Halloween!

Brought to you by....

THIS HOUSE!

This house is down the street, and they LOVE Halloween! I took this picture last year, but I think they have added more now.

They actually decorate with big-blow-up-things for every holiday (Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentines, Easter, Memorial Day/Fourth of July, etc...). Halloween is certainly their favorite, though. Obviously.

I certainly hope these people can afford their health care and food and gas. I mean, otherwise they wouldn't spend money on these kinds of things, right? RIGHT?!?!?!..............(can you tell the election is on my mind? Only for a few more days though, THANKGOODNESS).

Anyway, enjoy the day - those of you who "celebrate" it. And be safe.

Virus

My body has a virus.

So does my computer.

The virus in my body hasn't really caused any embarrassment, but there was some discomfort as I tried to restrain my hearty cough while sitting in the fifth row of a Broadway play.

The computer virus was extremely embarrassing. My Facebook account sent all kinds of annoying (and inappropriate) messages to people who are my Facebook "friends". Some of them are real friends of mine and some of them are....."friends". So that was weird.

It is taking over a week to fix my body.

It should take two days to fix my computer.

My cough, cold, virus, etc. has cost me about 20 dollars in Sudafed, Tylenol, and Kleenex.

My computer virus cost me over 500 dollars. I'm hoping to hear back from the Geek Squad that it hasn't cost me much more in lost documents and ....DUH DUH DUH...PICTURES! (ohpleaseohpleaseohpleaseNO!).

'Tis the season for a virus, I suppose.

Prepare to Bawl.Your.Eyes.Out.

For someone who doesn't like Oprah's show that much, I sure do mention it a lot. And I am SO glad I caught the last bit of it today.

I actually only turned it on in time to see the last minute of this video, and I was SOBBING at just that. So please, take the six minutes to watch this video......and get the Kleenex.

What an amazing couple. What amazing faith. What amazing creativity. I'm so thankful to see the Lord's many blessings in their lives, even through their immense pain.

I'm also so thankful to see this story on Oprah. Their video speaks to the miracle of life, the preciousness of life, and the sanctity of life.

The couple was on the show via Skype and they are two weeks from delivering another baby. I pray they will be showered with many blessings again.

My favorite lines from the video:

"The logic of medicine says you shouldn't be alive, but you are."

"An underdeveloped lung, a heart with a hole in it, and DNA that placed faulty information into each and every cell of your body could not stop God from reveling Himself through a child who never uttered a word. Not a pulpit, not a slick presentation, not a best selling book. But a six pound boy with Trisomy 18. God found great pleasure to take a lowly thing in the eyes of the world and show truth."

(If you have trouble with the link, search for the video "99 Balloons" on YouTube)

Power of Words

The video in this post uses the song I posted about last month.

It reminded me to go back and read this post now and again.

I needed it last week.

Whirlwind

I haven't posted in the last 10 days, but I have been in three states in the last 10 days.

A lot of what I've done was unplanned and super fun, but it makes life feel like a whirlwind. I'd like to think that I could make it through three more days of work (and two evenings of activities at church) and look forward to a weekend of catch-up, but alas, I will be headed to a fourth state instead. Definitely not complaining. I'm having too much fun. Minus the nasty cough slash chest cold I get when I fly too much and sleep too little. Oh well. Totally worth it.

Here is a list of things I recommend you do that I have done in the past week-ish:

1. Drive along the southern MN/WI border when the fall colors are peaking. Beautiful.
2. Play Rook.
3. Watch football while eating the Best Burger Ever.
4. Go to a costume party. With your dog - in a matching costume. Yep, I was *that* girl.
5. Decide last-minute-on-a-whim to fly cross-country to see a BFF and her new baby.
6. Get your ticket for aforementioned trip for 37 bucks (and 25,000 flier miles).
7. Fly first class.
8. Hold a tiny baby who loves to cuddle up and sleep on your chest.
9. Buy tickets to see Wicked. Again.

Now a list of things I don't recommend you do that I have done in the past week-ish:

1. Attend a week long meeting in Houston where even the October weather makes your hair poof up like cotton candy.
2. Walk the streets of Houston at night - SC. AIR. EEE.
3. Allow yourself only 30 hours to return from Houston, decide to take another trip, plan said trip, buy the ticket, pay your bills, unpack, repack, work a nine hour day, have dinner with a friend and catch your next flight. Oh, and sleep. Sort of.
4. Catch a nasty cough slash chest cold.
5. Fly with nasty cough slash chest cold. NOT fun for the ears!
6. Read a book you were really looking forward to - only to be disappointed.

Oh my, it has been a good 10 days.

And the tickets for Wicked are for this coming weekend. There is NOTHING I like more than a good musical! Except for maybe a good road trip. And I like my sisters even more than either of those. So when I combine all three on Saturday, I will pretty much be in hog heaven.

OINK!

100 Things

A perk of my job: reading tons of magazines.

I really love reading magazines - I have five subscriptions myself. I also like to catch up on all kinds of magazines as I wait for doctors all day every day. I especially like to linger longer in the fancy-schmancy offices that have the really expensive magazines that I would never buy myself but love to peruse. I especially like the magazines about the Twin Cities - like Twin Cities Metro, Minneapolis St. Paul Magazine, Minnesota Monthly, etc.

I saw an article in the most recent Twin Cities Metro Magazine on 100 Reasons to Love the Twin Cities. Well, I love the Twin Cities, so I definitely wanted to check out what others had to say on the subject. Though my top 100 would definitely look different, it was fun to see what things on this list I am familiar with. I bolded things I have done/places I have been/etc.

100 Reasons to Love the Twin Cities


1. The Blizzard (as in Dairy Queen’s Blizzard). Apparently it wasn’t even invented in MN – and neither was the Dairy Queen brand (which I thought it was. It was actually invented in IA). Anyway, I have some kind of personal goal to have a Blizzard each week. Especially in the summer. My favorite is the French Silk Pie, but my tried-and-true-standard is Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. MMMM. And I don't care what anyone says - Dairy Queen Blizzards are better than ANY other restaurants' ice cream. This would probably make #1 on my list as well.
2. Louise Erdrich (novelist)
3. Wing Young Huie (photographer)
4. Dr. Mambo’s Combo at Bunker’s (band)
5. Experimental College
6. Tanpopo Noodle Shop
7. SS Billiards
8. The Electric Fetus - Been in there, looks pretty cool from the outside, too.
9. Grand Old Day
10. West Seventh - (St Paul) I have a bunch of clinics along West Seventh. I also like a bunch of the restaurants in the area.
11. The weeHouse
12. Team Diarrhea (MN Dept of Health)
13. Broder’s Italian Cucina and Pasta Bar - Some friends took me once, and it was delicious!
14. Charles Baxter (writer)
15. Peace Coffee
16. MN Historical Society and Press
17. Art Car Parade
18. Allen Christian and the House of Balls
19. Land Stewardship Project
20. Intermedia Arts
21. MinuteClinic - Not a huge fan, though I frequented MinuteClinics while in college.
22. Theodore Wirth bike trail
23. Radio K
24. Paul Douglas - I used to watch him on the news all the time, but I also met him on the roof of WCCO when I was 18. I was in a group that was on a weather segment with him and we all shook his hand, but that was the extent of the meeting.
25. Michael Anschel (architect)
26. Michelle Gayer (pastry chef)
27. Magers & Quinn Booksellers
28. American Swedish Institute
29. Northrup King
30. United Noodles
31. Minneapolis Central Library
32. Bill’s Guns
33. MCAD Student Art Sale
34. St Thomas Academy’s eSum
35. DJ Jake Rudh
36. Farm in the Market
37. MacPhail Center for Music
38. High School Hockey Tournament
39. Macy’s Christmas Show
40. The Bundt Pan - I've used one
41. The Twin Cities Free Market
42. The Humidity - NOT A FAN. Can't imagine why this made their top 100.
43. Art in Bloom
44. Rhymesayers Entertainment
45. Clancey’s Meats and Fish
46. Steven Brown (chef)
47. Ralph Burnet (art collector)
48. U of M Veterinary Medical Center and Equine Center - I have a friend in school there now. Kinda a stretch....
49. Mini burgers at Lurcat - BEST BURGERS IN TOWN! I had them at a Bachelorette Party once. AMAZING.
50. Freewheel Midtown Bike Center
51. Burlesque of North America
52. The Minnesota Lynx - Gone to a bunch of games thanks to a friend who had a sister working for the team at one point. I even caught a shirt at a game once.
53. Cinema Lounge
54. Minnesota Orchestra - I've only gone once - on an assignment for a class in college. But I really liked it.
55. Museum Adventure Pass
56. Midsize Theater Scene
57. Corn Pancakes at Maria’s Café
58. Rebuild Resources
59. The Depot Coffee House in Hopkins
60. Aamodt’s Apple Farm
61. Uptown Theatre
62. ACME Comedy Co. - Been there a bunch of times.
63. Sisters’ Camelot
64. Al Milgrom (film expert)
65. Bumbershute
66. Blueberry Mojito at B.A.N.K.
67. Adult Milkshakes at Town Talk
68. 112 Eatery
69. Jeffrey Hatcher (playwright)
70. Mary Jo Copeland (Mary’s Place/Sharing and Caring Hands) - Went to Mary's Place with the contestants for Miss Minnesota. We played with the kids and had a good time.
71. U of M Academic Health Center
72. Stacia Rice (actress)
73. Minnesota sur Seine
74. Foshay Tower - I have a clinic there
75. Lakewood Cemetery
76. Battle of the Jug Bands
77. Seven Corners Ace Hardware
78. Our Lady of Lourdes Church
79. Priscilla’s of Boston - A friend of mine works there and I met her there for coffee once. It's a gorgeous place!
80. ReUse Center
81. Taqueria Los Ocampo
82. John Gordon (Twins announcer) - Listened to him many times - especially with my Grandpa
83. Hazelden
84. Dinkytown - Is it bad that my favorite thing in Dinkytown is the two-story McDonald's?
85. The Bakken Museum
86. Light Rail - There's a stop four blocks from my house, so I take it downtown quite a bit. Pretty much like it a lot.
87. Peter Ostroushko (fiddler)
88. Coastal Seafoods
89. The Wedge
90. National Sports Center
91. Ayd Mill Road - Best short cut in the cities
92. Pulled Pork Sandwich at Be’Wiched
93. Shaker’s Vodka
94. Chain of Lakes - Fer Sher one of my favorite things about the cities!! I live very close to one of the lakes and I enjoy walking the dog around it.
95. Twin Cities Gay Men’s Chorus
96. Artists’ Quarter
97. First Avenue
98. Twin Cities Marathon - I only ran the 10 mile, though. But I really love watching the marathon too!
99. Minnesota Landscape Arboretum
100. Cloud Cult (band)

There you have it. I'm only familiar with 23% of the list, but now I have a few more ideas of things to do in my spare time!

Anti-Dentite

I went to the dentist today.

I can say absolutely-beyond-a-shadow-of-a-doubt-one-hundred-percent that going to the dentist is just my least favorite thing. EVER.

Hands in mouth, drool, bad tastes, nasty-feeling scraping, bleeding, mouth-open grunted responses. It is just all awful. But my aunt is my dentist, so I go. With a major chip on my shoulder.

Except for those six years when I went....never. And ended up with six cavities. I think somewhere in the Bible it talks about a curse for each year you neglect something. It's probably in Numbers (but I know it's not, because I am studying Numbers right now and you would be surprised at all the cool stuff in there! Seriously - check out the Old Testament! Yes I'm talking to you - person who never reads anything but Paul's letters - go read it!).

Anyway, dentist = hate. Add to the aforementioned "reasons to hate a dentist" the fact that my TMJ is apparently much worse than I thought it was, and you have one very bummed girl. My aunt recommended I see an orthodontist (the same guy I ignored eight years ago when he said he wanted to break my jaw). When you say "let me break your jaw - you won't have those headaches anymore" I say "I don't really know what it's like to not have a headache anyway, so athankyouverymuch, but you will not be breaking my jaw". I guess that in some cases it is more than just a headache-relief-procedure and bad TMJ could have to do with functionality (or lack thereof) down the road, so this referral is something I will actually have to follow through on and see what is up.

*SIGH*

So in light of that part of my day, I decided to make a list of 10 random things that have made me smile (like, big smiles) in the last 24 hours. It is so much more pleasant than thinking about the dentist. (sorry, Aunt)

1. Dots (the candy)
2. The Planet Earth Series (saw 5 minutes at a friend's house last night and I wanted to WATCH ALL 6 DISCS IN A ROW. Seriously. A-MAZ-ING)
3. Third basketball league win (undefeated this fall season!)
4. Sharpies
5. Electric blanket
6. Howie
7. Happy Hour at MASA (oh-just-the-best-Mexican-place-in-town)
8. Two free meals in one day
9. New phone
10. Root Beer at lunch (a surprise for me from a nice, thoughtful doctor who shares my love of RB)

So really, when put in perspective, my 30 minutes at the dentist was just a blip on the screen, but still. The fluoride on my teeth feels GROSS.

A Recipe for Living in the Moment

I am happy to say that I am doing pretty well with my goal to cook once each week. I've only missed one week, due to the mishap with the dogs. So I've tried new recipes, enjoyed some time to myself, improved my diet, and learned a lot (mostly about spices).

Most cooking and baking comes pretty naturally to me. I grew up around it, with my mom being an EXCELLENT caterer. Cooking doesn't really intimidate me since it really comes down to just following the instructions. Plus, if I have any questions, I have my mom - the walking encyclopedia on cooking - just one call away.

Not that it is all going perfectly. I would definitely be sugar-coating the situation if I didn't mention the fact that I am a complete scatterbrain. COMPLETE. I think it has something to do with the fact that I am an obsessive list maker, wiping out my need for any memory, thus creating a perpetual scatterbrained state. But that is another post.

This week I decided to make meatloaf. I only needed to buy the meat - which is thrilling to me, seeing as I am trying to build up the "pantry" that was previously completely bare! I actually have cooking basics in the house now! If you came over unannounced, I might not have to send you to the Tom Thumb to scrounge up some dinner! Yay! But I digress....

I bought the meat, rushed home, and put the meat on the stove. 15 minutes later, once the meat was browned, I realized my mistake. You don't brown the meat before you put it in the oven to cook into meatloaf! DOH! I figured there must be something I could make with 2 lbs of browned meat, but I didn't have the energy to look anything up, so I just called Mom. Of course she knew right off the top of her head that I should make Sloppy Joes, and she told me the recipe right then and there. Again, I had all the ingredients, and these are the most DELICIOUS Sloppy Joes ever (it's the brown sugar...)! I had forgotten how much I love Mom's food.

So now I'm tweaking my plan a bit. I will still cook once a week, but I am going to start with Mom's recipes. I want to know how to cook the standards I grew up with. And the best part is that my aunt wrote two cook books (like totally-legit-sold-millions-of-copies-cook-books), so I know exactly where to find every single recipe.

Plus, I'm really trying to live in the moment and not be living in a state of waiting for something to happen. Like "when I get married, then I'll (fill in the blank - "start cooking")". I do that a lot, and I can't always be waiting for something to happen, because I just don't know if I'll get married, or get a raise, or live somewhere else. I am single, living in this place, right now, with this job, these friends, going to this church, so I need to make the most of it.

And I'll start by mastering Mom's recipes. Married or not.

I Was Right

Can't believe I haven't posted since last Thursday. The weekend got busy. But I was right...Thursday was AWESOME! The Twins game I went to ended up being probably the best game of the season! Totally amazing comeback from being down 1-6, it went into extra innings, and we beat the hated White Sox! So great. The fans were going crazy and it totally made me want playoffs! Too bad that dream has now been squashed. And by the White Sox, nonetheless. Rawr.

I came home from the game and I still hadn't heard the final baby news, so I stuck in The Office and watched the season premiere while I waited for a call. Very funny. I have some new favorite lines.

Just as I was finishing The Office, I got baby news! It was so awesome to hear about him. Now I will spend everyday until Christmas break wishing I could see him in person. Until then, I am very thankful for cameras and email!

The rest of the weekend was also great - my sister was in town and we went to the Desiring God Conference. We learned and also laughed. I love being around her because she really appreciates my humor. I think she is the only person who could and would laugh at comments I make while listening to Sinclair Ferguson.

Sunday was great with baptisms at church, a picnic, a baby shower, and finally some relaxation. The only bummer was the Vikings loss.

And now it is October. Can't believe it. Things are definitely more busy around here, and that has made the time fly!