Happy Birthday, Amy....
Yesterday was Amy's birthday.

And like clockwork....this was published (our 3-day team was featured in our university alumni magazine. I apologize I can't make it bigger....).



I love ya, Amy.
But what do I love more?

That you kicked cancer's ass.

I Don't Care About Your Farm or Mafia....

If you're on facebook, you've probably seen this group, I don't care about your farm, your fish or your mafia.

I don't think I'll join the group, but it is funny.

Over the last few months, I have made fun of my friend Chris because consistently on his facebook feed I would see nothing more than Mafia Wars updates. From needing brass knuckles, to cars and other stuff, I thought, "What the hell does Chris do all day that he can play Mafia Wars?"

Then, over the last few weeks I've seen more and more friends talking about building barns, and chicken coops and all kinds of other stuff. My friend Wendy even posted that her mom was now on facebook and set up a farm and was looking for neighbors and that her mom has been "sucked in."

I thought, "What is this farmville, anyway?" After all, there was a news story on just the other night about people who have an addiction to Farmville. One woman spends countless hours on there and it is starting to impact her marriage and family.

So, on Saturday I thought I'd check out your little Farmville application.

I now see how it can be so addictive.

Soon, my farm grew from 6 plots to about 20.
Soon, I had 2 cows, 4 chickens, a pen to put them in, some new trees and crops to harvest.
I also discovered that the more I help my friends, the more points I get as well as coins to buy stuff.
I had neighbors and was accepting gifts from friends.
I even started to look up things online about this game so I could get a better understanding of what I was seeing.

But soon it got boring and really not that fun.
Because if I'm going to spend an entire afternoon playing Farmville, I want it to be fun.

And honestly, it really isn't.

Basically, your farm is your job. You have to plant crops to get coins. Coins allow you to buy more crops. A never ending cycle, it is. Of course, you can use your coins to buy other stuff too. More plots to plant, more animals, more buildings. But really....it's about the crops, because they give you return on your investment.

Sadly, though....I have a real job.
And it pays me real money.

So, while it may be a fun way to pass the time, it needs to remain just that--a fun way to pass some time. People who are spending countless hours on their farm, every day, make me nervous. I don't want to be one of those people.

And because I can often get bored at work, I can see this happening. I don't know how my supervisor will take it if she sees me playing Farmville at work, but it could go like this....

"But if I don't harvest the eggplants, they'll die and I'll lose money!"
"Yes, but if you don't talk to your students, you won't have a job, which puts real money in your pocket."

I'm not against the games. Hell, I spent all afternoon on Saturday playing this thing. It was a nice way to pass the time since the Big Guy was working. But I feel like I'm missing something (though I don't think I really am....).

What about you?
Are you a farmer or Mafia member?
Am I missing something with these games? Is there more to it than just planting a plot and milking a cow?

I Got Carded--At Target....
All because of this guy.



Obviously, I'm buying NyQuil because I'm sick with a cold. And because of said cold, I have not been able to sleep at all. My normally relaxing weekend was shot all to hell over the fact that I've had a scratchy sore throat, cough and stuffy nose.

That and the fact that I sleep with earplugs in my ears. Nothing is worse that having your ears plugged up, coughing and breathing through your mouth. Sounds like I'm at a bad rock concert.

Anyway.

I ran to Target on Sunday to get some NyQuil (the biggest bottle I could find), nose spray and tissues. I would have bought some chocolate, but after stepping on the scale that morning, I decided that it's best to just say no.

At the check out, the cashier scans my stuff and the following happens:

Cashier: Do you have an ID?
Me: Excuse me?
Cashier: For the NyQuil. I need an ID.

I gave her my ID. She zips it through the card reader (MN licenses have a magnetic strip on the back like a credit card) and hands it back to me. I pay my bill and walk out, still stunned that I had to be carded for NyQuil.

I get it that there is alcohol in NyQuil.
I get it that most cold medicines are now behind the pharmacy because of Meth Labs.
I get it.

NyQuil isn't behind the counter.
It doesn't even contain the psedo-what-ever-you-call-it that is used to make meth.

Its NyQuil.

Who gets a buzz off NyQuil?
Last time I checked someone who is underage would much rather get a buzz off some cheap wine coolers than NyQuil.

Take That Lonely Hearts Club....
Today over at Kelly's Korner, we are talking about Valentine's Day. I wanted to share a story about what my college girlfriends and I used to do on Valentine's Day, because honestly, it is something we still talk about--15 years later.

First, let's start with this photo:

Nice bling, huh?
The caption of the photo is "So Long, Lonely Hearts Club!"
What does it mean? Here's the back story....

When I was in college, I was pretty active on campus with student government. One of the groups I was a part of actually organized a 7 state regional conference called MACURH (pronounced Muh-Ker).

Here's a photo of us, circa 1995 the night before the conference.

Nice, eh?

Anyway, the girls in the group--with the exception of one--were single. On Valentines day that year we decided to not be so bummed about not having a date. Instead, we formed our own Lonely Hearts Club.

Sounds depressing, doesn't it?
Quite the opposite, actually! We had so much fun! We went out to dinner, laughed, joked, and enjoyed each other's company. We showed that you don't have to be in a romantic relationship to enjoy the love of valentines day. The love of your friends and family is what really matters.

As time went on, though, the club members shrank.
Boys came and went.
Before we knew it, people were getting married and having babies.

I am grateful for girlfriends and recall that Valentines day as one of the best. As I approach my wedding in a few short months, I'm also kind of excited to say, "See ya later, Lonely Hearts Club" and enjoy my future Valentines Day's with The Big Guy.

Happy Valentines Day to you!

That "No Material Gifts" Thing...


So.....


If a certain blogger, who took on a challenge to not buy anything new in 2010, or not give material gifts, decided to use a gift card, to buy a certain book, for a certain baby, for a certain baby shower, is that allowed? Or did they just break their own rules?


Of course, I'm asking for a friend.



*cough*

Dear Mr. J....
As you know, this weekend, your mama--Amy--was the lady of the hour as her friends threw her a baby shower. I mean, after all, we need to make sure that your parents have what they need to take care of you! But while mommy was the lady of the hour, you were definitely in the spotlight.

You were held by many nurturing women.



You were gazed at longingly, too. For some reason, I'm going to predict now--even before girls are a part of your thought process--that you'll be quite the handsome man. I mean, if you can hold a girl's gaze for this long, you've got a hidden talent, my friend.





Mommy and Daddy (who wisely left for the afternoon--he figured if one man should be surrounded by women for the day, it should be you), got all kinds of great stuff. Such as...

A cuddly blanket made by Grandma & Grandpa (apparently Grandpa was pretty proud that he helped pick out the material.)








A cute quilt made by mommy's friend Allison







Your first swim suit & towel--perfect for summers at Grandma & Grandpa's cabin.




Of course, your cousin, Miss E, was a wonderful helper.

















However, I don't know who thought you needed this.




But thankfully, we got you on the right track. Whew!!




But the best part, Mr. J?
When your mommy said to us, "It's official. He's ours. Forever and Ever."
That is by far the best present that your mommy & daddy have gotten.

However come this spring we will make sure that St Cloud State sweatshirt gets buried in the backyard under mommy's tomato plants.

Sheldon Cooper is my Hero....
Check out this video of Sheldon from Big Bang Theory (aka Jim Parsons) do a promotional video for the Stand Up to Cancer orgnaization.







I wonder if he's available to join our 3-day team?

Jim?
Wanna come spend 3 days with the Angels?
Wonder Woman costume optional.

Great Toaster Debate....
So, with the Money Dare, I've been doing well so far. No unnecessary purchases, though the winter gear on clearance at Target almost did me in. I could always use another pair of stretchy gloves!

I've always, always, always been a sucker for the clearance rack. My favorite? The endcaps at Target. It was one evening, shortly after moving home to Minnesota in 2001 that the BFF and I went to Target and I found this little toaster oven on a clearance endcap.

Total cost? $8

It's done well. It's toasted my toast, warmed my left over pizza, and crisped up anything else that needed crisping. But sadly, we've had a falling out. Something is up with the heating element and needless to say, it isn't doing it's job anymore. So, here it sits. In the garage to be recycled this spring with the city wide appliance recycling program.

I am now officially without a toaster
I'm trying really, really hard not to buy a toaster.
The broiler on the oven works just fine (or so I tell myself now).

It isn't that I can't afford a toaster. I can.
It isn't that I think we should wait to register for a toaster and have someone else get it for us. That's not the point.

The point of this experiment is to see what you can do without. Having a toaster is nice, of course. But so far....I've been OK without a toaster. After all, the thing hit the skids about 3 weeks ago. If we really wanted a toaster, we would have gotten in the car and drove to Target that day to get one.

But we haven't.

Have you ever noticed this....something breaks or you put it out of site and you find that you really don't need it after all?

It's sorta odd and liberating all at the same time.


**edited to add: So.....I wrote this on Saturday evening and set it to auto post. On Sunday, the Big Guy and I met his parents for breakfast. As we were driving to the restaurant he said, "Oh, I asked mom and dad if we could borrow the toaster from their camper until we register for one."

I instantly thought, "Well, there goes THAT blog post!"

I told him that was fine and his reply was, "I'm really liking this idea of not buying anything new!"

Who knew I had an influence!

A Window to my Childhood....
This weekend was a typical weekend at our house. The Big Guy didn't have to work, so he and his boys were off to some gun show, ohhhh-ing and ahhh-ing over guns and ammo and who knows what else.

I did my typical weekend stuff: clean the house, make some dinner in the crockpot, grocery shopping, watching old episodes of 90210, buying underwear at Target.

You know. Important stuff.

That afternoon, I decided to make myself a little snack and got the bread out of the fridge. I took the last piece and as I looked down at the empty bread bag and had a flashback to my childhood.



When I was a kid, my grandmother--Goney--would save her bread bags. She used them for many different things but the one use I remember the most? Putting them over my stocking feet, and then putting them in my winter boots.

Apparently in the mid 70's, there was no such thing as Gortex so feet got wet easily.

And I wasn't the only kid who's grandmother, or mother, or babysitter did this! I remember going to elementary school and as you take off the layers outside of your classroom, you would ever so carefully pull off the bread bag so that you had them to wear again on the way home.

Did you ever have your feet wrapped up with a bread bag or was this just the town my grandma lived in? I mean, after all, she was Miss Lake St Mary's--so this could be a trendy thing that she learned on the beauty pageant circuit.


In case you're wondering, no. I tossed out the bread bag.
I have better boots now.
With Gortex.