a birthday, a visit from my brother, and loathing of my physique. October 20, 2009

Well it’s been some time since I’ve made a post in this blog so I thought it was time for an update.

On October 10th my mom, dad, and I went to my aunt Denise’s 40th birthday party:

My cousins Tony & Tricia, & me.  Tony lives pretty far away south of here and Tricia lives all of the way out in South Dakota so I only see them a few times a year (although that goes for most of my family).

Aunt Amy & my mom.

Aunt Amy, my dad, & aunt Carol.

Some of us ladies: Kristi, Tricia, Amy, Amanda, me, Carol, Denise, & my mom.

Uncle Chuck brought some Brew House beer. That stuff tasted like coffee.

The birthday girl.

My aunt Carol loves to stand and dance on top of furniture. It’s just her thing.

This past Wednesday Craig came home for MEA break. I think he really likes coming home. This is proven by the fact that he has to drive 6 hours each way. I think he gets home sick plus he gets to see the dogs, sleep in his own quiet bed, and eat all he wants.

This is him preparing a bowl of ice cream which he doesn’t get much of up north:

And big news! It stopped raining and the sun came out from hiding! I think it got into the lower 60′s which is waaaay better than the 30′s & 40′s. That more like it! This is how it should feel. I was thinking that Minnesota was skipping fall completely and heading into the longest, darkest, and worst season ever like some sort of cruel shock treatment. (I HATE winter!)

Today I went with my mom to Kohls to see if I could find a pair of jeans that fit since I haven’t bought a new pair in almost 3 years and mine are getting worn out. I tried on 13 pairs and gave up. NONE of them fit me right and I feel like crying. I’ve always hated trying on pants. Once in a blue moon I can actually find a pair that fits and I treasure that special find so very much. This is one of the reasons that I LOVE skirts and dresses. They are so forgiving and help cover up my larger bits that give me so much trouble (hips, butt, & thighs). Plus they are so easy to find the right size and fit into! I wish this was the 40′s or 50′s so I could wear those clothes all of the time.

Send Me Home Pre-CD Release & Farewell Show July 13, 2009

This past Friday on the 10th we took a little trip up to Minneapolis to see my cousin Jaspar’s “farewell show”. I’ve always felt so bad about not making it to any of her shows and I thought this would be an important one to go to since it’s one of her last before she moves to South Africa for two years. It was held at The Glacier Fringe and the show started at 8pm but we ended up being about an hour in a half late because Eric didn’t get off work until 8pm so we waited for him so we could all drive up there together. We hit some traffic on the way up and then drove in circles for a while trying to find a place to park which can be very dangerous for pedestrians when a middle aged man that hates driving in the cities and is becoming enraged is behind the wheel. He almost hit two kids and then a guy in a wheel chair but I think the guy in the wheel chair had a death wish anyway because he was using one of those motorized chairs at night with no lights of reflective tape so he was almost invisible. I was afraid that we would miss the whole show with being so late! It ends up that we got there during intermission (so we missed the first half) but we did get to see the second half and got to mingle with family for a while before and after the second half.

Jaspar can be found here: http://www.myspace.com/jasparlepak

Here’s just a few photos from the night:

Jaspar’s husband Kale played the accordian and provided some harmony vocals:

Mom & Eric

Mom & Teri

Carol & Jake

Dad & Greg

Eric, Jaspar, & Jake

Me & Jaspar

Kale & Jaspar

The Weekend March 9, 2009

This past weekend I got to have some fun with the girls which is always great I just wish that I could see them more often because I live an hour or more away from all of them and it’s not like I can just stop by whenever and hang out so I really wish I lived closer. Of course a couple of them have told me that I should move to Wisconsin but I really don’t think that’s going to happen. If I have to live in the arctic tundra I’m going to choose to stay in Minnesota instead of Wisconsin.

So anyway, I met the girls at Mall Of America for a full day’s worth of shopping and had a great time with them! I think that everyone got a few new great pieces for their wardrobe. We felt like being silly and took a few pictures of us in church hats that Jessie will have to post. This is the only one that I have -

 

Rachel& Lynsie looking smashing.

I have to confess that this was my first time shopping with a group of girlfriends because I didn’t grow up having a group of friends. Instead I was the shy and quiet loner that everyone would ignore or once and a while pick on. Kids are so cruel. I have to say that I am VERY thankful for meeting Jessie in college and becoming friends with her. She then introduced me to her friends who are so great and very accepting of me. I really couldn’t imagine a greater group of friends! 

After shopping the rest of them went out dancing. I really wish that I could have/would have come! I didn’t because I had to be at a brunch Sunday morning. It took me a really long time to decide what to do and didn’t get any sleep Friday night probably from trying to decide between staying overnight in Wisconsin after a night of dancing with the girls or just meet them at MOA for shopping only. I decided on the second because If I woul’ve choose the first my Sunday morning would have been really hectic. I would have to wake up really early and drive an hour down to my house then get ready for brunch and then drive up to the brunch with my family for another hour away. Plus the weatherman was forecasting a snowstorm that was supposed to move in and drop 3-5 inches on us Sunday morning and I really didn’t want to drive an hour home in a snowstorm with a possible headache and being really tired. Needless to say the weatherman was once again completely wrong and we didn’t even get any snow.

So Sunday was the brunch. Every year since my grandpa passed on my grandma holds a family brunch in his memory and is a nice way to get a bunch of us together for a meal. Here’s a photo of  a few of my cousins, my aunt Carol & I.

It’s always nice to see family, especially since we are all getting older and a lot of my cousins are starting their own lives and moving off to college, and they can’t always make it to all of the events/holidays. Oh, the brunch was held at a golf club that happens to have a bar. Since I didn’t get to go out with the girls the previous night I figured I would get a drink with my aunts. I was just going to get a shot of Jose Cuervo with lime because I wasn’t going to spend $7 on a shot of Patron and some guy at the bar overheard and told me if I agreed to chase it with pineapple juice instead of lime he would buy me a shot of Patron Silver. Now I always feel bad about letting guys that I don’t know buy me drinks and I don’t know if I should feel bad or not. Of course everyone always tells me not to feel bad. I told him that was okay and he didn’t have to but he was very persistent so I agreed. I have to say that pineapple juice is very yummy with it and would recommend it!