Missouri - Part III: Silver Dollar City & Marvel Cave

My weekend was full of first; first walnut tree, first scrapbook page, first this, first that... Another first, and a pretty damn exciting one, is my first trip inside a cave!  

On Sunday we took a day trip to Branson, MO to visit Silver Dollar City.  It's hard to explain what SDC is exactly, but they have rides, shops, glass blowing, food... those types of things.  I have tons of pictures from that day - some of which I will be posting here.  

Jacob, Phillip and myself went on 3 roller coasters that day, I LOVE roller coasters more than anything and I jump at the chance to go on one!  

They give cave tours which last roughly 45-55 minutes, so we decided to go on one... cause I wanted to go in a cave pretty badly!  There is roughly 600 stairs and we ended up about 500 feet below ground!  WOW!  It's a wet limestone cave and has some of the most amazing formations I've ever seen (not that I've ever seen anything a cave has to offer).  It was breathtaking.  It was also very dark in the cave, so getting a photo to turn out with my little point and shoot camera was quite hard.  I was able to get some:

It was pretty neat stuff, but one of those things that you really must see for yourself.  Photographs just don't show how awesome it is!


Here are some more of me in the cave:

While in Silver Dollar City we also watched some glass blowing, we walked a TON, and we colored some candles:

'Round about the end of the day I was getting tired... a lot because I had been running around with Phillip and Jacob after going on coasters!  Anyhow, we had to return the stroller we got for the kiddos, but before we did I had to pose for a picture, only to have my feet picked up by the kids and pushed/pulled around SDC!!

Renee's father is a dope photographer, so he was snapping pictures all day long... We ended up with this beautiful picture of Renee's daughter, I just happen to be in it:

The picture I posted in this blog was also taken and edited by Renee's father, he was such a treat to get to know!

I had a blast at SDC and going inside the cave is something I won't soon forget.  It's amazing to see places outside of Minnesota... flat ol' Minnesota!

Missouri - Part II: The Crafts

Settle down, I'm not talking about witch craft!

Renee had asked me many weeks before my arrival if I wanted to take a basket weaving class with her.  I had seen some of her pictures on myspace and I was all about it!  I'm generally not one to seek out new crafts, but it seems the older I get, the more money I find myself investing in crafty type things.  I've taken up knitting in the past year, I have TONS of projects in my brain just waiting for me to act on (most involve photos and/or wine), and I love photography as a whole.  

Here are a few pictures of us weaving baskets, (actually... it's just me in these pictures because Renee is a butthead and willn't ever let me take her picture):

The baskets are oil and vinegar baskets, so the point is to get oil and vinegar bottles, fill them and place them inside.  Of course we had to stop at Bed, Bath, and Beyond to pick up our bottles... and of course we had to paint them:

Last but certainly not least, Renee has a room FULL of scrap book supplies.  I can't even begin to tell you what any of it is (besides paper) but it's FULL!  OH!!!  She also has a cricut!  She was quite anxious to get me going on a page (or book) of my own... so I gave in and let her get me going.

Here is a photo of my (almost) finished page.  I have to still print the photo (which is going to be a group shot from the Oct. 12th Vikings game), so the white space you see now will be that photo (and I will post pictures of it complete as well):

Renee is pretty well the bomb and she also hooked me up with tons of paper to get me started on a book.  I will be posting my progress as I get it finished and as I'm working.

Turns out I might be a scrapbooker!  :)

More blogs to come... for now I must sleep.

Missouri - Part I: The Walnuts

I was staying in Wilard, MO, which is pretty well a small little town minutes from Springfield.  Up the Farm Road you will run into Walnut Grove, which is the town Renee grew up in.  They kind of have a lot of Walnut Trees in Walnut Grove.  

Come to find out that it's a pretty serious thing down there.  

Turns out it was harvest season while I was there, so most of the tree

s were bare.  In the area during harvest you can pick up walnuts and put them in a sack and sell them for cash!  We encountered a young gentleman in a orange jumpsuit who had the road blocked off to collect walnuts - he had several sacks in the back of his pickup truck.  It was quite the interesting experience for me, I wish I had taken a photo of him (I'm quite certain he was a jailbird, orange jumpsuit and all).

Once we made our way through Walnut Grove and seeing all of this I became a wee bit obsessed.  I needed to have a photo of a walnut tree, I needed to blog about walnuts, I needed to stage a photo shoot.  I had big plans!

First let me show you a walnut tree.  You will notice little green ball looking things on the tree (there are only a few, click the photo to make it larger), those are walnuts:

Since all the locals had pretty well picked through all the fallen walnuts we kind of had to go on a walnut hunt.  Renee snapped a shot of me on the hunt (although I many not look to be hunting for walnuts, I was in fact hunting for walnut trees near by to hunt near):

Once we finally found some I was absolutely blown away that walnuts don't just grow on a tree as you buy them in a store.  They are in a soft green hull, with a very dark inner core holding the actual walnut.  Here is what it looks like after it falls off the tree:

Once it falls off the tree the hull starts to darken, which is why you see some black in some of these photos.  I stepped on one with my shoe because Renee told me the inside will stain your hands very badly.  Here is what the inside of it looks like (that is the walnut you see there):

Here is a small group of them we were able to collect, notice how they are changing colors:

We staged a photo shoot in honor of Terri, who was not able to join us on the trip but LOVES to stage photo shoots:

Last, because I was so excited to have found some walnuts to photograph, I had to have my picture taken with one.  Can you say you've ever had your picture taken with a walnut?

What I have failed to mention up until this point is that I made Renee drive around for quite some time (and by that I mean at least an hour) trying to find a walnut tree with many walnuts still on it; these were the best we could find.  Turns out people jump at the chance to make a few bucks selling their walnuts!  Strange things you find in other places... 

I had a great time hunting for walnuts while in Missouri!

Random - Vol. 8.17

So, I got home last night to find my Internet wasn't working and I didn't have the patience to try and figure anything out.  So I will be posting about my trip hopefully tonight... I still have to get my pictures off my camera.  

I need technology!  I didn't check myspace and facebook but once this weekend and I think that was on Friday... aside from checking from my phone to poke those that have poked me.  I didn't really pay any attention to my email on my blackberry.  I'm really only posting this blog because I feel like I need a good solid dose of technology!

So, as mentioned, I will be posting blogs about my trip soon... and I think I'm going to have to split them up in sections cause I have a lot to say and a lot of pictures to share.  Though, I may be able to get it all into one or two.  

A few highlights I will be touching on: 

• I scrapped my first scrapbook page this weekend!  I just have to print the picture and glue it down :)  I'm excited to post a picture for everyone to see.  Renee set me up with supplies to finish my little accordion book - it's going to be a 2008 scrap book... (don't tell her, but I'm pretty excited to be doing this!).  
  
• I got EXCELLENT gas mileage - one of the tanks I got 39 MPG!!  
• I seen my first ever Walnut tree and walnuts in their 'shells'.
• I went into a cave for the first time ever.
• Basket Weaving
• Dinosaur Eggs
• I love Renee and her family!

Stay tuned for those blogs...  on to my random thoughts.

Have you ever seen a Bald Eagle in real life?  The other week I was driving home from work and looked up to see 2 Bald Eagles flying together... just soaring along in the sky.  I truly feel 'they' (whoever they are..) picked an amazing creature for our nations bird.  They are absolutely beautiful!  

Back in August I was up north at a friends cabin and we were all out in the boat.. someone caught a fish, let it go.. and it died.  It floated away and all of the sudden we see this Bald Eagle circling overhead looking, obviously, at this dead fish floating away.  We continue to watch and then we see it start to get lower and lower... long flight down made short... he swoops down no more than 50 yards away from our boat and picks up the fish.  It was one of the most amazing things I've ever seen!  Pictures don't even come close to showing a person just how amazing they are.  If you ever see one in real life, take the time to observe it, you will be blown away!

Being alone in a car with just my thoughts... is sometimes a dangerous thing.

I had about 50 million random thoughts I wanted to blog about - and I can't remember a one of them!

According to my dear friend Steve, Eminem has leaked a song off his new album set to drop this year... I have it sitting in my email inbox, but have yet to listen because of the lack of Internet at my house :(  I can't wait to hear it.

My job is so busy right now... it's job security, so that's good.  We normally have about 10-11 people working here; we are at a total of 18 people now.  We are making 950 Kiosks for a company, not only are we forming the parts (which is like 7-8 different parts) but we are also assembling them all, which takes about 15-20 minutes per kiosk.  It's a CRAZY project.  I'm in charge of keeping track and documenting time for each person... it's one of the biggest headaches at my job (and another reason I am writing this blog... sometimes mental breaks are necessary).

Burnt coffee is nasty.

I love to rap.. and I get a lot of strange looks from people on the road as I'm doing it.  Silly Minnesotans :)

I use the personalize Google homepage, and over the weekend they made some changes... I hate changes.  I have no idea how to get it back to how I had it.  Damn you Google!

I have to get some work done, but first... Renee's father is a super dope photographer and he emailed me a picture from this weekend and I'd like to share it with you:

Thoughts for Thursday - ROAD TRIPS!!!

I am going to post a TFT for today, but its going to be pretty short, I'm only working a half day... I do have to get something done today :)

Since I am leaving today to embark on one of my favorite things to do (Road Tripping!), I thought it would be appropriate to talk about road trips!  I'm leaving in a matter of hours to drive about 10 hours to Springfield, MO - I LOVE taking road trips!!  I've done several with friends and many alone (mostly to Chicago); there is just something about being on the open road that I love.  I don't exactly recall my first road trip, but I think it was down to Texas (Dallas area) to visit my friend Derek; he was in the Air Force and stationed down there.  I made a few trips down there to see him, I was younger then so I didn't care as much about finding things to see or do on the way or while down there.  I took a road trip with my friends, Erin and Pam, to Chicago - we stayed there for a night or two, then drove down to St. Louis to visit my friend Joey.  We then drove back to Chicago for another night and eventually made our way home.  

I've made a couple road trips to Las Vegas.  The most memorable one was leaving MN with Erin and Kristen, driving through North Dakota, Montana, the very tip top of Idaho, into Washington.  We stayed in Seattle for a night, drove down through Oregon and Northern California into San Francisco.  We stayed in San Fran (which is one of my favorite cities, btw!) for a night and then made our way into LA/Venice Beach!  Had a night or two there and drove to Vegas.  Talk about an exhausting trip!!  We made our way back to MN through Denver - but didn't really make any stops on the way home.  3 girls in a car together for a week makes for some crabby times :)

I have driven in every state South and West of Minnesota.  I think that is a neat fact.  I've seen the Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, The Hollywood Sign, Muscle Beach, The Space Needle, and The Golden Gate Bridge.  I've been to Six Flags in LA (so much fun!), I've walked the strip in Las Vegas, and I've dipped my feet into the Pacific Ocean.  I'd way rather take a week and drive then fly to only one destination for the same amount of time!

This trip I will hopefully see and do some fun things while on the road.  I'm excited!  I really just can't wait to See Renee and her family.

So... Thoughts for Thursday: Have you ever taken a road trip?  Where to and what did you do?  Do you enjoy road trips?  Tell me anything and everything about the road trips you have taken!!

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Other TFT Posts today:

Dana Leigh on Tattoos and Piercings

Michelle Leigh on Plastic Surgery

Blogging and Counting...

Ok, so I installed this hit counter on my blog last week, but wanted to test it out before I decided to keep it.  After reading Michelle's Blog celebrating her 30,000th hit I've decided to keep my counter, unfortunately I didn't put it up the first day I started the blog, so it's about 2 months off.  I've added the hit counter to my blog under my picture for everyone to see.  Can you believe I've been here on blogger for 2 months?!

I really like the little community in the blogging world.  I've become a part of Thoughts For Thursday, which I'm finding to be fun and I'm always searching my mind for TFT ideas!  I'm also open to suggestions if you have one... I have an opinion on everything!

I still have a small annoyance with people coming and reading but not leaving comments.  Let me know you've been here, even if it's just a small "LOL" or "Word" or "I agree/disagree".  It is nice to know people are reading, but I don't know who you are unless you tell me, duh!  I know the comment options are there for you to post using your name (even if you don't have a blogger account)... so why not do it?  Not only that, but I know you have an opinion too or something to say!  If you found me through someone else's blog, let me know who and why you decided to click on my blog.  

I'm quite certain I've lost a lot of my loyal myspace readers... but what can you do?

There are still a few quirks I'm trying to figure out here (like why I get a different posting screen sometimes, one with a spellcheck and one without), but so far so good!  I need to take more time to play with banners... I enjoy learning new things and trying to make them in photoshop is usually fun.

All in all, I like it here.  I plan to continue to post as I feel the need and find topics to post about... Thanks to those who continue to read and welcome to those who are new.  I know my blog is not grammatically correct most of the time and I, generally, try to check my spelling... its just me and it's how I roll.

Lastly, on a separate/side note: my tattoo is starting to heal, which means it's starting to itch... which means it sucks.

The weekend...

So I had an interesting weekend, I'll skip the boring stuff and get right to the good stuff.  

Saturday, kind of last minute I made a final decision to cover a tattoo that I've had since I was 16.  I've wanted to do it for a long time but haven't had the funds, my friend Amy knows this guy who does 'em for cheap... the first one I got was in a shack in some dudes backyard, this dude can't be much worse, right?  Here is a picture of the 'dolphin' I got when I was 16 (it looks like a minnow):

Several years ago my friend Joey drew me a dolphin - it was the outline for this tattoo.  So, after many steps and lots of pictures that I won't be posting... I now have this tattoo of a dolphin:

On Saturday my mom wanted to go out and celebrate her 50th birthday, so I drove to St. Paul (the Mn Music Cafe) and hooked up with her and a group of her friends.  Here is us doing a birthday shot of Patron:

Sunday, a group of us went to the Vikings game.  I won't touch on the game or the fact that we need a new head coach... but here is a picture of us tailgating (from left to right: Jeff, Linnea, Amanda, me, Bronson, Steve):

Then Sunday night my mom and me met up with my brother and Brooke for dinner at Big Bowl.  Of course my beautiful niece was with and just melting her aunties heart!  She has this super cute smile she does... I could never get a picture of it until this weekend, and I just have to share it with you:

Isn't she just the CUTEST thing ever?!  It's unbelievable how much I love that kid!

peace out bitches :)

Some old pictures

So I was going through some pictures on my computer today... sometimes it so much fun to do that... just think back and remember.  I decided to share with you some of those pictures and memories I have from around these times.  Unfortunately I don't have exact ages or dates for many of these first few.

(Remember you can click on any of these pictures to see them larger)

This first picture is me in what used to be my favorite thing to play with.  It's my little car, I even had the gas pump to go along with it!  I figure I'm probably around 1 yr. old here:

I figure since I don't moon as an adult, I should at least show you guys what I'm working with ;)  I'm guessing this is around 2 yrs. old or so (but I'm very bad at this):

This next picture is my brother and me... cute that we are actually getting along (I think he still liked me at this point in our lives).  I'm thinking I look maybe 2 in this one as well :

I still use this look to this day:

.... and this one too (pretty clear I've been a daddy's girl my whole life, huh?).  I figure this is around 3-4 yrs. old:

My favorite Halloween costume, Freddy!!!  My dad was the shit at making our costumes - I was also, at one point, The Tin Man, Dorothy, but never the Lion because I was always brave ;)  I think I'm around 5 yrs. old:

My mom loved putting my hair in pony tails on the top of my head!  She also loved my freckles and making me pose (which explains why, to this day, I love to have my picture taken) - I look maybe 7 yrs old here?:

My dad and me (I think this was taken the same day as the one above):

This one was taken in July '91 - 9.5 yrs old here.  Again.. my mom loved doing this stuff... and she didn't have to twist my arm too hard at this point to get me to play along:

This next one is the entire reason I started looking through pictures today.  I found this in my mom's bedroom and I wanted to make sure and get it scanned and post it.  It was my trip to Glamour Shots in 1995 - I was 13.5 yrs old:

Moving along to when I was a bit older... and people wonder why we never come out of a Minneapolis Public School with an education:

This is Pam, Amanda, Abbie and myself.  I'm pretty sure I was in high school here, but not sure which year:

I like my hair (and boobs) in this picture, circa 2000:

As an 'adult', with Pam and Alex - Powerpuff girls!!  I was big into pink then... so I got to be the pink one.  Oh, this was Halloween 2001, not just some random night:

Pam, Amanda, Kelley and me.  Amanda and myself skipped most of Kelley's baby shower to go to the Vikings game, oops!  My computer says this was 2002, so I'll go with that:

Ahhh yes... this next picture was taken the night of my 23rd birthday, so it was 12/16/2004.  I'm pretty sure after this was taken Amy and I were called up to the stage at The NE Palace to sing Eminem's Superman - the events following that song are a huge blur to me and all I know is I woke up the next day with a sore tail bone; draw your own conclusion:

A few weeks later, still with a sore tail bone, before the Vikings vs Packers game on Christmas Eve 2004:

Again in 2004, Christmas day with my brother and his now wife, Brooke:

Jan 2005, with my mom, Nancy, and my Brother, Jason:

So... that's really all I've got for you today.  Just thought it was fun to look back and laugh a bit.

One word to sum it up... UGH!

In exactly one week from right now I will be driving, probably around Kansas City, give or take.  Not what this post is about.

I had to make a few stops tonight on my way home from work.  You see, I am working a half day next Thursday then getting in my car to drive 10+ hours to visit my friend Renee in Springfield, MO.  Because I will have been up since 5am that day, I plan to have a backup of coffee waiting for me on the drive aka I need a Thermos.  Kind of what this post is about.

I make a stop at Walmart, because it's the closest to where my carpool drops me and cheapest store in general.  I find one, it's small and cute (thats what she said), but I decide I need to hit up Target, in hopes they will have a cuter and larger selection.  Ugh, getting off topic.

I also needed (wanted) a few other things so I, already in a small hurry and born without patience, fancy the self checkouts in most all places that have them.  I, generally, don't have to wait in much of a line, I don't have to deal with someone checking out everything I am buying, and I can checkout at my own speed (and I have fully mastered the self checkouts and am sure I could win any award for speed ;) )- convenience is key.  Which, finally, brings me to the point.

I scan and bag my few small items, hit "pay now", swipe my card, sign the pad and wait for my receipt to print.  Nothing comes.  The screen is telling me that 'assistance is required' - so now I have to wait for some slow ass Walmart employee to stop her conversation and notice that I need attention (what else is new, on both accords).  She finally makes her way over, scans her card, punches in a code, and asks to see my card.  All she had to do was check my signature.

Isn't the point of self checkout to be quick, to not need to have that stuff checked, to get in and out... 

I asked if that was the only problem, and she said "Yep, have a nice day!"

may as well have just got in a damn line....

Thoughts for Thursday - Immediate Family

After Last weeks TFT and realizing that not everyone is as lucky as me to have such a wonderful extended family, I thought it would be a good idea to touch on immediate family.  It's something worth talking about, imo.

As some of you know, my parents are divorced; they split up when I was 18.  I had a wonderful childhood, full of love and laughter.  We ate dinners together most all of the time, went fishing together, and had lots of 'family time'.  My parents were happy, my brother and I fought like siblings should and all in all I was happy.  I always told myself I wanted to grow up and have a love like my parents did.

Things change... I love both of my parents and my brother and I get along fabulously.  My dad is remarried, my mom dates, my brother is married with a child... and here I sit in the basement of my mom's house.  It really doesnt bother me though, I have a good life.  The thing I miss the most is the family time that we used to spend together; no more family dinners, no more family outtings, no more put together family.  Wow... that seems really depressing!  I'm not writing this to depress people, I just miss my family. 

I've created a strong bond with my brother and I love my sister-in-law! 

My niece, Jordan, as you may have read in my blog; I love her to death!

I live with my mom, so I see her often enough, though we don't spend quality time together.

My dad... oh my dad.. where to even begin?!  I love my dad; I don't love his situation.  It's hard for me to spend time at his house; I don't see him near as often as I would like.

I don't have 'my own' family as in one that I've started (husband, kids, etc.) - though I do have Boomer:

He is my fat little guy :) That's an old picture and he is probably a bit bigger now... but I think it's a funny picture, so there you have it.

I love my life and my family is a big part of that {extended and immediate}. 

So, Thoughts for Thursday:  Everyone has their own defination of what family is... what is yours?  Who makes up, what you consider to be, your immediate family?  What do you guys do for fun?  How do you spend your 'family time' together?  Do you eat dinners together?

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Other TFT Posts:

Kristi on Little Girls and Make-Up

Helmey on 'Saving the best for last'

Dana Leigh on Dreams
Renee on Hobbies 

Hair today... gone tomorrow.

As I stood in the bathroom here at work with my ponytail in the middle of my head, trying to measure the length of my hair alone, I came up with 18-19 inches.
Being a bit more realistic, I moved the ponytail down to the base of my neck, I came up with roughly 17", again measuring hair as long as mine alone is not an easy task.
I plan to get the official word when I have help.

I've been doing some research on donating hair.  Locks of Love was my first thought; though there are many other programs out there.  Pantene also has a program for hair donation - Beautiful Lengths.
Locks of Love (LoL, for short) has a requirement of 10 inches, as does most other programs.  Pantene's required length is 8 inches.  LoL makes wigs for children, mostly children that suffer from conditions such as Alopecia Areata or burn victims and will not be able to grow hair again.  They do make a fair amount of wigs for children with cancer, but being that their hair will grow back eventually, they try to direct their focus on those who's hair will not.  LoL is a non-profit organization and they do sell some of their donations to help with overhead and other costs; they do not hide that fact.  Its hard to donate knowing my hair may not go to the cause I want it to.  They sell to wig makers and places of the sort and then they go through the hair and use what they can... etc.  There are a lot of websites out there trashing LoL because of how they operate.
I'm not sure how I feel about this, I'd rather donate my hair then have it be tossed in the garbage... but if they are just going to toss it then what is the point?

Pantene's program makes free wigs for women who have suffered from cancer.  I like the thought of that.

There are also lots of websites talking about selling your hair and donating the money.  Another interesting idea...  it's amazing how much people will pay for hair!  Some of the lots I looked at sold for over $1000.00 (a few for over $2K)!!!

I decided this weekend that my hair is bothering me.  If I don't wake up in the middle of the night with my hair strangling me, I wake up laying on it and when I go to move I pull it.  When you are more than half asleep pulling your own hair hurts!  I don't sleep with my hair up either for many reason.. so that is not an option.  There is just nothing to do with it anymore, it's too damn long!  I rarely use anything on my hair either; curling iron, straightener, product, etc.  I've also been seeing a lot of cute shorter hair styles on TV.. and it's got me thinking.
I always want my hair to be long again after I cut it, but I feel like if I were to do this for a good cause I wouldn't really have the right to bitch about it not being long.  Right?

I don't know what to do.  Anyone out there know someone who has donated?  Where did they donate and how was the experience?  Anyone have any other advice for me?

To cut or not to cut... to donate or to sell...

I LOVE MY NIECE!!

I had to stop by my brothers house Friday afternoon to go over some wedding stuff with him (my cousin, Jeff, got married and much of the family helped out to help the couple save some $$, my brother agreed to emcee).

Jordan was awake and running around like the cute little bug she is... it blows my mind how smart that kid is!!  We were looking through some books and she can point out a ball, a tree, a kitty, a doggie; she can point out and say 'duck'.  It's fricken hilarious!  She loves to say 'Hi' and her smile is enough to melt my soul!

If you say to her "Jordan, what sound does a kitty make?" she replies with the cutest open mouth meow... or at least what she thinks is meow.  My brother was telling me that when he was teaching her to say 'meow' he would start with his head kind of down and as he opened his mouth to make the meow sound he would also lift his head... Jordan does the same thing... in all honesty she looks and sounds like a Lion roaring, only in a whisper.  adorable!
I tried to get a video of her doing it... but as kids will be kids, when she was being taped she didn't preform!

I was able to capture this video; it's pretty self explanatory:



How cute is she? ...seriously!

As we were looking through this book of animals, she pointed out the frog for me... I said to her "Jordan, what sound does a frog make?"  She looked at me, confused, and didn't say a word.  I filled in the blank for her and said "Ribbit, ribbit"  she looked at me and you could just see the gears turning in her little brain... she started to laugh at the sound I was making.  As the day went on I continued to ask the sound of a frog... and when she didn't answer, I would tell her.
She almost blew my socks off as we are sitting on the couch again looking through the animal book (she LOVES animals... and books!) - after getting the cow sound and the cat sound, I ask for the sound a frog makes, she says "ribit" almost clear as day!  My brother and I could not believe it... each time I asked her thereafter, it didn't sound quite as good, but she clearly knew!  How fast she learns!!!

The other thing that I noticed and it fascinated me was how she would dance everytime music came on.  Kids are just born with rhythm... isn't that just a flat out crazy thing?  They just know to move when music is on... I can't wrap my mind around that.

Anyhow... I love my niece, to death!  She is getting so big; here is a picture of her from Friday:

Thoughts For Thursday - Extended Family

My thought for this week is extended family.  How much time people spend with family and how much people like their families.  Obviously if you are married and/or have kids, you spend time with them and hopefully like them.  ;)

I am extremely close with my dad's side of the family, not so much my mom's side.  I like mom's side just fine, but I just don't see them that often.
My dad's side is completely different.  We all get along, we love to spend time together, and we actually make plans outside of holiday functions.  I watched the Twins game the other night with my aunt, uncle, 3 of my cousins and a couple friends.  I go up North once a year with my mom, my aunts and my girl cousins for a girls weekend.  I even work with my aunt, uncle, and cousin.

We spend every holiday together, many times our get-togethers can go quite late.  We eat way too much, laugh way too hard, and have way too much fun together!  The one thing that I always love about family gatherings is hearing stories and sharing memories.  My grandma is still alive and she has some amazing stories that she loves to share, especially about my grandpa, who is no longer with us.  Grandpa died when my dad was a kid; I wish so badly that I had the chance to meet him!

My cousins, Shannon and Michelle, and I call ourselves "The Outcasts" - we are getting a hotel room together on Saturday for Jeff (another cousin) and Carissa's wedding.  We get along great, not just because we are family.

I think a lot of people think it's strange that we all look forward to holiday gatherings and make plans to have summer BBQ's or parties for no good reason.
On my dad's side of the family there is him and 3 sisters, all 4 of them (Jackie, Jill, Jayne, and John) have 2 kids, an older boy and a younger girl.  Jill's kids are married and both have a couple kids of their own, Jackie's son is getting married on Saturday and now my brother is married and has a daughter... our family is growing so much!!

This is just some of the family last year in November

So, Thoughts for Thursday: Do you get along with your family?  Do you spend a lot of time with them, outside of holidays?  Are you close to anybody in your family?  How does your family spend your time together?

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Kristi on Sports Fans
Renee - "This is your Life"
Dana Leigh on Getting Picked On

Random - Vol. 8.16

sorry for the horrible formatting of this blog, it was a copy/paste from Word.

I need to take moment this morning because I'm a bit shaken up... I was literally inches away from crashing my car just down the road from work.

After I turn off 169, I go under the bridge that is 169 and have to deal with the traffic coming off the highway from the North.  They have a stop sign; most of the time people obey it.  This morning there was a pick-up truck turning off 169 the same direction I am driving.  Now... if he were to make a tight right turn he would end up in a turn lane going into the gas station; this is what he appeared to be doing.  I slowed down, because I know how people can be, but didn't stop.  All of the sudden he darts over into the left turn lane, paying no attention to me or the car in front of me, both in the lane of traffic going straight.  The car in front has enough time to barely veer out of the way and I have no choice but to veer left almost hitting the center island and almost being hit by him on my right – with my hand on my horn.  Literally inches…

It’s strange to me how our hearts can race like that and the adrenaline can get pumping… the come down from that almost always makes me shake and brings me to tears.  I held the tears back but continued my drive shaking… I hate stupid drivers!!

I got gas for $3.22 yesterday (and got 37.7 MPG on that tank!!) - This morning on the way to work I saw it for $3.17; how great is it that we are excited by that!?  Do you think it will go back under $2.00?

The Twins lost last night – UGH!!!  Baseball is over L

In yesterday’s paper Head Coach of the Minnesota Vikings was quoted as saying (in reference to the 4^th down, 4^th quarter punt during Sunday’s game): “The way our defense was playing, I thought we could stop them and get the ball back” (remember it was 4^th and 13, with under or around 2 minutes on the clock).  The Titans took knees to end the game and win.

What a fricken idiot!  I have nothing more to say about that.

I started writing this blog at 7:15am or so… after walking into the office shaken up only to find that we were having some computer issues on one of the computers.  I started writing to just touch on almost dying.  Our computer problems spread to all of our computers and none of us could connect to the server, luckily I was able to copy and paste what I had started online and I am now typing this in Word.  It’s now 10:45am and we still have no connection… but it’s being worked on.  It’s amazing how much of my job revolves around a computer. 

I’m making a flow chart using Excel for one of our custom jobs that has a ton of parts and requires a lot of steps… its fricken dope!  It’s my first time using Excel to make a flowchart; Pretty handy and pretty easy to figure out.  I love projects like this at my job. J

Turns out there is only 15 days until I arrive in Springfield… might be kind of excited! 

Just sayin’

Computers are back up and running… time to post!

Random - Vol. 8.15

Well... it's been a long time since I've gone random.
I went to the Twins game on Saturday... we lost.  Not the point.  I was extremely happy to see the dome so packed!  It wasn't a sell out crowd, but there were more people there than I've seen in a long time!
So now - The White Sox won tonight against the Tigers, which means the Twins are on their way to Chicago right now (most likely) to battle the White Sox tomorrow evening.  If the Tigers could have pulled their head out of their asses and caught a few balls tonight, I wouldn't even be writing this.  UGH!
Which ever team wins Tuesday night will go to Tampa Bay and play 2 games away, have a day off, play 2 (if necessary) games at home, have a day off, then play 1 more game away (if necessary).  It's best 3 out of 5, so it could be over quick.
I hope the Twins kill the White Sox!

Anyone ever wonder why Chicago has two ball clubs anyhow?

The Vikings got killed on Sunday, pisses me off.  As I was watching... last couple minutes of the 4th Quarter and we decide to punt the ball on 4th and like 15.  I didn't realize at first the time on the clock was so little and I thought, no biggie.  Until the time was brought to my attention... and realized that they would take a few knees and win the game.  Can we say Mike Tice?  Maybe you prefer Denny Green?

The Office started on Thursday... I laughed!  I felt it was a bit lacking on the comedic front, but there was a lot of catching up to do over 3 months.  I won't ruin it for anyone who hasn't watched it, but the big surprise scene was great!!

I have a trip set for mid-October!  I'm driving to Springfield, MO to visit my dear friend Renee!  I'm so excited and I can not wait, though I have to.  LOL - we have craft classes scheduled (basket weaving!), a trip to Branson for a day filled with fun!  I can't wait to spend time with both her and her family (they are amazing people and I LOVE her kids!!).
The downfall is the drive - it's 10 hours, one way.  Anyone have family or friends in that area and wanna make the drive with me?  We can take my car!  Let me know ;)

I'm following politics (EEK!) or at least trying to.  I honestly don't get any of it.  Why let them talk if the only thing that comes out is lies?  Why have debates if they are only telling us what we want to hear and not what they actually plan to see happen?  I have the debate on my tivo from Friday night... I'm going to watch it this week and maybe I'll post more on it.  Though I don't want my blog to become a political battlefield, I would like to know some damn facts!

Lastly, cause I'm anxious to get to bed, I want to introduce a few of my friends who have started blogging - Renee , Dawn , Terri , and Lynne - while I don't expect weekly blogs from them, I have high expectations that all these ladies will produce greatness whenever they write!

Thoughts for Thursday: Change

So, as I'm still new and adjusting to the world of blogging I'm learning new things and trying to be open to trying new things... aka Change.

Kristi, who suggested I try blogging outside of myspace, is involved in a group of bloggers that post Thoughts For Thursday (TFT) - I finally found a post explaining what it is and decided to give it a shot - don't expect this from me every Thursday, we'll see what comes of it :)

I was driving home from work listening to AM 1500 (I'm hooked on talk radio) and they were talking about the new James Bond movie.  Apparently they are cutting out the signature introduction line of "I'm Bond, James Bond" (or however it goes, I've never watched a Bond movie in my life) and also Bond will not be ordering his drinks "Shaken, not stirred" 

The writers and producers of the movie claim they have taken these things out to 'keep it fresh'.

The people on the radio (mind you this is Garage Logic) are in an outrage!  They feel keeping things fresh isn't necessary, but classic movies should be about familiarity.  

It got me thinking...

I'm filled with sadness over the thoughts of the Metrodome being destroyed because of tradition, I got (and still get) angry when things are changed or moved in the neighborhood I grew up, I don't like having to learn new software when I'm used to what I have; I don't adapt well to change when I have no control over it.

I know several people who don't deal well with change and I can't say that I blame them!

So... Thoughts for Thursday:

How do you deal with change?  Do you embrace it?  How does it effect you?  Tell me stories of how you've dealt with it or how you haven't dealt with it... 

I would also like to encourage those reading this with blogs of their own to follow the link to Kristi's blog and maybe think about joining in on TFT - I think it could be a fun little adventure!


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Other Thoughts For Thursday posts:
Kristi on Live Music/Concerts
Dana Leigh on Pets

Renee on "Thank God tomorrow is Friday!"

Google Chrome Follow-Up/Review

I figured it was about time to get this post up... I've been taking notes while using Chrome; so far, here is what I've come up with.

I think they are making improvements daily, because the built in spell check didn't work for me at first and now it's working perfectly (knock on wood!)

All in all I think it's pretty dope.  The speed alone is worth any sacrifice you feel you are making.  For example; I was a huge user of the Google Toolbar (I have the hardest time saying that Google Toolbar- say it 5 times fast!) and Chrome doesn't allow for that to be installed yet; It's a sacrifice I'm willing to make for the speed!  So now I'm starting to wonder if the Google Toolbar is even necessary!?

Chrome, once you download it, imports all your favorites/bookmarks for you and it also will import all your saved passwords, from whatever default browser you are using!
I've noticed a few other things that I wouldn't call Cons, per se - but some things that might be frustrating to some.  First, if you use Hotmail, upon signing in it tells you that some features may not work and suggests you use FireFox, IE, or some other browser - you actually have to click to get past that, it's an extra step that would make me impatient if I were still a Hotmail user.

A few little things that aren't really a big deal, just take some getting used to:

• Some websites have small fonts - I've only noticed this on eBay thus far - but if you have bad eyes it would suck
• I have yet to find a pop-out for an easy organization of bookmarks - thought it can be done using the folder; I would say it's not the most 'user-friendly' process
• When using tabs (which I love and do often) it closes every tab if you close the window - Firefox had an option to be notified when you are closing more than one tab (I often forget that I have more than one open and it sucks when I close something I didn't want to).
  

I tried to post a blog on myspace and became very frustrated by the fact that I didn't have format (Font, size, etc.) options, and it didn't register my returns or hard returns when publishing.  I had to copy/paste and publish using a different browser.

The OmniBar (formally known to most as an Address Bar) in Chrome can be used as a place to enter your URL or used as a search bar (that eliminates the need for the search box on the Google Toolbar) - which I think is a pretty dope feature and I find myself using that quite a bit!  It obviously uses Google as the search engine :)
There also is no title bar, which provides a bit more room to view websites!

So, as I said, I think it's dope.  There are some things that I've had to adjust to (and I'm not big on change), but it's been pretty easy.  After only using it for a few weeks, I think I will continue to use it.
If anything I think the only downfall is that not all websites are fully functional in supporting Chrome (which is still in BETA form).  Most new things, be it software, electronics, etc., have bugs and need to make small adjustments as things are realized and they receive feedback from users.

This is just my opinion on Google Chrome.  Is there anyone out there using it?  I'm curious to hear what other people have to say :) Post a comment and let me know!

I found a couple of sites that I would like to share, if you are on the fence about Chrome these may provide you will some information to help you make the change:
The Power Users Guide To Google Chrome
There is even a FORUM!! (I'm beside myself with excitement over this!!)
Official Google Blog

Star Wars: Episode VI and Episode I

I watched 2 Star Wars Movies this weekend; Episode VI: Return of The Jedi and Episode I: The Phantom Menace


Being that I'm doing 2 movies here, I'm going to try and keep this short.
Let me be honest right off the bat; I was taking pulls straight from the (wine) bottle each night... that is not uncommon.  I was also surrounded by people who were chatting/giggling, pretty much the entire time.

Friday night we watched Return of The Jedi.
I was disappointed with the fact that Jabba the Hutt was killed so easily and quickly.  I always thought he played a larger role in these movies.
As Luke goes to see Yoda again, I think Yoda is just laying down to go to sleep... turns out he dies!  I don't get how he can be 800 years old, but not make it to 801.
It never crossed my mind that Luke and Leia could be related.. but then again, I'm not sure how well I've been following the stories here.
Ewoks are strange little things, but their babies are fricken ADORABLE!
The end, at the party, it was brought to my attention that in the original movie the ghost of Anakin used to be an older man but was changed when they were making the newer films; my friends didn't seem too happy about this.
I liked this movie; I followed it, it made sense, it ended.

Saturday night we watched The Phantom Menace.  Things from this night are a little blurry... I still have the movie and may watch it again as I got bored, tipsy, and stopped paying attention towards the end.
First let me say that I like Jar Jar Binks - I'd rather have dinner with him than Chewbacca!  Although he is kind of annoying, at least I can understand him and he's a lot better looking ;)
Just before starting to write this I went and read the synopsis to see how much I actually remembered; not a whole lot.  I pretty much stopped follow the story after the podrace.  I picked up on a few things here and there as we continued to watch... but it's all confusing.
There is no point in even talking about any of it... just a big ball of confusion. Although I do know that Anakin has more metaclorines in his blood than Yoda does!!  How's that for impressive?

anyhow, I shall leave you with these final words:
May the Force be with you...

OvErHeArD

So, I was checking out a blog of a friend of a friend (remember when I first signed up for this blog I mentioned there is a whole community involved with it?) - Her name is Dana and I was looking at this blog specifically.

She talks about a website called Overheard.  It caught my eye and I decided to spend some time there.  I highly suggest you take a few minutes and make a stop there... if you have any bit of a sense of humor you will truly appreciate this site!  There are many different sites for different locations; I was at Overheard in the Office for quite some time as well.

These are actual conversations people have had and someone has overheard... anyone can post, so keep it in mind next time you overhear some random hilarity.

Here is an example of one that made me laugh pretty hard:

Boss: I think I'm going to start keeping a supply of Bailey's in my desk to mix with my coffee to make the day more bearable.

Surprised secretary: Seriously?
Boss: Not really, but it would be awesome.
Secretary: I guess it would make it better.
Boss: Like two cups...then you would be set for the day. And plus, your tolerance would be higher preparing you for the weekend. It's two birds with one stone.
Secretary: Wanna go at lunch?