Memories

As the holiday season of 2008 comes to a close, I find myself reflecting on the moments that made this Christmas so great. And, as I know most of you have been waiting and waiting and waiting to hear them, I'll gladly share.

In no particular order, here are the memories that will last a lifetime:

• Seeing my little god-daughter/niece go up to Super Kid during present opening and saying 'oh my gosh' and hugging him even though we wasn't opening anything.
• Hearing VT sister laugh at the completely ridiculous Holiday Letter I sent her that forced Super Smart nephew to read out loud (at my request) knowing full well that I littered it with the f-bomb about 20 times.
• Eating Strawberry Jam.
• Making Corn Beef & Cabbage to absolute perfection (another ancient family recipe on Husbands side that I was nervous about making).
• Super Kid believing (probably for the last time) that Santa exists and brought him presents.
• Super Kid wearing his new skiing helmet and goggles while watching WallE in his PJ's at 11am. (I took a picture and will post it soon, it's hilarious and cute at the same time).
• Husband and Super Kid smiling at the same time.
• Setting up my new iPod (OMG I was so excited to get one!).

And the best memory was a conversation that I had with Super Kid. We just popped in WallE and he was sitting on the floor. I said 'Hey Buddy, come up on the couch with me and we'll watch it together'. He plopped down on the couch and brought a very interesting, peculiar smell with him. The following chat took place and made me realize that this child is just like me (undeniably sarcastic and honest) :
Me: PU Buddy did you fart?
Super Kid (without skipping at beat): No, it's probably your breath.

Priceless.

Ok fine

And the winner of the contest is (drum roll please)...

NOBODY!

Nobody guessed it dead on but KG was the closest. I did find out that she formed a posse of lurkers who checked out the photo to try and help her out so because she CHEATED (although I never stated any rules about getting help because I didn't think anyone would actually try to guess so in future contests you cannot have your friends check out the picture and help you so you can win) she didn't win fairly.

But she was almost right.

I have another picture that was taken right after the contest pic, maybe it will shed some light on what it is:

Does this help?

It's our front window. If you've ever looked at my Flickr photo's you'll see that I took the scary storm cloud picture out the same window. Or, if you've ever been to my house, you know that there is a chair sitting in front of the window. I was sitting there, I tilted the camera sideways, and snapped a shot of the snow that was stuck to it during our most recent snow storm.

See it now?

So KG was almost there with her guess of snow on the blacktop or snow on the camera lens. But I can't verify that she actually guessed it. So if the person who guessed it would like to come forward, I will gladly send you a useless prize. Or, KG, if it was you, I need proof from your helpers that it wasn't them. See what happens when you cheat?!?!??!?!!

I am going to start something new on Paper Castles in the next couple of days so stay tuned friends!

Hints

I am so happy that more than 2 of you are guessing on the contest picture! How exciting!
Unfortunately, you guys are way off. Well, all but one of you is. One answer almost hits the nail on the head but not quite.
Here are some hints:

• Picture was taken inside my house by me.
• I was drunk.

Good luck! Contest will end soon!

Contest!

So it seems that people like to have contests on their blogs.

Always a follower, I am going to do the same.

Who needs Christmas bonus' or secret Santa gifts when you have me and Paper Castles to send you something you would never buy for yourself even if you had an extra buck or two.

If you can guess what this is a picture of, I will send you something marvelous.

Don't be too quick with your answer, there is more than meets the eye here.

Leave your answers in Comments (kbl, norcalmrs, KG, Denise), all you other ninnies can just e-mail me or if you're feeling brave, actually leave it Comments. Just a thought.

Good Luck!

This is for you Sister

We did it!

Sister and I ran in a 5k on Thanksgiving Day morning successfully.

All those weeks of training really paid off. I'm so glad that we did this together. It was so great and having her there gave me memories that will last forever. Plus I beat her. How awesome is that?!?!?!? (Sorry, had to throw that in there. She probably would have creamed me but towards the end she was at war with her hair and that spiraled into having a mini-heart attack or wanted to throw up, more on that below).

I am going to attempt to post pictures but if Blogger starts acting up, this might be published as a partial post. It's early, I have a hangover, and I was woken up by French Kitty barfing up the gorgeous flowers that were given to us by sister all over the hallway. Work with me Blogger, work with me.

Oh, and I normally don't like posting pictures of my actual mug shot but I think it's almost unavoidable. Oh well. Couldn't keep it a secret forever.

We started off the day being the first one's there, which left us about an hour to take some pictures, which helped us warm up:

We found the restroom to be warm and toasty, so we stayed in there for a while, finding peace and solitude amongst the sinks:

More and more people started to show and stand in line to register, I am in there, can you find me?

We still had about 35 minutes so we decided to wait in the truck until the race started (why we didn't think of this sooner, I'm not sure) :

The time arrived for us to stand and wait for the big start, I was so excited!

We were informed that in order to complete the 5k, we would have to run around the lake twice. Here's me the first time around:

That guy next to was like 'lady your crazy' I was yelling. :)

Here's me the 2nd time around in almost the exact same spot, I was flying:

Like I mentioned above, towards the end sister was having some difficulties with her hair, which I really think lead to the end of her demise. She wanted to walk off her heart attack, I mean hair troubles, and told me to go ahead. She was kind enough to take a shot of me doing just that:

This was really close to the end. She caught up to me and we kicked up into 5 gear and sprinted to the end. It was so exciting. Even more great was they were playing the song that sister picked out for me for the wedding. Isn't that funny? Of all the songs in the world they could have played they were playing that one.

It was such a wonderful feeling of accomplishment for me to do this and have sister by my side. She didn't have to come with, but she did and that means the world to me. Running in an event like this has been a goal of mine for so long, and I did it. Well, we did it. Together. Thanks sister, I love you.

We took another picture at the end, sweaty red cherry popped faces and all:

Attractive, right?

I plan on continuing to run, and hopefully run in more and more events in the future. I have caught the running bug and can only hope to accomplish a 10k, half marathon and full marathon. What? A girl can dream, can't she?

The biggest thing I learned from this experience would be to make sure my toe nails are properly trimmed. The toenail on my 4th toe attacked my middle toe with avengece and this is was what happened:

Can you see on the left shoe on the outside how it looks like it's a different color? It is because it's blood. Literally my toe bled right thru my shoe.

Thanks to everyone for cheering me on in spirit!

Cheers!

(side bar: I am going to attempt to publish this now, and it looks fine here. But I have learned that Blogger does weird things when it come to pictures so if it looks f*cked up I am blaming Blogger. Or maybe it's something I'm doing. No, let's blame Blogger).

Get a load of this

Really?

So I only have TWO readers willing to come forward and admit they read this blog? TWO? Well I think it's fair to say that there at least 3 more of you that are too chicken shit to leave a comment and possibly some others lurking around that haven't either. C'mon, don't be afraid, you can even post a comment and be anonymous. (This is possible so don't give me that 'I couldn't figure it out' BS). Oh well. THANK YOU to NorCalMrs and kbl for being brave and letting me know that you are faithful and committed readers of Paper Castles. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy, like after have a couple glasses of wine in the tub. Or something.

MN sister and I will be running in a 5k together on Thanksgiving Day and I couldn't be more excited. I know it's not a huge feat to run 3.1 miles, but for me it's like landing on the moon. It has been a goal of mine for the past...oh...I don't know...10 years or so to run in one of these organized events so I am living out a dream friends. My 8 week coarse is done so I have been taking it easy the past week, letting my body recoup (by recoup I mean develop tendinitis in my ankle. What am I? 80?). So for the TWO OF YOU who read this, be cheering me and sister on in spirit at 830am on Thanksgiving Day morning.

That's all for now, thanks for reading YOU TWO.

I was reminded of this today...

Remember to De-Lurk yourself...I'm waiting!!!!!

Tell me who you are, don't be afraid!

I thought I knew the 4 people who read this, but my site visit counter tells me another story...

I DID IT!

I finished my 8 week running program today with a bang!


I ran my longest ever today, 2 miles consecutively, no stopping in between. What a great feeling! I even accomplished this at the mini mall gym (where I have found that I sweat like a banshee but whatever, it prevents people from using the treadmill next to me. I must look like a slobbering pig, beat red face with sweat running down my lovely face. Oh well).


So now I am on to my next task which is another running program by the same people/website as the 8 week one. This one is 6 weeks. Updates to share in the coming weeks I'm sure.


On an unrelated topic, here is my WOM selection for November:

Flying Dog Classic Ale. Yes, I realize this is a beer but it is good enough to make my wine list. If that makes any sense. I know it doesn't but just go with it ok? I received this as a birthday present (high class friends I have). I didn't drink it with any food. I just had it alone. Not by myself alone but not with any snacks.

Highly recommend. Go ahead, try it. You won't regret it.

WOM for October

Is it still October?
The month where Super Kid turned 8 years old and reminds me every single solitary day that he loves me no matter how tired, cranky, PMSy, and moody I am?
The month where I, Super 2, celebrated her 32nd birthday doing what she loved the most which was eating a hearty breakfast at The Original Pancake House for breakfast, eating salmon for dinner, and watching reality TV for about 3 hours, and had a handsome husband give me the best wine on earth?
The month where we celebrated Halloween by Treat-or-Treating in our non seemingly booze infested (rejoicefully so) neighborhood where 'everybody knows your name and their always glad you came' ?
Yes, October was very kind to me this year (dispite a few hicups that I would luvre to complain about but won't).
But because it was filled with such goodness, I will save my selection for WOM for October, and it will be worth the wait and shell shocking I assure you.
Which reminds me of my shell shocking 22nd Birthday present from Mom. It was a Cabbage Patch Kid. It was attached to a card that said 'Good things come to those who wait.'
Words to live by, no?
Moms are smart.

I like running on the treadmil (Gasp!)

Hi Friends

I am on to graduating Week 7 of my running regimen. Just in time for the weather to turn cold rainy and gross (not today which is a very nice 65 degrees and sunny--perfect for tonight's festivities--more on that later).

My work out Tuesday was this, and I quote:

Today you are going to try something different. Go to a school track or a trail
in your area (hee hee hee) that you have measured. Warm up with vigorous walking
for 10 minutes then jog 2x1 mile repeats...

Apparently these fine folks didn't anticipate a Minnesotan training near daylight savings time in October. Sorry, but it gets dark at about 430pm and this mama isn't going any where near a trail or an unlit high school track. Na-ah. No way.

So my only option is to go up to mini-mall fitness center and brave the treadmill. I was frightened of this unavoidable situation for various reasons, a few being:

• Falling off the treadmill.


• Sweating all over the place.


• Setting the speed too fast and being to proud to slow it down.


• Having the super fit hot chick/or dude next to me do the same workout and not sweat all over the place.

To name a few.

Well anywho, I had no choice but to go up to the fitness place to get this all important work out in. I wasn't about to skip it. I am very proud to say I have only missed ONE workout during this whole 7 almost 8 week regimen due to Super Kid's birthday (I do have priorities). So that's walking/jogging every day except for Friday's and Monday's which are required rest days.

So there.

I enter in the gym and it's it's usual quiet self, except for the clanking of the weights and the treadmills. I nervously walk up to the only open one. I am sandwiched in between two older gentlemen who are walking fast, but I do note that once they saw me, they started going faster. Whatever, I'm just going to do my thing and try not to fall off.

I should probably take a minute to explain the reason why I am nervous about falling off these things. If you know me at all you know the answer. Yours truly is a little uncoordinated. Little meaning a lot. So for me to step onto a moving object, try to look graceful, and watch a tv that is about 5 inches above my forehead is a little undaunting for me. It's either watch the tv or watch myself running in the huge floor to ceiling mirror. Ah, no thanks.

Getting back to the story, I step on the treadmill and start walking. No problems so far, I've walked on a treadmill a billion times. After the warm-up, I now have to make the thing go faster to start jogging. I go a little bit at a time. A little bit more. One more time. K, now I'm at a comfortable jogging speed. And there you have it! I did it! For the next two miles or whatever it was, I am jogging at a good pace, not sweating too much (I don't think anyway), can still keep my breath, and not a single time did I feel like I was going to fall off. Yeah me. I actually liked it because it keeps track of your time/speed/distance for you, right in front of you. So I don't have to rely on my cell phone stop watch or worry about a silly dog dodging out in front of me or the wind or rain! It's great!

I am onto week 8, my last week, I can't believe I actually went thru with this whole thing. Husband asked me what I was going to do after I was done with the 8 weeks and I honestly don't have any idea. Maybe I'll start training for a 10k...maybe.

Happy Halloween to all.

Drink up Bitches

It's my birthday.

Cheers!

Wish List

Hi Friends

Have you ever wondered what I wished for? Like, 4 or 5 years ago? Sure you have. Along with your own busy lives I am sure your mind has wondered into thinking 'I wonder what Super 2 wished for like 4 or 5 years ago.'

Well, wonder no more my prettys, I will gladly tell you. (And of course I wished for world peace, the end of hunger and the cure for all known diseases so don't get all 'oh wow how selfish of her' on me, k?)

Alright, brace yourself, here's the list:

• My Husband

Doozy of a list huh. What can I say, I'm a pretty lucky girl. We all have flaws. And by 'we all' I am mostly talking about myself. I know how I am. I'm moody. I spaz out over small things. I get upset when people don't say thank you (I'd like to take this opportunity to say Thank You to anyone reading this who I might have accidentally forgotten to say Thank You to for whatever reason or occasion). I like to have things go perfectly (yes I live in a land of rainbows and unicorns). I'm sensitive, like little girl sensitive. I put my foot in my mouth A LOT. I get up at the crack of dawn on the weekends. Despite all of these things, husband loves me. And he tells me he loves me a lot and I like it. I know there are some of you out there that don't say you love your spouses/friends/family that much (guilty!) but I think if I didn't hear husband say it to me, I would probably start walking backwards and convince myself it was normal because it would be so weird to not hear him say it to me. And yes, I completely rely on him to make me feel good. Not really but just to beat you to the punch. Although sometimes I don't see it right away, husband goes out of his way just to make me happy. And we all know how difficult that is sometimes, right?

So, now that I have fulfilled your curiosity over what I wished for like 4 or 5 years ago, I will now satisfy another one of your curiosities about what I wish for NOW. Like today. Again, OF COURSE I wish for the end of world hunger, world peace, and money for Super Kid's college education. But if money were no object (and I know it is because I don't have any of it---but still happy and well adjusted, sortof well adjusted anyway), this is what I would wish for.

Here we go!

• Volkswagen Toureg
• Naps everyday in the middle of the day
• A really cool job
• A new pair of black pants
• A new pair of black shoes exactly like the ones I have now (they don't make them anymore and frankly I think they kinda smell and the back is coming apart but I REFUSE to throw them out and until someone else does, I will continue to wear them)
• Mint body wraps every other weekend
• The ability to sleep past 7am
• Plane tickets
• To try and figure out why my upcoming 32nd birthday is hitting me like a ton of bricks
• A bigger garage
• A trip to California to see people that I miss
• And to Vermont (duh)
• Something to do at work today
• The sun to shine
• Magic Lamp

Alright, there you have it. Pretty impressive isn't it?

Now that I have wasted 5 minutes of your lives that you will never get back, I hope you are satisfied!

Kisses!!!!

Oh, and if I haven't told you lately, I love you.

Picture update

Husband downloaded some pictures (finally-sheesh) so I thought I'd post some to share.

Here is the pot roast that I successfully made

And the cinnamon rolls

One slow Sunday afternoon we had this floating in our backyard

Here are the pretty flowers that I planted in the front of the house and had to yank out of the ground to plant the tulip bulbs. That was a little more difficult than I thought it was going to be. They were doing so well!

One weekend we ventured out to a MN Apple Orchard. It was such a great warm fall day. Sunny and 75. The fall colors on the tree's were amazing. Everything was perfect minus the ladybug community that decided to reproduce in large quantities and bite. Not cool.

That same weekend, French Kitty went out on the deck, forgot where the door was, and tried to get back in thru the window.

You can always check out my flickr! photos. I try and update that site as well. Just click on What is this? on the badge to the left and then click on Super8080 to see some fun photos.

Later gators.

What did you say?

The following are things that have either been said to me or overheard by me at work. With no exaggeration what so ever.

Enjoy.

• I gave you a purple sucker yesterday.
• What can I say...I'm an anal guy.
• It's your turn for me to do you.
• It is brown and moist. With white chunks in it.
• I must have been playing with my unit.
• I need something to suck on.
• If the hole isn't big enough you just have to force it in.
• Boss: Your sister kept accusing me of starring at her boobs at your wedding.
• Me: That's because you were.
• Boss: Oh.

Bear in mind that I'm taking these things completely out of context on some of them, but it's still amazing.

Have a good weekend friends.

It has to be said...again

Today is a very special day.

Today is someone's birthday.

That special someone has made me realize how important life is.

He is someone who makes me smile.

Someone who tells me I look beautiful even when I know I don't.

Someone who says 'This is the best chicken and cheese hotdish I've ever tasted' even though the rice is undercooked and there is too much cheese and mushy vegetables.

Someone who truly truly truly believes in the golden rule.

Someone, who in his short (now) 8 years, has a heart of gold.

Happy Birthday Super Kid.

You are one in a million.

Ah screw it

Here are the WOM selections for August and September (husband has yet to download my ultra cool pictures from the camera to the computer and I'm afraid if I wait any longer I'll completely space which one's I want to talk about and have a 2 year old esk melt down)(why don't I just download them myself you ask? because husband is a computer engineer and I would undoubtedly screw something up if I tried it myself):
Smoking Loon. It is deeeeeelious. We had an endless supply up at our Madden's weekend vacation. I had the Merlot (weird, I know but it was good) and the Chardonnay. Worried that this brand was exclusive to the resort, we stocked up while we were there thinking that 12 bucks wasn't so bad for yummy wine. Well low and behold the next time I was cruising around Sam's Club I found they had it there. For 6 bucks. *sigh*
I know we are already into October (what the fuck) so I try and be more on the ball with these things.
Drink up sisters.
Chow!

Your my Hero

Dear Kathy,

Your my hero. Your show last night was absolutely hilarious. I've never laughed so hard for so long. Your bit about Sarah Palin and shushing people in movie theaters was off the charts funny. I have now put you on the list of people I love. Which is sorta weird because we've never met, but I don't care, I love you.

The only things I would slightly change about the night, would be that my sister in VT had a go-go gadget copter so she could have been there with me to see it. I thought about her almost the whole time and thought how much she would love you too after seeing the show. I must ask that you make a pit stop in Burlington VT and do a show there so she can see you live because my dreams of materializing a go-go gadget copter are pretty out there. Thanks.

Although your bit about celebrity baby names, stemming from the weird names that Sarah Palin gave her kids, was funny, the girl I went with has the same name as Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes' little girl (spelled different but pronounced the same). I sorta felt bad for her because you went off about how odd that name is and it caused for an uncomfortable moment when I glanced over at her out of the corner of my eye. She looked pretty miffed. (It was funny though I just didn't laugh because she was sitting right next to me and I barely know the girl, but I really wanted to).

Remember mama loves you and the next time you swoop into Minneapolis, I am going to buy two tickets and drag my husband with me, just so he can see how funny you are and because your bj joke at the beginning will only be funny coming from you.

A huge fan in the Minneapolis,

Super

It has to be said...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HUSBAND!

Running is hard

So, I started this 8 week program to 'Run effortlessly and with ease' thing. I have graduated to week 3 recently and suddenly things are rather difficult.

The past two times I've been out, I hated it. Sorry, rather strong words for something so new to me, but I can't help but hate life while running. I'm not running effortlessly or with ease. It's more like I am a two ton elephant and every step is not breezy and airy, it's more like a stomp. Followed by another stomp. I don't even think I'm going that fast. I try to keep a good pace without over doing it, but I want to get a good workout in and feel like I need to at least jog faster than I would walk.

I start out the run with a positive attitude, thinking 'this is going to be great' and by the time I get home, my attitude stinks (as well as my feet).

Anywho, I know there are at least a couple of veteran runners who read this lowly blog, so do you have any advice for me? I really want to do this, so I think that is half the battle, but any encouraging words would be much appreciated.

Oh-I have not forgotten about my WOM selections for August or September, I am just waiting for husband to down load some super rad pictures I took of the selections. I know you are all waiting on pins and needles for my advice on semi-decent cheapy wine, so I promise I will post soon about it.

She shoots She SCORES!!!

Well, technically I didn't really do much to SCORE A TICKET to see this lady on October 3rd for one of her comedy shows, but I do have a ticket none the less! WHOOP WHOOP! I am beyond excited to see her show. I love love love My Life on the D List so to see her in concert is going to be great. It is actually a funny story how I came to get the ticket in the first place. Last week, Husband sent me an e-mail, it said 'so do you maybe want to go to this concert thingy?...' It didn't register with me right away so I replied 'What is it and where?' Only after I sent that reply did I scroll down to see an attached e-mail from one of husbands' co-workers saying that she had to sell her ticket because of some family obligations and maybe I would want it? Umm...let's think together...YES. I quickly replied back 'YES TAKE THE TICKET I WANT IT I'M SHAKING TAKE THE F**KING TICKET' K, maybe I exaggerate but you get the gist. So I now am the official owner of one ticket, the other person she was going to go with I sorta kinda know but not really 'cause who really cares I'm going. Jealous?

Also, last week, I went to see Family Groove Company in concert, here's a little sampling of their music. And a little some thing extra. Heeheeheeheheee...

They are excellent in concert. I highly highly highly suggest going to one of their shows. I'm so proud to say I'm related to one of the band members.

Later bitches!

Clues you have been sitting in front of your computer too long

Your wine glass is empty.

& your butt is throbbing, and not in a good way.

The End.

Why Super Kid is so great.

So I thought I would elaborate just a little as to why I think my Super Kid is the best.

I am semi-serious about training for this 5k deal in a couple of weeks and have been walking/jogging lately. A couple of days ago, it was nice out and my allergies were under control so me an Super Kid went out. Him on his scooter and me trudging along.

I usually walk around the neighborhood in the same loop and have done so with Super Kid many times. I uneducatedly think it's about 2 miles. But I'm probably way off. No matter, we do this loop a lot.

We get about half way, my face is beat red and sweaty even though I'm jogging at a snails pace, and Super Kid looks over and says 'Mom, you look very beautiful today'. I know. Priceless isn't it?

Another 10 minutes pass and we are on the home stretch. Now I'm breathing rather heavily and say 'I think we need to stop'. Super Kid then offers me his Hot Wheels scooter and even goes as far to say that he will put it up on the highest handle bar setting so I don't have to hunch over. Yeah, I know again.

So just in case you were wondering why I gave props to the little guy on TIHLSWLS, this is why.

On an unrelated note, KC, this is the song I wanted you to hear. Mama likes. Which is strange because nothing this 'artist' has done before has really been that appealing to me.

Enjoy.

TIHLSWLS

• I have mad plumbing skillz.
• I have the best kid on the planet.
• Acquiring phone paparazzi talent is not difficult when you work 2 blocks from the Vikings training center.
• I also have no idea why I care so much.
• Me and husband speak the same love language.
• Super Kid has obtained husbands fashion sense.
• Customizing the Google homepage was way more fun than I thought it was going to be.
• Doing this at work is a no-no.
• I don't understand Facebook.
• I can't keep track of all my 'I'm sure I'll remember that' user names and passwords.
• Tom Brady is nursing a major boo-boo.
• I wish I was that boo-boo.
• I mega heart Tom Brady.
• I mega hate pollen.
• My feet stink, like real bad.

This is for you

Just call me Betty. Betty Crocker.

Ehm! Attention!

I, Mrs-All-I-Know-How-to-make-is-Microwave-Popcorn, has done the unthinkable. Braved new ground. Unmasked a new hidden talent.

I have made two things in the same day, without failure.

Drum roll please.

The first dish I made was

POT ROAST!

Ahhhhhhh, I can't believe I made this and it turned out no less. Most people know it's not very difficult to make pot roast, but usually when recipe's are explained to me and there is a 'and then all's you have to do is' I get eye glazed and start tasting copper so for me to do this, well Bravo to me. It was even good to eat. I even ate some WITHOUT dousing it in a gallon of ketchup. I EVEN got a huge thumbs up from husband and super kid, without asking thank you very much.

K, the second thing I made yesterday was a nail biter indeed. It is a made from scratch recipe handed down about 4 generations on husbands side (no pressure).

2nd drum roll please.

Cinnamon rolls. Yes, cinnamon rolls from scratch. Meaning I made the dough. From scratch. Yes, me. I did it. Again, most people know that these things are easy peasy to make, but I did it. I undercooked one batch by a little bit but I hear that is the trickiest part.

So, anytime you want me to whip up a batch at your next party function, you just let me know, I will with a smile on my face.

Bravo to me!

I took some pictures of my own in the process, I'll post them some other time.

You really should

Go to 1,000 Awesome Things (link is to the left) and read #951.
I'm still laughing.
Mad props to this blog posting for making my icky night un-icky.

Sorry Mom

I went to the dentist for my check up and guess what he told me?

Although not exactly necessary, I should look into getting these back on my front row. Seems as though after years of not wearing my retainer, Mr and Mrs Teeth Numbers 7 & 8 are shifting.

Although most of what dear old Mommy has done for me over years goes unnoticed and under appreciated, I must now take a moment to say two things to her. 1) I should've listened to you when you said "you better wear that retainer---all that money---sigh" and 2) I'm sorry.

Why I didn't make the US Olympic Diving Team

• I am afraid of heights.
• My squishy gut got in the way.
• I got lost on the way to the finals.
• When I say 'I got lost' it means I was watching Lost.
• I love Lost.
• They don't allow drinking cheapy wine.
• It interfered with my Internet time.
• I was copying something for the billionth time for somebody who could've done it themselves.
• I was too old.
• My arms were too flabby.
• I drooled too much around Michael Phelps.
• I spaced it.
• I was busy making a Minnesota Tummy Warmer.
• I couldn't find a nice swimsuit.
• I was cold.
• Blogger was doing weird formatting things.
  

Hi Pretty!

That's just rude

So yesterday I went to a really big chain pet store. I can't remember the last time I was in one,

I'm almost positive it was in OR visiting Sister when super smart nephew wanted to buy something for his rabbit. Or maybe it was his hamster. I don't know, anyway, it was probably about 3 years ago that I entered one. We usually get french kitties food at the Target because it's just more convenient, so again, no reason to go there.

Moving along, yesterday I went there because a co-worker, who has a fish tank in his office, went on vacation this week and forgot to buy more food for his fish. He called and asked if I could go get some and feed them this week. No problem I say. I needed to go out on my lunch break anyway to do some other errands.

I go there, find the food and discover that there is one register open with about 6 people waiting in line. The cashier lady kept calling for back up but she was really hard to understand so I'm guessing that's why nobody rushed to her aid. I'm the last one in line and think oh well, I guess I'll just space out. I'm really good at that. The line is not moving because customer number one had like a zillion questions about her dog food that the cashier was indeed answering, just not very clearly so there was a lot of 'what was that?' 'huh?' and 'can you say that again'. I was STILL IN LINE mind you but looking at a display about 10 feet to my right about dog training classes when the line moved, just a little. And then it happened. I was butted. Some lady, who I am sure seen me, just slid right in line in front of me. It was really strange. I just looked at the back of her head, sortof in disbelief, because how often do you get butted in front of? Isn't it the cardinal rule starting in like 2nd grade to never butt in front of someone?

So I'm standing there, wondering if I should say something, but can't really think of anything to say without sounding like a...well...2nd grader. So I say nothing and just remember that karma is a bitch. And then you know what happened? The back up cashier shows up, taps the butter lady on the shoulder and says 'Ma'am, I can help you over here.' WHAT???? I am the last one in line, wasn't she supposed to tap me on the shoulder?

On a brighter note, mama loves you.

Pictures!

Here are some (okay a lot) of pictures from our mini-vaca at Maddens.

















Somebody didn't want us to go. Or maybe he just really wanted to come with :)





We had to take this bridge from our room (which was fucking amazing for realsies it was massive and totally unexpected) to the dining lodge where we had all meals ready and waiting for us to eat. I am a HUGE fan of breakfast food and the buffet they had set up each morning was so delicious. Pancakes, waffles, french toast, TOAST, sausage, yogurt, parfaits!, oh my I was in Heaven.


For lunch they had burgers, hot dogs, samiches, chips, stuff like that.


For dinners, they had yummy walleye (not as good as yours Dad), steak, potatoes, chicken, asparagus, and the greatest desserts.



This was our view from our room. Every morning, of course at the crack of dawn, I would wake up and go to sleep with this. I'm a huge fan of pictures like this. I guess it's because nobody can ever be there at that moment with me and feel the absolute genuine happiness I felt when this picture was taken. It's happening right in front of you and nobody will ever see this exact moment ever again. Sappy, yes. Truthful, even more so.




I don't know what person thought of making a enormous lawn chair, but props to them for being genius enough to make me feel like a kid again. I don't know if this picture does it justice, but its HUGE. Like elephant huge. I climbed up on it and immediately felt like a five year old. Totally worth it.








I usually don't see husband this happy. In fact, other than our wedding day, I don't think I've ever seen him his this happy. We rented a boat for the day and tooled around on the lake for the entire day. He was just so happy. It makes me a little weepy just thinking about his face and the happiness spread across it. He even woke up when I did that morning. Just so happy to start the day. On the boat. We went swimming and saw a bunch of really fantastic things. Side note: while we were in a cove, me and Super Kid's song from the wedding came on (I'll stand by You) and I had a little melt down because I knew super kid would love to be there. Anyway...on to more of our boat adventure.







Of course I had to drive it, too.








And then I had to do something extremely cool in mid air (work with me here) to prove my awesomeness.








After all that excitement, Husband of the Year surprised me with a rosemary mint body wrap with foot and scalp massage. For those of you who don't know me, I LOOOOOOOOOVE anything mint. It could be a mint toothpick, rock or pair of socks. I would love it all the same. I even had mint cake at my wedding because I narrow mindedly thought that everyone likes mint. Anyway, the wrap was wonderful. How much better can it get than being exfoliated, rubbed down in mint wonderful, and then having 10 layers of warm blankie wraped around you. To quote my friend of all friends: I puffy heart husbands, mint and Aveda wraps. (Another note: I had a picture of the spa sign, but apparently my computer and blogger hated each other this moment so I after 3 attempts I gave up, oh well).







See what I mean about wanting to take pictures of what was happening right in front me? Brilliant!