time with your families.