State Fair

Michael and I went to the State Fair yesterday afternoon. We got to go for free through Michael's new company, Minnetronix. They let each employee leave at 1 pm to go to the fair. Each employee could bring up to 5 guests for free. We each got a Minnetronix t-shirt to wear. Hey, I can wear a Minnetronix t-shirt and give them free advertising at the State Fair if they are going to take me to the fair for free. Michael's company is fortunately just blocks from the fair. I was able to park in their lot for free and walk over the railroad tracks to the fair. It was a gorgeous day! We walked around for awhile before eating but I had to start with the corn on the cob. This is my absolute favorite food at the fair. I love the smell of the roasted corn and it just tastes so good. Corn is not filling so I probably could eat 6 cobs before I even got full but I only had one. Michael's favorite was the Big Fat Bacon. It's maple glazed bacon on a stick. So here is our list of what I ate and what Michael ate at the fair. See the pictures of the pig lickers (chocolate covered bacon), deep fried pickles and bacon on a stick below.

Dana's Food: (in this order)

Corn on the Cob
Cheese Curds (split with Michael)
Chocolate Covered Bacon (split with Michael)
Sprite
Thin Crust Slice of Cheese Pizza
Deep Fried Pickles with Cream Cheese and Ranch
Lemonade
Root Beer


Michael's Food: (in this order)

Corn on the Cob
Cheese Curds (split with Dana)
Chocolate Covered Bacon (split with Dana)
Sprite
Thin Crust Slice of Pepperoni Pizza
Beer
Jamaican Jerk Sausage
Bacon on a Stick
Root Beer
Andouille Sausage

Weekend Recap August 22-24

Friday, August 22nd:

Friday night was relaxing as Michael and I just hung out in the living room with candles lit, listened to good music, drank some wine and just talked and enjoyed each other's company. We haven't done much of this all summer but I would imagine it will become more frequent now that fall is almost upon us. In the winter, we do this almost every weekend. It's one of our favorite things to do! We usually go to the liquor store for a big trip in the fall and stock up and fill the wine rack with all the different wines that we like.


Saturday, August 23rd:

Michael and I woke up bright and early and went to breakfast and then just hung out until late afternoon when it was time to go to tailgating for the Vikings game. It was just Michael and I this time and it was so much fun. We parked in a lot that we had never been to before. The people around us were nice and the weather was just perfect. We made cheese bread to dip into marinara on the grill as our appetizer and each had a bacon cheeseburger and chips. Michael's burger was full of cheese and piles of bacon. I enjoyed the lettuce and tomato better. I bought what I thought would be a fun drink to have a couple swigs of but it was really strong. It was 99 Bananas, which I think is a schnappes but the 99 means 99 proof. I thought it would be very banana tasting but it had a hint of banana and more of a nail polish remover taste. But mix that with some kiwi strawberry vitamin water and it becomes a nice little drink. :) The game itself wasn't the most interesting. I am normally pretty into the preseason games, just like regular season but for some reason this year is different. The Vikings lost 12-10 with a field goal from the Steelers with just seconds left. I am just happy that the Vikings held them to only 12 points. The Steelers are not my favorite team but they definitely have a very strong following, which annoys me when it's home. There were so many Steelers fans. The fans were very nice on Saturday but during the regular season, I do not remember them to be that way. After the game, we went home and I watched the movie, PS, I Love You. Have you seen it? There are many cheesy parts but overall, I liked it. It's a chic flick for sure. And I cried, but that's not saying much. I cry at everything!







Sunday, August 24th:

Michael and I took Keith and Hunter to go see Wall-E. Michael had seen it before and actually we found out that Hunter had already seen it too. The movie was really cute. Oh, and I cried in this movie too. Any rush of emotion, good or bad, there's tears for me. :) Hopefully we gave my brother in law, Tom, a little break from the kids so he could do whatever he wanted before my sister, Jamie came home. Jamie left her last trip in Branson, Missouri for work. She was there for the majority of the summer from before Memorial Day to now. Now she can hopefully focus on working here at the hotels in the Twin Cities. The kids actually wanted their pictures taken so I took advantage of the moment and let them pose in front of whatever they wanted.

Thoughts for Thursday (TFT)

A couple of my blogging friends have been part of a post that happens each Thursday called, "Thoughts for Thursday". I have wanted to join in and participate with this but either I forget about it or I don't have a topic ready. So today is my debut. Thoughts for Thursday appears to be started by Nicole, a blogging friend of my friend, Kristi. It was started about a year ago and each Thursday, anyone can participate. Being it is my first one, today's topic will be light.

Who were your crushes/idols growing up?

I have a few that I remember clearly. I particularly want to talk about when you were a teenager or those adolescent years but feel free to discuss anyone throughout your lifetime. First of all, I am 31 years old. My first crush would have to have been in 1984. It was Michael Jackson. My sister and I loved Michael Jackson. We listened to the album, yes, actual album, Thriller over and over again and danced to it in the basement of our house. As far as girl idols, my sister and I both wanted to be Madonna not too long after our Michael Jackson crush. We would make our clothes and wear gawdy jewerly to mimic her. And of course we danced and danced and danced to her songs in the basement.

Around 12 years old, my super crush was Corey Haim. I thought he was the hottest guy ever. I would take my allowance each week and ride my bike to the store and buy magazines like Teen Beat. I would cut out any and every picture of Corey Haim and tape it on my walls until my walls were plastered with his face on all 4 walls. (Corey Haim is on the left, Corey Feldman is on the right in the photo below)


Picture Provided By: TeenIdols4You.com

I can't remember how long this phase lasted but it couldn't have been too long because soon after came New Kids on the Block. The 1st and 2nd concert of my life was NKOTB. I started out with a crush on Donnie Walhberg then I moved on to Jonathan Knight. I would watch their videos, play their music and again plaster their pictures all over my walls. I remember buying as much NKOTB merchandise I had money for at Spencer's in the mall.




So who were your crushes/idols? During what year(s)? Please share all your details with me!

This is where I will link you to other Thoughts for Thursday bloggers. I'm still getting into this whole blogging community so in the coming weeks there should be more links to others.

Kristi on Speeding

Kim on the State Fair

Michelle on Random Thoughts


Have a great day!

Last Game of the Year

Michael and I went to the last home Saints game of the year. I won the tickets from The Onion, a satirical newspaper, which were general admission and we were so crammed in with everyone. We decided to take a chance and find other seats. We sat behind home plate and no one ever came to claim those seats so we had a great seat upgrade. We go a couple of times each year (the game we went to in June) and every time I go I realize how much fun they really are. The Saints got their butts kicked but we had a great time. It was fan appreciation night and they had fireworks at the end of the game but we left shortly before to beat the traffic. My camera's battery was low so we only got a few pics in before it died. For those of you who know who the Super Fan is, check out the mini version of Super Fan below.

I'm finally caught up!

I have not had a computer for a couple of weeks now so I haven't had much opportunity to post much so I finally caught up tonight on Michael's computer. I believe my computer's power supply went out so I ordered the part and it should be here on Friday for me to attempt to replace it. I hope that is all it is wrong with it because this is a cheaper fix and I don't want to fork out more money to have a professional look at it.

Tonight Michael and I went to an advance screening of the movie, The Rocker, starring Rainn Wilson, or better known as Dwight K. Shrute for you Office fans. I don't know what I was expecting but it's not like I thought it was going to be. I'm glad I went since it was free, but you might want to wait until it comes out on DVD. :)

Michael's Job

Michael finally started his new job on Monday. He was supposed to start a week ago but had to postpone his start date due to the visitation and funeral. He was laid off from Restore Medical on July 18th, after being acquired by Medtronic. His new place of employment, Minnetronix, is a medical device and design manufacturing company. He is a quality assurance technician. Michael likes working for medical companies as he feels he is giving back by helping people's lives and the advancement of their health. He just started but he really seems to like it there so far. They seem to treat their employees very well. Michael even saw 3 pictures of me on their intranet! We went with his friend, Efren, to the Saints game back in July with Minnetronix so they posted some pictures from that event on their site. I took Michael out last night to celebrate for dinner at Mansetti's in Shoreview.

This Past Weekend Recap August 15-17

Friday, August 15th:

We went to North St. Paul to check out their weekly car show. During the summer, anyone can bring their car and put it on display on 7th Street in North St. Paul on Friday evenings. I honestly was not looking forward to this when Michael said he wanted to go but I ended up really enjoying it. There were lots of cars, mostly from the 60's and 70's. We ate at Neumann's and then met up with Michael's brother Ray, cousin Chucky and his girlfriend, Trina. We ended up at the VFW where we bought tickets for the meat raffles but none of us won. We each put $5 in for pulltabs and ended up winning $54. We put $50 back into pulltabs and we ended up winning $111 collectively. We tipped the pull tab lady and we each walked away with $20. Quit while you're ahead!

Saturday, August 16th:

I went with my parents to the first annual pig roast for Vadnais Heights Heritage Days. We each got a pork sandwich and it was delicious! We bummed around for a bit and then later in the evening, Chris came over and we watched the Vikings game. Around 9:30 pm, we heard fireworks so we looked out the window and you could see the fireworks show for Vadnais Heights perfectly. We went outside and watched the from our front yard. We finished the night watching Michael Phelps win his 8th gold medal and just hung with Chris, drinking, listening to music and having fun.

Sunday, August 17th:

Michael and I went up to get booya at Heritage Days for Vadnais Heights. If you don't know what booya is, it's a type of soup that is slow cooked for hours and hours and hours. The Vadnais Heights Fireman cook it overnight. Ok, so I got booya. Michael won't touch that stuff. We just got there at the tail end of the parade and I ran into my old neighbor from when I was a kid. We met up with my parents, brother in law, Tom and my nephew, Keith. Keith is hiding under the table in the picture of all of us below. If he knows you are taking his picture, he does his best to avoid it. I just love the picture below of Michael and Keith. They were just chilling together watching the band, Free Fallin', a Tom Petty tribute band.

We had to leave the booya at 2:30 so we could make it in time to see Greg, Cherrie's husband, get baptized. This was for Eagle Brook Church but it was held on the grounds of Northwestern College. First of all, the weather was just beautiful. Second, I have never seen anything like this before. Greg was getting baptized in the lake along with five hundred and twenty-something other people! Each person or family was baptized individually. Eagle Brook only does this once a summer but there were an additional 300 people that signed up to be baptized in the 2 days before the event. Kim, Greg, Debbie, Chad, Chelby, Michael and myself were all there to witness Greg getting baptized. He was so excited. He was baptized by Sue Lennartson, the same pastor who conducted Cherrie's celebration of life service.

Last Weekend Recap August 8-10

Friday, August 10th:

Today was the day Michael and I look forward to each year...the beginning of the football season. We went tailgating with Chris and Tanya and Cherrie's husband and son, Greg and Bryan. We were so happy they came with us. It wasn't really partying and having a great time as usual but a little more subdued due to the events earlier in the week. We still had a great time. We honestly didn't pay much attention to the game but more to attention of our company. The Vikings lost 34-17. At least it's only preseason.

Saturday, August 11th:

Today I went to my parents house for a family BBQ. My sister, brother in law, nephew, gramma and grandpa were all there. Michael showed up later. He went to a family reunion in Wisconsin.

Sunday, August 12th:

Michael and I went to the Irish Festival on Harriet Island in St. Paul. Neither of us had ever been there to the festival before. We got an Irish beer to start and walked all around. They had music stages, dancing, boxing, rugby, shopping and of course food. I thought I would try something different to eat. Michael got fish and chips and I decided to go for the lamb burger with mint chutney and O'Brien potatoes. The potatoes were delicious. The lamb burger was not. I can't really pinpoint what it was about it that I didn't like but it had such a farm taste to it, whatever that means. I had to post some pictures of me eating it. I didn't know Michael was all of these pictures but as you can tell, I did NOT like the lamb burger. The pictures are kind of embarrassing but I think my faces are so funny.

I'm behind on my posts

I haven't blogged much this week and I haven't had a chance to show my last weekend's plans yet. Details and pictures coming soon!

Cherrie Part 2

Cherrie's visitation was on Monday and Funeral on Tuesday. I guess it's not supposed to be called a funeral but a celebration of life. As expected, there were tons of people that showed up for both days. There were not enough seats for everyone on Tuesday at Eagle Brook church in White Bear Lake so some were left standing. It was a great service that truly paid tribute to Cherrie. Her niece, Kayla spoke as well as her cousin, Lorrie. There was a lot of humor in Lorrie's stories and we know that laughter is the best medicine. A friend of the family named Charlie also sang "Amazing Grace" and "On Eagle's Wings". Cherrie was buried at Evergreen Memorial Cemetery, which is across the street from Century College. We lost count at 53 cars that were in the funeral procession. Cherrie truly had no enemies and was loved by all.

Michael and I have been together for close to 4 years and I didn't meet Michael's family for about 7 months after we started dating. I met Cherrie at her house for Chad's graduation a little over 3 years ago. Since that time, she has made an impact in my life, especially in the past 10 months since diagnosis just showing us all that even though you are terminally ill, you do not need to live your life that way and you don't have to complain about it either.

Since Michael's family is so big (from what I'm used to) and there are always friends and family around, I didn't get a chance to spend much time with Cherrie one on one but I did have a small opportunity that I will treasure forever. We were in Florida this past February and most of the brothers and sisters and spouses went to a wildlife sanctuary. Cherrie and I had the opportunity to walk together and talk through the paths of the swamps and wilderness for part of that time. The guys tended to hang close to each other during this journey and Kim had to make a B-line for the bathroom (Remember that Kim?!) so it was fun to be able to just spend time in nature with Cherrie. Nothing profound was said or discovered, but it was just the time. The time to be able to be with someone that you may not always have that chance to. Take this message with you. Spend time with the people you love. Family and Friends. Value and cherish them. Realize what is important in life.

RIP Isaac and Bernie

Rest in Peace, Isaac Hayes and Bernie Mac.

Cherrie

Hi Everyone, I haven't had much of a desire to blog this past week. For those that don't know, Michael's sister, Cherrie, passed away on Wednesday morning after battling liver cancer. Thanks for the outpouring of sympathy, love and support both Michael and I have received from you. Below is her obituary from today's newspaper. I will be back to blogging and catching up on my recent activities sometime next week.


Cheryl L. Jones
Jones, Cheryl L. "Cherrie" nee Sack Age 49, of Hugo Passed away at home on August 6, 2008 with family and beloved pet, Ricci by her side. Preceded in death by her grandparents, Claude & Sarah Fitzgerald, Joseph & Susan Sack and Aunt Rainy. Survived by husband, Greg; sons, Chad & Bryan; step-sons, Jesse & Joey; parents, Karen & Ray Sack; siblings, Ray, Jr., Kim (Greg) Lindstrom, Lisa, and Michael (Dana); nieces, Tiana & Kayla; sisters-in-law, Debbie (Jim) Lombardo and Jaci (John) Blumenthal. She touched many lives during her short life and was loved by all. A Celebration of Cherrie's Life will be Tuesday, 11:00 A.M. at EAGLE BROOK CHURCH, Highway 61 & Buffalo Street, White Bear Lake. Interment Evergreen Cemetery. A Gathering of Family and Friends will be Monday, 4:00-8:00 P.M. at BRADSHAW, 4600 Greenhaven Drive at Highway 96 (one mile west of 35E), White Bear and also one hour prior to the service at church. In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred. 4600 Greenhaven Drive, White Bear 651-407-8300

1 month ago

It's been 1 month since I debuted my blog to all of you. I have a bunch of questions for all of you! How do you like it so far? Are you reading it? How often do you come and visit? Do you like all the pictures? Are you learning anything about my me and my life? Any suggestions? I've heard some comments from you in person, email and through this site but I want more! Please comment to let me know how you feel. I love to hear comments from you. The blog can become a lot of work and while I am ultimately doing it for myself, I want to know others are getting enjoyment out of it too. In case you don't know how to comment, here's how: there is a link at the end of every post that I write that says "comments". Click on it and leave your comment for me. I have set the comments up so that everyone can comment and you can do it anonymously. If you do choose this option and you truly want me to know who you are, please type your name at the end of the post otherwise I can't find out unless you are signed in. Here are a couple of stats that I have so far about my blog: 479 visits and 1,171 page views. Page views are anytime someone clicks on a picture or link within the blog. I have also gone international! I have had visits from the following countries: Canada (4 Provinces), United Kingdom, Hungary, The Philippines and China. If you think of anyone who would like to see my blog, please send them the website or send to any of your other blogging friends so I can be a bigger part of the blogging community. Hope to hear from you! http://januarybaby21.blogspot.com/

35W Bridge Collapse

I am sure that all of us Minnesotans could not have gone through their day without thinking about what happened 1 year ago today. On August 1, 2007, the 35W bridge in Minneapolis collapsed just after 6 pm. 13 people lost their lives and countless others injured. Michael and I went to see what was left of the bridge the day after the collapse last year. We obviously had limited access and views of the bridge as there were still cars, some with people in them, in the river waiting to be pulled from the river, but no longer as a search and rescue mission. I remember how many phone calls and text mesages I received that day from my family and friends making sure I was ok and not on the bridge. I know of some people who did have a close call, being on the bridge 5-15 minutes before the collapse. I can't say I had quite the same fright but I did take that bridge 5 days a week, twice a day for 14 months. I had stopped taking that bridge 3 months prior to the collapse, as I moved in with Michael and took a different route to work. It crossed my mind that if I didn't move in with Michael, if I would have been on the bridge. I worked late that day, until 5:50 pm. If I had driven my old route, it could have put me on the bridge at 6:05 pm, the time of the collapse. While 3 months is long way off from being on the bridge, it is still humbling to me. It could have been any of us. Below are some of the pictures that Michael and I took last August.