Update of months!

Are you pretty sure I'm dead?  You're wrong.

I'm alive, still looking for a new job, still hating my current one (even more now), still loving my boyfriend, still waiting on that ring ;), still as beautiful as ever.


What has been my life for the last couple of months?
Well... in recent weeks, we've been gifted a brand new king size bed and a kitchen-aid stand mixer.  Amazing, right?
The bed is wonderful.. we're still breaking it in - do you know you're supposed to rotate a mattress every 2 weeks while breaking it in?  Well, it's important, after the first 2 weeks there was an obvious difference once we rotated it.  We're making our second rotation this weekend.  King size sheets are not cheap, btw.

We've yet to use the stand mixer, but I figure once fall/winter rolls around and we're using the grill less, we'll have time to make some pizza dough and yummy sticky lemon rolls!  God, I love pinterest.

I've joined 2 fantasy football leagues, this is my first year ever playing FF.  So far, I'm 0-2 on one league and 1-1 on the other.  I lost week 1 on both leagues.. BUT, I've since brushed up on WTF I'm doing, so... I have high hopes for the weeks to come.

We watched season 6 of Dexter!

We booked our trip, using the first class tickets that Steve won at his Christmas party last year.  We're headed to Cancun at the end of January!

I joined Curves.  I've gone once, been a member for 18 days.  While I really want to shed some of this weight, I'm really not digging Curves after my first workout, and I'm sure I'll get over it if I just go.  The first, and only time I went, it was old ladies talking about flax seed recipes.  It just made me feel really old, and not in-my-30's old, but like straight up 70's old.  I almost went again yesterday, but... came up with an excuse to go home.  My bag is in the car, hopefully tonight.  I'll never know if they talk about anything besides flax seed unless I go find out, right?!

My niece turned 5 in July - have I told you that?  My little brother is going to be 1 next month!

I went to the Minnesota State fair and didn't eat as much as I normally do - so good and bad I suppose.

OMG - how could I forget this?!  I was driving home one day a few weeks ago and on the side of the road stood the HITCHHIKER!  For those that are new around here, follow the link and read up on hitchhiker boy.  If my blog serves me correctly, I haven't seen him since 2010 - WOWZA!  I'm beside myself knowing he is still alive, and hitchin'.  I called Bob right away to tell him about it, but he wasn't quite as excited as I was.  Not sure if I should be happy or sad that he's still a hitchhiker... I had big dreams for him, as I'm sure he did too!

Enjoyed a relaxing Labor Day weekend.

Took a door off our storage room in the basement and we're going to use it to make a headboard... I've failed to take before pictures, but I'll be sure to post some pictures once it's finished.

I photographed a wedding this past weekend!

Steve and I started Kettlebells last Wednesday - I was super sore all day Thursday and Friday!  I can't wait to do it again - we're all signed up for once a week until Jan 9th, 2013!  Shit will kick your ass, lemme tell ya!

I'm probably forgetting a few things, but I think that covers it.

Mauer with a Hitch

I remember exactly where I was when I got the news... It was Sunday and I was in the kitchen of my boyfriends parents house.  I reached inside my purse to turn my Blackberry from {annoying} ring to vibrate, as to not have someone call during dinner and disrupt the flow of conversation.  I see that annoying little red light flashing telling me one of many possible things, most likely that I have a text or an email.  I decide to look; it's an email... from the Minnesota Twins.  I see the first few words of the email subject line: Twins agree to terms... my heart stops knowing the only player we have been waiting for terms with is the love of my life, Joe "Lips" Mauer.  I have {HAVE} to open it... here and now!

The Minnesota Twins announced Sunday that they have agreed to terms with catcher Joe Mauer on a eight-year, $184 million contract extension covering the 2011-2018 seasons. The deal, which includes a full no-trade clause, will be made official at a 7:00 pm (ET) press conference on Monday, March 22. Mauer, 26, batted .365 with 30 doubles, one triple, 28 home runs and 96 RBIs in 138 games with the Twins last season en route to becoming the AL MVP.

You're kidding, can this be real?  He's ours?  OURS?!  For 8 YEARS!
I try to contain my excitement; Steve's family doesn't need to know {let alone see} how crazy in love I am with this guy.  Happiest news ever!  I couldn't be happier that we have signed him, that he wanted to be in Minnesota, that we'll be able to enjoy another several years with some great players playing at Target Field!

Read the full story here.

A sad Twins related story is that we've lost Joe Nathan, out All-Star closing pitcher, due to an elbow injury.  This makes me sad.  Next to Mauer, Nathan is my favorite player, for sure my favorite pitcher.  I hope we can find someone to fill his shoes while he is out having surgery and recovering.  He will be missed.

A quick, off-topic {but exciting} note:  Yesterday, on my way home from work... I noticed a person standing on the side of the road; guess who it was. HITCHHIKER BOY!  Nothing much to say other that it's extremely ironic that he came back into my life yesterday, shortly after reading this bloggers story about The Briefcase.  Well, that and the fact that I know he has made it through yet another Minnesota winter and he is still alive!  I do hope to be posting more about him in the coming weeks and months.  I likely will not be picking him up in 2010.

To Stop or Not To Stop

I went out to run work errands today.. guess who I saw on the entrance ramp of 169?  Yep, Hitchhiker Boy!

Not really a story here other than wanting to share my news of seeing him yet again this summer.  Ironically, I didn't have my Nikon with me, and my point and shoot (which is normally in my purse) is at home charging.

Then... a vendor comes in to the office this afternoon and we somehow end up on the topic of hitchhiker boy, I tell him that I really just want to know his story and suggest he stop on the way out and find out for me.  Well, he called a bit later and said hitchhiker boy made it all the way to Elk River, but he was too scared to stop and talk to him because he had a mean scowl on his face (he always does).
Then about 30 minutes after that, my vendor calls back and says he made it to the other end of Elk River, on Hwy 10.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to see him on my way home today... I wonder how easy it is to take a picture while I drive....

I'll keep ya posted, yo!

He Lives!

You have no idea how excited I am to be using my 'Hitchhiker' label again!

A quick history - It was September of 2007 when I wrote the first story about my Hitchhiker friend.  I was a myspace blogger at the time, I had been working at Matrix for 2 years... out of nowhere I start to see this hitchhiker all over the place on my drive home, click here to read the full story with detail.

August of last year (2008) I mention him in this Random blog, because people asked me about him all the time.  He has to be the most captivating thing I've ever written about.
In that Random blog I mention that I hadn't seen him since September 2007, and I was pretty sure he was dead, drugged himself to death or took a ride from the wrong person.

On to the present, yesterday [crap, that's still the past] I was in my carpool riding shotgun when all of the sudden I see a person up ahead hitchhiking.  Now, over the past 1.5 years I've seen many people hitchin' a ride on my way home but upon approach, none of them have been my hitchhiker.  So we continue to drive forward, Bob is in the back seat and I say "Hey Bob, look!  It's a hitchhiker, I wonder if it our hitchhiker"  He looks and says "Wow, it sure does look like him!"  We continue forward and can clearly see that it is in fact our hitchhiker!  I almost piss my pants with excitement!  He still looks just as dirty and worn out as before, but he looks like has lost a bit of weight and possibly shaved.  The entire drive home all I could think about was how excited I was to have seen him, how happy I was that he is still alive... as the day wore on I began to think that maybe my seeing him is a sign of bad things to come.  After all, I did question whether or not he is my guardian angel... maybe he is back because I need guidance, maybe he is back to protect me from harm.

At this point I'm not sure and I'm honestly not going to worry too much about it.  He is alive and that is all that matters.  I will be sure to keep you posted on if he continues to come around.  Isn't it strange that I get so excited over a dirty stranger?

Random - Vol. 8.11

First of all... I'm so super sick of myspace not alerting me when someone comments on my pictures, or writes a blog, or leaves a comment... WTF?! What's the point of having a myspace; oh yeah... what would I do if I couldn't see my long distance friends everyday. and I do look at each of you everyday - I miss you guys!

Closely related to the reason I miss my BB friends is all these damn boys knocking down my door - well not really knocking down my door, cause not all know where I live. You'd think I'd be happy about it... OK, so I might love the attention, but I'm getting bored with it.... and I'm honestly starting to get confused! I met a guy at Jen's wedding, another new guy to try and keep straight. He's pretty dope though... we'll see how it goes. He sure does like to text...
There was this other guy I went out with a few times; I'm not honestly sure why I did. It was kind of a secret, cause we might work together (or we might not; who knows?!). Pretty sure I was just doing it for the excitement of keeping the secret and it being sort of taboo. I'm so over that... he's not even close to anything I would ever pursue.
I'm a very physical person, always have been - so I like to have that in my life, but I'm not a piece of meat. I wish I knew what dating expectations were or are. I don't mind kissing on a first date, but what after that?
And really, on top of all this - I don't want to be in a relationship, so what is the point of dating?! It was fun in the beginning... but now it's just time consuming.

Bob here at my job likes to make up names for all the guys in my life, potential mate or otherwise. It all started when I was dating a guy from Chicago, Bob named him Chicago Boy. Then one day a sales person from Quill (our office supply company) came in to talk to me (he may have been quite friendly with me, borderline flirting) and Bob started calling him Quill Boy. It's gone on from there. My buddy Steve gave me an awesome gift once; a bottle of Tequila (Sauza) but relabeled it as Swayze (it's a long story that we share, but I'll post a picture of it sometime so you can see it's amazingness), anyhow after telling people at work about it Steve is now Tequila Boy. I also have UPS Boy, Pop Boy, Friend Boy, Billboard Boy, and many others! It's pretty much the single funniest thing in my life!

Oh yeah, there is also Hitchhiker Boy... which is the perfect segway into a different topic.
Remember the blog I wrote about the hitchhiker? I'm sure you do; I get asked about him ALL THE TIME from people who have read the blog. The update, as sad as this is to me, is that I haven't seen him since I wrote the blog! My gut says he got in the wrong truck one day and is no longer with us. The optimist in me, albeit not realistic, says he got a good paying job, bought a fancy new car, shaved, showered, and is now a successful business man which in turn means he no longer has to hitch a ride! I'm pretty sure he's dead, drugged himself to death... probably meth, that stuff is all over in Princeton. Bob and I used to talk about him all the time, cause we'd both see him on our drives (hence Hitchhiker Boy).

I have some strange thoughts while driving... I love to have my window down, but I drive by the dump in Elk River everyday and not only does it stink something fierce but there are always trucks in and out, up and down on Hwy. 169. I had several huge rocks hit the windshield on my van, a couple even put a chip in it. What if those rocks came in my rolled down window and took out my eye?!
Have you ever thought about what would happen if you are driving... you are wearing sunglasses (or regular glasses)... and your airbag (assuming you have one) deploys?! Would those glasses break leaving shards of glass or plastic in your eyeball?
I mention in one of my last blogs that I went through and read all the blogs I've written here on myspace; I once wrote a blog about being so tired at work and having an open 3-ring binder in front of me... my thoughts went on to what if my head dropped onto said 3-ring binder and popped one of my eyeballs! I don't know what's wrong with me.

I haven't worn shorts in probably 8 years, other than boxers to bed or at the beach or something; I don't like my legs. I bought a pair this year at Old Navy for like $4.00 - figured why not give it a shot... I've been hitting the gym, maybe it will be okay. So I wore them the other week... it wasn't half bad! I haven't rushed out to stock up on them or anything... but I've taken a step forward. Good for me!

Hitchin' A Ride

Generally I start my blogs by having some idea of what I'm going to say- today is different.
I have something that I am finally remembering to blog about- and now I'm glad I waited, because this story has evolved in the past week.

As some of you know, I work in Princeton, MN- for those that don't know.. it's pretty far out from any bit of reality. I live in Andover, which is about 20-25 minutes from Minneapolis, and Princeton is another 45 minutes North of my house! Like I said, it's far.
Now most people drive on freeways/highways- it's the end of the day and really you just want to get home. What's the fastest way home? The road with the fastest speed limit, right?! I used to leave work and jump on 169 South and follow that to Highway 10 East, then take my exit and make my way home.

Here is the beginning of my reasoning behind this blog: It started one hot summer day (lol, great way to start a sentence) I was turning the corner to get onto 169 and there was this man hitchhiking at the bottom of the on-ramp! He was not a well dressed man- very 'construction worker' style, but way too 'something' to be a construction worker. He was very tan, had a smoke in his hand and looked to be well into his 50's. I didn't really think much of it, cause it happens. I go on with my life.
The very next day I am driving home from work and I am much further along in my drive (Elk River, for those who know the path) and I see this same man hitchin' again! What a strange coincidence, I thought. I figured he must have made his way to Elk River the day before, found somewhere to sleep for the night and continued on the next afternoon- but what do I know; I'm merely a bystander in this situation.
A few days go by and I am leaving work, turning my corner to jump on 169 again- guess who is at the bottom of the on-ramp?!?!? You guessed it; it's my friend the hitchhiker! Now I'm to the point where it's weirding me out! I continue on and forget all about him, again. Another day or two later... same guy, new place- this time he is in between Princeton and Elk River, a little town called Zimmerman, hitchin'.
I am guessing this story will lose readers if I continue to go day by day of seeing this guy- so I will move on to the most current of this story.

I have since decided to find a new way home, not because of the mystery hitcher, but because both of those roads are "highways" which means they have lights and intersections- I was sick of going 65 in one spot then having to slow down to 55 and stop for a bunch of lights though it all, so I decided to take it upon myself to change that. I still have to get on 169, but I get off and take the back roads before I get to Elk River. I would still see the hitcher in Princeton and Zimmerman, but nothing beyond that any longer.

One day I had to meet my dad after work to pick up Vikings tickets to the home opener- he works in Big Lake, so Elk River is the perfect meeting spot for us. This means I had to take the 'old' way home... 169 to Hwy 10. As I take the cloverleaf exit onto Hwy 10 and merge in with all the other cars there is a stop light ahead- I have to stop; dammit. I bet you'll never guess who is hitchin' at that light...
Now it had been a good week and a half since I'd seen the guy and this was the farthest down I had seen him yet... so it was pretty shocking to me. Once I met up with my dad and told him about how much I see this guy he busted out with "maybe he's your guardian angel". Something I didn't think was true until Monday of this week. After meeting with my dad I get back in my car and continue my drive down Hwy 10 towards Anoka- Anoka is also one of those small towns with stop lights. Mind you, this is the same day- I seen the hitcher right before I met with my dad (which took about 15-20 minutes of my time), and now I am driving through Anoka- only to SEE HIM AGAIN! This is now the closest to my house he has been... that I know of!

Back to taking the 'new' way home... back roads!

I mentioned above that I didn't believe what my dad said until Monday of this week... would you like to hear what happened Monday of this week? I'll assume you do and go on: my back roads drive involves a few stop signs and lots of twisty roads- it's fun... makes me want a race car! On Monday, I am approaching one of the few stop signs and I see a person standing on the side of the road... need I say more? Yep- it was him again... on my back roads adventure!!!
Here is where I go nuts: What are the chances of him being on the back roads, the very same back roads that I take? Is he really my guardian angel? Does this guy have a house? if so... where does he live and where the hell is he always trying to go? Who keeps giving him rides? I never realized people still picked up hitchers!
If I won the lottery- I'd buy him a car for sure!

I wish I had a picture of this guy... it's always so hard to grab my phone and get the camera active by the time I realize he is there...

So now I pass this blog on to the readers, as I like to keep you all involved. As you have probably noticed I keep calling him "hitcher"- I think this man, my Guardian Angel, needs a name! My first thought was "Bob", but I work with a Bob and there is another very special stranger in my life named Bob (RIP, I think), so I don't think Bob is very fitting. I'd like to hear your thoughts... what should I name my Guardian Angel?