I just had a lovely little nap. I meant to go for a walk to the Wedge to get catnip for Carmen's new kitten(s), but I couldn't keep my eyes open!

During my nap, I dreamed that I was at Murzyn Hall for a Girl Scouts event with my little sister. In my dream, I was me today, but Nicky and her little Girl Scout friends were about six years old!

I had parked my new Jeep in the lot behind the hall. I could have sworn I fed the meter enough, even though it didn't make sense to have meters in the lot.

We were baking crescent rolls and biscuits, and somehow, I got the breads in my bag. I went to grab something from the Jeep, and some douche was towing it away!

I thought that since I was there, he shouldn't be able to tow it. I begged and pleaded, and he still said he had to. He popped a huge wheelie in the lot with my car. I begged him to let me pay him NOW, so they didn't have to tow it. He said no, since he would get at least $150 each way, to and from the tow lot. I didn't know they delivered! :P

He drove me up to the door of the hall, and said that if I could give him $40 cash NOW, he would leave the car with me. I went inside and got my Uncles and Grandpa to pull some cash out of their pockets. Steve Hennen, my Aunt's loser boyfriend, pretended like he didn't have any $$. Grandpa pulled out his wallet, and it was FULL of cash. He told me to take what I needed and not worry about paying it back.

I snapped back out of my dream and into the real world after I paid the guy. Weird.

I am on a baking kick and it's great! I baked a loaf of banana bread for Jerry and Thad to enjoy while they play video games tonight. Carmen and I are going out on a date. :)

Tuesday, I baked about three dozen cookies. I also baked a jello cake for Bertine's b-day. Last night, I baked BACON.

I want to learn how to bake AND cook more things! Tell me your favorite recipes! :D

Saturday, I got up and headed to Tiff's. I headed back to Jerry's after Tiff's and we bummed about the house most of the day. We meant to get up and get to Target to pick up his allergy meds, as well as out to Rosedale to get Brandy's birthday present, but didn't make it that far very early. As per usual, at the last possible minute, we picked the most important of events that needed to take place, and rushed about to get them done.

We hit up Kinko's to print out some documents. Then we went to an office store to get presentation supplies. The douche at Kinko's wouldn't even step out from behind the counter to help us look at theirs. Pssht. After that, we went to the cuuuuute Japanese store at Rosedale to get Brandy a birthday present. We got her little ghosts and smoking watermelons. :P On our way to Minneapolis for dinner, we realised we forgot our tickets to the Haunted Basement at the Soap Factory.

After an emergency stop in at Thad and Carmen's to print the tickets, we raced into Minneapolis. We found a good parking spot close to Ginger Hop and had just enough quarters to tide us over until Haunted Basement time. Dinner was...less than impressive. Food was served cold and lacking in flavor in my case, small portioned and tasting of peanut butter in Jerry's case, lacking in flavor in Spike's case, and generally "Meh" on most other people's parts. I think the drinks and appetizers won out. Service was good, but food was lacking. Total bummer!

Brandy and JD joined Jerry and I on our trek to the Soap Factory. Spike told us that they don't let you in if you are late, so we literally RAN to our cars, and raced like crazy people to the door. We found out that they most certainly DO allow lateness, otherwise nobody would get in! :P We had an exciting wait with Kari as our tour guide. She spoiled LOST for us a little. Bummer! We had a good time joking that we wouldn't make it out alive and that Kari would watch us on the TVs. Brandy, JD and I all bemoaned the fact that we agreed to go with Jerry, since all three of us hate scary things. :P

The basement was fun, on the whole. I won't spoil it for anyone who hasn't gone yet. I'm impressed with myself that I didn't "Say Uncle", which is their safe word. They would escort you out if you did. I made it to the end, clutching Jerry, Brandy and JD the whole way. :D After the basement, we stayed and hung out, watching the cameras in the basement for a while with Kari.

We left NE, heading downtown to meet up with everyone for Rock Band at Grumpy's. The guy running the night forgot the freakin' game! I couldn't believe it! He brought all of his RB gear, his XBox, and all of his sound equipment, but not the freakin' game. FTW. Once it got going, the night was pretty fun. Like karaoke, only with your RB guitar in tow. :) Tara was AMAZING--she kicked some serious ass on guitar and vocals in "You Oughta Know". She also owned all over the drums during some hard Chili Peppers songs.

At the end of the night, we headed back to Jerry's place. Watched some more LOST, drank a Dr. Pepper. The usual. :)

Sunday, Tiff allowed me the luxury of an extra hour of sleep. So great! After Tiff's, I headed to the grocery. I bought some baking supplies and fried rice supplies. Nate met me at my place, and we baked banana bread together. So great! I met Jerry over at Thad and Carmen's place for Sunday night fun. Carmen made this AMAZING Greek-inspired dish in the crockpot. Eggplant and other veggies, tofu, and sheep's cheese on top. Served over cous cous...delish! We headed back to my place for the night. :)

Monday, Jerry got up early and headed on in to work. I slept fairly late after he left...I really need to knock that business off. Get up when he gets up, seriously! I headed in to work at 3pm and made a decent chunk of change. Probably for the best, since I haven't really worked all week since. :(

Tuesday, I felt very domestic all day. I washed lots of laundry, dealt with some paperwork things that needed dealing with. Washed some dishes. Walked to the grocery and back. Baked some tasty bits. :D Jerry was coming over after work, and I had dinner ready for him. Chicken legs, sweet corn, corn bread, and banana bread for dessert. I rock! He worked on some worky bits and I watched Everything is Illuminated. Good stuff!

We headed to Suzi's and he kept right on working on his stuff there, too! Had a couple of beers with good friends. Good times! We stayed at my place, watched a bit of LOST. We are like two old people, I swear!

Wednesday, he headed out to work, and I slept in again. :P Cleaned house a bit more, baked pie crust bits for SPW. We had a great crowd! Nate and Erin, Chris and Abi, Peter, Dave, Crystal, Wifey, Aaron, Ryan...we had a lot of fun with the pie theme, too!

Thursday, I mostly bummed around the house. I stayed up far too late Wednesday night, playing Beatles Rock Band all by my lonesome. :P I got up and ready to head to work, even lugged all of my Halloween gear out to the Jeep, only to find out the bugger wouldn't start. :(

I called work to let them know I'd be late, and they said I could just not come in if I wanted. I really wanted to work, but not if I wasn't going to make any money. :( :( :( I opted to stay home and deal with the car situation. I'm sure the new GM is less than thrilled about my attitude toward the few shifts I have that I don't show up to. To be fair, she offered the night off AND the information that we were slow as all getout. Bah.

I called Jerry and he suggested calling Dave. Dave happened to have his car savvy friend in the car with him, so they came over to take a look at it for me. The mechanic suggested new spark plugs and a few minor parts that would cost less than $60. Dave offered to put them in for me today. I owe him a big one! He's so generous. :)

We went to Jerry's to have a shower and relax for a few before dinner. We headed to Thad and Carmen's to meet up before dinner. I need to learn that Jerry needs to eat--often! He was grumpy and nearly faint with hunger by the time we got to The Anchor. We had a 20 minute wait for a table. We used our time wisely and knew what we wanted to order right away. The food came out quickly, which was good. Everything was so tasty! It was also really nice to hang out with Thad and Carmen outside of the house. We were like normal couples last night! :P

The four of us headed back to Thad and Carmen's for drinks and chilling. I fell asleep on the couch, Carmen headed to bed, while Jerry and Thad played Borderlands. I'm glad they got game time in. I promised I'd get Carmen out of the house for a girly night so they can have a boy night soon. :)

Jerry and I went to his place, watched two episodes of LOST, and fell asleep. We are pretty far in Season 3. If any of you people DARE to spoil anything else, we'll write you out of the new season. SRSLY. Nate spoiled stuff for us, Kari spoiled stuff for us...bah.

I hate owning a car. I really do. Less than an hour ago, I went to start my Jeep to head in to work. It wouldn't start. :( I called Jess to ask for a ride to work, and then called work to tell them I would be late. The manager said that someone else had asked to stay and I could take the night off if I wanted.

I *really* wanted to work, but in the next five minutes, got stressed out to the point where it didn't seem worth it to go in and clean the floors with my toothbrush...we were *that* slow. :(

Now, here I sit, at Jerry's place. He's having a shower before we head out for dinner. I'm excited to get to go eat dinner at The Anchor, since I've heard nothing but good about the place. I'm sad I didn't get to work. I'm happy that I put my resume out to about fifteen different places today. :)

I'm feeling ok that Dave and his mechanically inclined friend were able to suss out the situation--El Jeep needs new spark plugs, some wires, and a couple of other minor parts. Dave is going to steal my Jeep tomorrow and do the work. If you ever find yourself in need of a really awesome friend, look Dave Muggli up in the phone book. You won't be disappointed. :D

Whatever happened to the Bud Ice Penguin? Seriously, that was genius!

Wednesday, I got up and left the Arden B at a fairly early hour. I had errands to run in Minneapolis proper. I hit up the bank to buy a cashier's check for rent and get it off in the mail. Hit the grocery. Ya know. Stuff closer to home. :)

I had to work at 3, on the cocktail side. I had some fun customers, and was done by 11:30ish. I can't remember if I went to Indy or not. I think not. Stayed up far too late, fell asleep on the couch, as per usual.

Thursday was mostly uneventful. When you stay up too late and start work at 3pm, most of your morning/early afternoon is eaten up quickly. Work was fine but slow. Scott gave me a ride home...I don't remember why I didn't ride on Thursday, but it was what it was. Likely due to rain/cold weather.

Friday was crazy busy. I got up, did stuff around the house. Got to work at 3pm again. I had a couple of tables that stayed FOREVER. They tipped well enough, so I didn't really mind. It just sucked when Erin showed up to get me and I was scrambling to get out the door. I hate making people wait!

We went to Nancy's going away party. We are all so happy for her about her new job, but super sad that she had to relocate. Val, the girl who hosted the party, had such a gorgeous house! Her kitty was super cute, too! His name is The Dude, and he's a big bear of a Mainecoon. What a sweetheart, srsly.

Saturday, I had planned on taking the bus to Tiff's, but got up early in hopes of the weather holding out so I could scoot. The forecast looked promising, so I bundled up and headed outside to start my baby up. It died about a minute into warming it up. I was not pleased as I RAN my foolish ass the four blocks to the bus, all while wearing my boots, jacket and full faced helmet.

The lovely Erin came and got me at Tiff's to go eat some breakfast. We went to Luce downtown. Good food! She had a great coupon for brunch food, so that was the deciding factor. Moose and Suzi's sounded fun, but cheap = winnar. :) Many awesome girl chats were had. She is such an awesome friend!

We got back to Tiff's just in time for Asian Dan's stylish ass to show up with my little brother's cake from the Edelweiss Bakery in Prior Lake. Asian Dan, I owe you a big one! :) I hung out and played DS until my Mom showed up to get the cake. We went to my place to give the key to my scooter to Jonathon from Scooterville so he could tow it away. :( That made me so super sad.

I kept Mom company while she ate flautas at El Paraiso. I drank a beer. :P We ran some errands together--my Saturday afternoon/early evening plans were pretty much shot, due to my lack of scooter. We had registered for a Yelp event at the Soap Factory that ended up panning out nicely. Spike, Erin, Nate, Jerry and I all met up at varying points in our journey. The event was super fun! I was totally bummed to have missed out on my earlier plans, as well as the opening night of Marisol. I really need to get over there and see that show before it closes. I can't wait to see the lovely duchess_of_pie on stage!

Jerry and I went to Thad and Carmen's after the event was done. A great night of chilling with the Dahlberg's was had by all. Erin and Nate kept bugging us to come out, but we weren't feeling like being out and about. I looked super cute--Spike, Nate, Jerry AND Thad all said so. I think Thad's was motivated by the fact that I told him the other three guys all said so. :P WTG, Thad!

Sunday morning came all too quickly. Jerry took pictures of me in my dress before we left. I hope they turned out ok. :) I was super sleepy all day. I was late to Tiff's, I ran my bum off to catch buses and trains to Midtown Global Market. I got there just in time to meet Kelly with all of our booth gear. Nobody at the event knew their heads from holes in the ground, so it was a frustrating hour of setup.

Our booth neighbors, from Barbette, were super awesome. They gave us some crazy meat log things. I ate samples of lots of tasty foods at the event, drank entirely too many little cups of wine and beer, and went home fairly toasted. :P The guys from Barbette gave me a ride home so Kelly didn't have to go all the way back to Uptown. Ali lost his car, so the other guy (Matthew?) and I waited with the stuff until he found it.

After the event, I got home and took a freakin' nap. I was so tired! I met up with Jerry, Melissa, Kelvin and the other guy. They all had pizza. Jerry and Melissa had Bloody Marys, which looked more like a sandwich than a drink. :P The other two guys had beer. I had a very tasty Merlot and a Bavarian pretzel. So great! Jerry and I crashed at my place, which was nice. Jess had the heat on per my request. So toasty and warm! It was adorable to see Jerry crashing after one episode of LOST instead of ME crashing. :P That poor kid handles early mornings worse than I do.

Monday, we got up and messed around on the computers. Jerry watched a live online conference thing. We spent some time distracting each other from the conference, which was nice. ;) I made some eggs for breakfast.

Eventually, we got going. We headed to Diamonds Coffee House in NE. It's a super cute little place! I can wholeheartedly recommend that you go there and eat a veggie sammich on marble rye. Tomatoes, spinach, guacamole, pickles, cucumbers, guac...there was so much awesome stuff on that sammich!

We headed out from the coffee shop in the pouring rain toward Thad and Carmen's place. I had agreed to babysit Maewyn and Flannery so they could all go out for Ave's birthday. Maewyn pitched a bit of a fit when she realised that Mommy really was leaving, and again when she realised that Mommy really was gone. I left her to pitch her fits alone, and they ended rather rapidly.

Carmen bought sushi for dinner, and had macaroni dinners for the girls, too. Jerry and I shared the sushi plates, and the girls even ate some, too! They made cards for Ave, which was super sweet. I have my card from Flannery on my fridge. :)

Everyone came back from dinner, and we had pie. The key lime was supposed to have been kept frozen, we discovered, since it turned to pudding on our plates. :P It was still good, though! We all hung out together after Thad and Ave's parents left. Had a cocktail together, and took awesome pictures of Thad with his shirt tucked down in an awkward place. :P We have far too much fun together, I swear!

I told Carmen to keep her $20 that she wanted to pay me. Dinner and dessert were by FAR enough payment. If she had insisted on paying me, I would have just taken the $$ and bought them another bottle of gin. :P We ended up back at Jerry's place since I didn't have to be anywhere in particular until Wednesday at 4.

Tuesday, we got up at an ok hour. Dragging yourself out of bed when it's cold SUCKS. I know it will only get worse, but that doesn't mean I have to like it right now. I worked on my resume and looked around for jobs. I tried to get further on updating, but as you can plainly see, I'm still a few days behind schedule. Whoops!

We did our regular Tuesday thing. Dinner with his family. Homemade chicken noodle soup, omg! It was so tasty! His Mom even made applesauce and potato bread. I could have died and gone to heaven, I swear. Went to Suzi's for the beers. I felt like I was interrupting boy talk time between Jerry and Thad, mainly because they were talking iPhone and computer stuff that I don't understand.

Nate came to my rescue and we talked about life in general. I'm sad Erin couldn't make it, but I hope she can soon. I think everyone would really like her. :) I hope *I* can keep going over the winter. Blerg, MN winters!

Wednesday, we got up and I made some eggs again. Tasty business! And I'm getting really good at it! Tiff, you are a genius in the kitchen. Jerry loves the basted eggs. :) Jerry remembered that he had allergy shots at 1, so we had to jet. We also went to the Aveda Institute for haircuts! Jerry needed one for his interview, and I needed one because my hair was out of control. :P The girl did a great job on mine, but she was so slow! Mostly, I appreciate how slow she was, because I feel like she did a good job. Plus, it's nice to have someone take extreme care when you are doing a fairly major hair cut. :)

After that, we had to fairly fly over to my place. I grabbed my shirt, apron and shoes and bolted out the door. I met with a friend of Nate's from Keller Williams. They are doing a party this month, and want us to cater. Super! Work was fairly uneventful, and I left with $14 after tip-out. LAME. I stayed for an hour or so to do the schedule. I'll do the next week's schedule soon, I'm sure.

I met Crystal at Independent for a beer. We chatted about this and that. Her hair looks super cute! Still fairly red, but it's a darker red. I like it. :) We went to Rainbow to use the coinstar thing. Next time, I told her I'd do it for her at Wells Fargo for FREE. We parted ways, and I tried to find tasty things in the grocery, to no avail. Jerry walked me home over the phone. I watched a bit of 30 Rock, fell asleep on the couch. Blah.

Thursday, I got up at a decent hour. I met a guy in Uptown to take a test drive of his car. It's a nice enough car, and would likely last through the winter just fine. He wanted $1400 for it...I'd maybe give him a grand based on what needs to be done. The lovely Nate came with me for the test drive. After the ride, I headed to work.

We had a CRAZY dinner rush. I made $82 in tips! So great. We literally had zero customers in the place at 11pm, so we got the OK from John to close. I wish we wouldn't have. As I was leaving, a couple of groups of people tried to go in, but it was closed. They were not pleased, and neither was I. People won't know that we're open if we don't consistently stay open til a set hour.

The loaner died when I tried to leave. I walked most of the way home, and then my co-worker brought me home after buying me a shot. Crazy. I called Bob at Scooteville and left a message, so they knew when and how I got home, and that it was NOT on the loaner they gave me.

Of course, shortly after I got home, my phone wouldn't work. Turns out, Wifey's phone didn't work either, so it was some glitch in the T-Mobile systems at 1am. greh.

Friday, being today, has been pretty calm. I got up around 11. Took a call from Anna saying she was sick and didn't feel up to Uptown. I totally understand, and really wanted her to stay home if she was sick.

I met Bob from Scooterville behind Abilene to do the scooter exchange. I had no idea he was going to bring me a Buddy, but I'm glad he did. It's such a nice ride! I'm sad that we are slated to get snow tonight...I'm going to attempt to sneak my baby into the garage for the imminent doom. Holy crap, I just called it *my* baby. EEEEE!

Right now, I'm struggling to keep my eyes open. I think I'm getting sick. I have to pee every couple of hours and I'm tired as hell. No, I'm NOT pregnant, thankyouverymuch. :P

That leaves us where we are NOW. Caught up on updating eljay. Sleepy as all get out. Not wanting to go to work tonight. Not wanting to go to Tiff's super early tomorrow. Not wanting to go to Tiff's at 8 on Sunday. Not wanting to work Sunday afternoon. Why am I so negative right now? What do I WANT to do, I wonder?

Monday, I got up and finished my laundry. I was super happy that I sent the frozen items home with Jerry the night before. I got bundled up and headed out to Jerry's place to cook him dinner. :)

I bought a tasty steak for him to eat, and had some portabella mushrooms with a white onion to fry up. The butcher told me to cook the steak five minutes on each side. I had Jerry stop in after I did that to check in on it so I didn't mess it up. He added some salt and pepper, as well as some steak sauce. The response was positive, which I thought was good for never having cooked a steak before. :P I also bought an angel food cake, made homemade whipped cream, and had frozen blueberries on hand for dessert.

The suspense was about killing me before the guests began to show up for Jerry's party. Evan called, a few people texted me, and I was SO READY for everyone to arrive. Jerry was setting us up to watch LOST when the doorbell rang. Thad, Dan and Kari were the first ones to come and yell surprise. :) I think he was pretty surprised. The gin-a-thon was a rousing success. Many different gins showed up, and many awesome people came, too. Nate brought ice (awesome!) and Eric brought cucumbers and limes. Amanda even made an appearance, which was so cool. We <3 us some Amanda! A little over a week later, I can *finally* think about gin again.

Tuesday was Jerry's actual birthday. I woke up SO entirely hung over it wasn't even funny. I spent most of the day in bed, except for the hour or so where I was up and made him breakfast. I baked a popover pancake and cooked up some bacon. Best. Girlfriend. Ever. :) I assisted with cleaning up as much as I could...being awake hurt too much. :P

We had dinner with Jerry's family. Ham, broccoli and cheesy potatoes, per his birthday request. His Mom baked apple pie and brownies, too. We headed to Psycho Suzi's for weekly beers. The waitress brought me olives and pickles. That helped a lot with my hangover. :P

Wednesday night was so super fun! People convened at Jerry's house for a night of game playing and drinks. Off the top of my head, it was Brian, Amanda and Chris, Brandy and JD, Wifey, Crystal, Carmen and Anna, Asian Dan, Erin, Spike, Nate...and that's about all I can come up with this second. I'm sure there were more of you, and I sincerely apologise to anyone I may have forgotten. :( Good times were had by all! The stragglers left around 1 or so. Quite a successful hangout at the Arden B Casa de Jerry. :)

Thursday, we got up and ambled about the house for a bit. Got on the road to Stillwater around 1 and arrived before 2. It's only a 20 mile drive from Arden Hills to StilH20! We walked up and down the main drag in an effort to kill a little time, and to find a suitable place for lunch. We ended up at a cute little restaurant with a retro arcade theme. Jerry played about five free games of pinball. He is (very rightly) convinced that his super power is to get free pinball wherever he goes. As soon as I touched the machine, it stopped giving him free games. He even got a quarter out of the return slot! Wacky. The place had great sandwiches, too. :)

It was finally close enough to 4pm so we could check in to our hotel. Cute little place! Of course, we got in the elevator with an older couple who had just checked in and was staying down the hall from us. Awkward conversation ensued. :P I've never gotten why it's considered weird or impolite to not make pointless conversation in situations like that...

We found our room--it was beautiful! It was really spacious, with super high ceilings. The bed was nice, but Jerry kept hitting himself on it. First, his head on the decorative carved headboard, and then his knee on the bed frame. Poor guy! We hung out in the room for a bit. Got some ice to keep our beer cold, then hit the road to see the sights.

For those of you who have never been to Stillwater, it's a touristy town. Nothing is open on a Thursday after 5pm. Probably rightly so, but it makes for a slow night for anyone who is there on a weeknight. :P We walked down by the river. Got some good shots of the water, birds and spiders. We tried in earnest to work off our late lunch so that we would be hungry for dinner later. The last place we checked out before heading back to the hotel for dinner was kind of on a lark. They advertised buy one get one free t-shirts. As we walked by, a really pretty dress caught my eye, so we stopped in. I ended up buying a couple of Kariza Wraps. They are super pretty and now I have two gorgeous dresses that fit well and I like the style. :D I wore one to dinner. :)

As we got ready for dinner, Jerry popped the cork on the champagne. It shot pretty far and ricocheted several times. I am always too scared to open champagne. :P We ended up taking the rest of the bottle with us to dinner, which was nice. Dinner was so fancy! We had the choice of an appetizer to share, soup or salad each, an entree each and dessert each. WAAAAAY too much food, if you ask me! We shared the artichoke dip and each had chicken noodle soup. He had fancy kebabs with steak, sausage and shrimp. I had a cream sauce pasta with smoked chicken. I could only eat about five bites of my meal by the time I was through with the first two courses. Dessert (Bailey's cheesecake for me, caramel apple pie for him) had to be boxed up. We couldn't eat another bite!

It was really nice to be there on a weekday. There was one other couple in the dining area when we arrived, and they left fairly early on in our meal. There were two dining rooms, as well as a patio outside. It was starting to cool off, so we opted for the inner dining room. It was nice to have a big table with lots of room to spread out. We had some lovely chats over dinner, and then sauntered back up to our room. On the way back up, Jerry wanted to stop by the scotch tasting event that was going on. The guy who was running it had chatted with Jerry earlier about scotches and liquors and whatnot. Jerry was totally right that we would be able to get a taste of a very fine scotch when the event was over. I didn't know thing one about it, other than it tasted better than I anticipated scotch would, and that it cleared my sinuses rather well. :)

We had a great night in Stillwater. We hung out in the room's hot tub for goodness only knows how many hours. I'm really wishing I had a hot tub in my room right about now. I don't think I would ever leave it in this kind of weather! :P Drank some Two Hearted...I spilled some Two Hearted on the bed and on Jerry. Whoops! I fell asleep while Jerry was watching crazy public access TV. All in all, a very successful trip...that was only half over!

Tuesday, we went our separate ways. Jerry, off to physical therapy, and me, staying home and keeping busy. I worked again. An early shift, which was nice. I spent a lot of time cleaning and NOT waiting tables. There were none to be had! I stayed for an hour after work to do the schedule, and left it unfinished. There were too many time off requests, and I wasn't 100% sure what to do with the shifts that needed filling. Based on how god awful SLOW we've been as of late, I'm not even 100% sure we need all of those shifts filled! :( I had a fancy drink that Dominic made me, some dinner, and hit the road.

Met up with everyone at Suzi's. We had a really good turnout. Nate and I ordered tots. So tasty! Everyone paid for my beer since it was my birthday on Wednesday. We have such sweet friends! :) Jerry and I headed back to his place. We headed to bed early so that I could get up early.

Wednesday, I got up sooooo painfully early. Something like 8am. Gross! I chatted with Amanda on the gmails, and generally tried to wake myself up. I double checked the map and headed out to Mom and Doug's place. What a beautiful ride from Arden Hills to Elk River! The sky had been cloudy, but on my way out there, it cleared up and the sun came out. Less than an hour TO the house, including a stop for gas. :)

Mom and I did lunch with Darin, and brought treats for his class since it was my birthday. The kids were all SUPER cute, and said thank you about a hundred times over. :) It was really cool to see how much they all like my little brother. He's cute, funny, and sociable. I'm really happy to see that he's well liked. :)

After school lunch, Mom and I found *real* lunch. We didn't eat with Darin, just hung out with him and his friends. We had hand made Mexican food at this tiny place in Monticello. So great! We went home and baked a cake. My prescription strength Sudafed kicked in and knocked me out. I slept until Darin and Doug got home from school and work, respectively.

We went to dinner at a tasty Chinese buffet place in Big Lake. Mom and Doug gave me a super nice set of knives. I'm so spoiled! We bought birthday treats for Darin at the grocery, and then I had to head home. My scooter left a giant hole in Mom and Doug's newly paved driveway. Whoops! :( I felt bad about that.

The ride back to Jerry's took longer, due to a nasty accident AND increased traffic in general. I stopped for gas again just to be sure, since we were leaving for Stillwater the next morning. Then I wouldn't have to stop right away, as is my usual. :P

**********

I'll update on the b-day party later. Now, being Monday, I have to take a shower and get on the road. :)

This summer, I've noticed many things around the city that I've always wanted to do, but never done...or at least haven't done them in a long ass time.

Never done:

* Take a ride on the trolley that is by Lake Calhoun
* Eat at Galactic Pizza
* Rent a canoe and paddle around Calhoun and Isles
* Go to the Mill City Museum
* See a play at the new Guthrie location
* Go to the Bakken Museum
* Walk around Lakewood

It's been a long ass time:

* Walk/bike the Stone Arch Bridge
* Visit the Sculpture Garden
* See something/someone at First Ave
* Go to Acme for open mic night
* Do Improv A Go-Go or Late Night Improv at BNW
* Go see Comedy Sportz
* See a play at Heart of the Beast
* See an Opera or Ballet
* See a show at the Chanhassen
* Go mini golfing

I know there are more, but these are the ones that come to mind. There are countless restaurants I'd like to visit, too. Gah, I need to just start going to these places! :D

Tuesday, I was rudely awakened by the kitchen sink gurgling rather loudly. I had fallen asleep on the couch...again...so I guess it wasn't a bad thing to be woken up. I headed back to bed after making sure that nothing was leaking. I woke up for reals at a decent hour. Went to buy some knives. Hit up the bank. Hit home before heading out for more errands.

On my way to see the Pantsmom for dinner, I heard the rattling noise on my scooter get exponentially louder. When I got to a good stopping place, I checked out the undercarriage of my scooter--the center kickstand was falling off! I was not pleased. :(

Had a lovely dinner with Mom and Watson at Keegan's in NE. The server was something of a flake. The cider was nasty, and their Irish Ale was watery. Their chicken strips rivaled that of a Denny's in terms of quality--they were certainly not grilled like the menu advertised them to be. I wouldn't eat there again. :(

After dinner, I headed home for a bit. Got my ass in gear and hit up Calhoun for a quick rollerblade to work off the fact that I haven't been exercising regularly for months now. :P I saw a very lovely transition from the sky--orange to purple to black. Lovely, but dangerous! I only went around the lake once. Stretched and hung out by my tree for a while before heading home.

I had a very lovely shower, then headed out to Suzi's. Met Jerry, Thad and Jeremy there. We had a really nice group, as per usual. :) Jerry grilled Jeremy about his impending interview. I know he left the conversation feeling much better and confident about the interview. :D

We got back to his place with the intention of playing Boom Blox or watching an episode of LOST, but I crashed HARD. Had some wacky dreams, as per usual. Locke, Jack and Kate from LOST were holding me hostage and trying to kill me with a poisoned stake in my ankle. STRANGE!

Wednesday, being today, we got up at a reasonable hour. I cooked breakfast while he shaved. I managed to defrost the ham wrong, burn said ham while cooking it, and over-steam the edamame, resulting in not enough butter or salt taste. I *did* use Tiff's magical egg basting secret, and Jerry LOVED the eggs. Well, he loved AN egg. I over cooked one of them, but the second one was perfect. ;)

I headed out from his place to Scooterville. I was supposed to go look at an office chair, but I felt too pressed for time. After getting the kick stand fixed, I headed to Target for more veggies. I got a cute little gift for my sister and her friends. All three of them are teaching this semester. I bought them stamps, stickers and ink for the stamps. All of them are for grading papers. :P They are all crafty girls, so this is right up their alleys.

I'm home now. Just had a light lunch and am contemplating going out rollerblading again while the weather is nice. My legs aren't nearly as sore as I thought they would be, so that's good. I know I need to just DO IT, so I think I'm going to head out. :) Have a great Wednesday, everyone!

* Next week is mah birfday. I'm considering doing something smaller than last year. My friends in Colorado are out of town, so there will be no trip. I had two pretty large birthday parties, one at Ryan's, and one at Tiff's. I was thinking karaoke on Wednesday night would be fun...hopefully, somewhere small enough that anyone who came would actually be able to sing. I know the attendees would be diminished in number, since Jerry and Amanda have writing on Wednesday nights. It would still be fun to do something on my birthday. Any suggestions? If I can't find karaoke, I have other ideas for dinner/drinks.

* Next week is also my brother's birthday. His is the day after mine, on Thursday. I'm going to go see him at school for lunch on Wednesday and bring birthday treats. Mom said that he has 28 kids in his class, plus a teacher. I figure I'll bring a few extras anyhow, so the number isn't really the issue. I'm more wondering what to bring, since I can't bring home made treats.

Tuesday, we woke up and parted ways at a fairly early hour. Jerry had physical therapy for his shoulder at noon or noon thirty, I can't remember. I did more unpacking and sorting. Met up with ande2713, spikenheimer and Shaya for dinner at the Red Stag. It was cheap date night, but the menu didn't really appeal to any of us. Mussels and cod with fennel, anise and YUCK. I was super bummed that it wasn't a better option. :(

I had julienne cut zucchini that was cooked in olive oil with slivers of almonds. I also had a plate of gnocchi with a creamy butter sauce and sweet corn. I about DIED of happy. I tried to save a bite for Jerry, but he got there too late.

After dinner, Erin, Jerry and I headed to her place to help her pack. She made us the tastiest gin and tonics! They didn't even need limes! :D It was sad seeing her pack. I'm glad we could be there to help. :)

After packing, we headed to Suzi's. Had a good night with everyone there. Headed back to Jerry's for the night. It just blows my mind that his place is so much closer to NE than mine! :P

Wednesday, got up and headed home to Minneapolis to finish unpacking. I probably made it to about 80% unpacked. damncutekitty called asking what kind of liquor I'd like to have for the pre-season SPW! I stopped and got sammiches for us, as well as limes for the Corona and tonic for my gin. :D tallelfdave brought cookies and milk, as well as a tube of crescent rolls for lisianthia. :D

Jason D showed up, but alas, Asian Dan did not. We fired him briefly, but when we discovered that he was doing inventory at a Radio Shack, we hired him back on. Jess tried the drums, which was awesome! We think she found her calling in the Rock Band world!

SPW didn't go terribly late. I stayed up for a bit after everyone had left and played some Katamari. :D

All in all, I'd say I had a pretty satisfying three days off. I got plenty of sleep, did most of my unpacking, and got to hang out with lots of awesome friends. I can't wait for October!

I feel very productive, yet at the same time, overwhelmed and behind schedule.

I did:

* get items up on eBay
* get bed, table and microwave up on CL
* get a box of white rice (finally)
* sort out Comcast

I need to:

* de-clutter x 1,000
* start packing
* start making runs with boxes to the new place
* get scooter in to Scooterville FIRST THING Tuesday
* arrange a ride for excess stuff to donate
* be here and awake fairly early, as John will be dropping off totes I can use to move
* be at the new place tomorrow from 2-4 for Comcast
* eat a real meal tomorrow
* get my ass to bed

Last night, a_jaclyn, damncutekitty, and tallelfnorth came for a visit.

Tonight, anney and her special man friend came for dinner.

Later in the evening, I had DOLLAR [BACON] TACOS with the Pantswife. I hope I get to hang out with kewl friends again tomorrow night! :D

We got up at a semi-reasonable hour (noon) and lounged about for a bit. We made some food, drank some more jynnan tonnyx, made a fire. It was overcast and windy. :(

We were playing DS by the fire, when suddenly, the clouds all left, the sun came out, the wind died down, and the temp jumped about 20 degrees. We put on some sunscreen and chilled on the dock for a bit. :)

We decided it was time to get ready to go, so we headed inside. While soaped up and in the shower, the hot water friggin' died. We were left to attempt to get as much soap off with ice cold water and wash cloths. We eventually gave up and headed out. :P

On the way home, we went to a really awesome A&W where they serve you at the tables, have really awesome booths, and a bumpin' jukebox. :) We met Mom in Monticello with her cell phone, and headed back to Minneapolis to Psycho Suzi's. Jerry worked a miracle and got a mug into the back of the car for me to find with my bag of clothes from the cabin. He's so friggin' sneaky, I just love it!

I had to work the next day, but not until 5, so we got to sleep in.

That, my friends, is the end of our cabin adventure. Can't wait to have another one!

Monday, we got up at the ungodly hour of 9am and headed over to the Gloege place of residence. Gene and Lucy Gloege, my grandparents. It was totally chow mein day. :)

When we got there, Grandma made us omelets and Jerry drank coffee. We spent a lot of time talking with them and touring the house. Jerry got some great shots of the house, of Grandma and Grandpa. He even got a video! I can't wait to see it. :)

After a while of sitting on the porch, Grandma left to start the lunch. Lunch consisted of chicken chow mein, bread and butter, pickles, carrots, celery, rice, and the option of milk. I can't remember anything else being eaten. I just love how Minnesotan we are with the weird food combinations. We had a tasty dessert of chocolate mint ice cream and cookies. Grandpa has such a sweet tooth!

Grandma and Grandpa washed and dried the dishes together. I can't believe they are coming up [rather rapidly] on 55 years of marriage. It just blows my mind. In a good way.

We all retired to the porch again for some digestion time and more chats. I'm really glad that Jerry liked them. I'm really glad that they liked Jerry, too! Not that I thought they wouldn't, but Grandpa had said something to the effect of, "Well, so long as he's got a good job!" Of course, Mom had to mention that he recently lost his job, so I expected a little bit of picking from Grandpa about that one. :P

After goodbyes were said, we took a small tour of the property. Jerry got some great shots of the lake, the house, the yard. I really need a fancy camera like his some day!

We headed into town to get gas and to hit up the liquor store. We went to the one in Big Stone, South Dakota, mostly on the principle that we could then say that we went to SD over the weekend. :P Once Jynnan Tonnyx supplies were procured, we headed back to the cabin.

When we got back to the cabin, the front door was locked! Turns out, the neighbor had come over to reset the wireless (Doug has internet and lets the neighbors use it) and had locked it by habit. It doesn't help that Jerry drives a white car like Doug, so the neighbors thought that Doug stayed a day late and forgot to lock up when he left! :P We were able to get in through the sliding glass door, though, so crisis averted. There was no ice in the freezer, so we borrowed a bowl of ice from the neighbors. I know what Mom and Doug are getting for their five year anniversary!

The Pantsfam fishing boat was taken out for a spin. We got some great shots of the lake and ate many tasty pretzels. It was nice to [mostly] get away from the mayflies. When we headed back to shore, we docked the boat up and went to start a fire. No matches in the entire cabin. Srsly. Went and borrowed some from the neighbors. They are so sweet! I'm glad they put up with us bugging them for stuff all weekend.

S'mores were made, Jynnan Tonnyx were drank, a tasty fish dinner was made, DS was played...life didn't get much better than Monday, my friends. :)

Sunday, I got up at a ridiculous hour of the morning to go Downtown to see Tiff. For whatever reason, we decided it would be best to stay in the Arden B instead of Uptown. I still don't get that one. I got back on the road before 11 and made it back sooner than expected. I have no idea how both places seem to be equidistant from Arden B, yet I live five miles from Tiff. Hrm...

Jerry still had to pack, clean up around the house, and lord only knows what. I wanted to be ready to leave at noon, but I doubt we left before 1:30. Plus, we had to stop to get drinks and snacks for the road. All told, I think we were ON 94 around 2pm. We are really awesome at being on time to things. :P

The drive out was pretty uneventful. He played The Memory of Earth by OSC on his iPod. The reader's voice is so freakin' soothing that I kept falling asleep. Lulz.

Mom and Doug took us to the Pizza Ranch for dinner. I love that place so friggin' much! That was also nice, because then we didn't have to wait until Tuesday to take Grandma and Grandpa there. :P We went to the playground after dinner and burned off a few bites of mashed potatoes. Mom, Doug and Darin stayed through the end of Survivor and then bolted for home.

We stayed up for a bit, mostly bumming about the cabin. We didn't stay up too late, because we had to be up at 9 to get to the Gloege's by 10 for breakfast. Jacuzzi time was had, and I taught Jerry the ASL alphabet. He's really good!

Tuesday, worked at 3pm. Nothing terribly exciting there. Post work, I headed out to the Arden B for Jerrytime. :)

Wednesday, slept in! It was so great! I woke up to Jerry working on some computer stuff, and I played Katamari. I love that game so hard! We bummed about the house, ran some scooter errands...nothing terribly exciting, but still nice. I love my flexible job situation! We totally went to Columbia Heights to Chet's Shoes to buy motorcycle boots. I got the Best Boots Ever. You will all die of joy. Jerry's boots are pretty bangin', too. We also scooted past my old 'hood in CH. He offered to take a picture of me in front of my old house, but I declined. :P

His friends came over around 6 for writing. I made dinner for the two of us, listened in for a bit, then hit up the living room for some DS time. I had a nap on the couch--pasta makes me sleepy! We watched The Accomplice as a group. Tons of fun! Sad that Amanda wasn't there, but happy she had a good time at the game.

Thursday, woke up at a more reasonable hour. I had a stretch in the living room and painted my toenails. Jerry worked on some freelance stuff, and we got out to run scooter errands again. We returned his laptop chill mat to Staples, hit up Target, and went back to his place. Had a lovely round of Jynnan Tonnyx before heading back to Minneapolis for CRAZY HOUR at the Ab.

Met up with Jess, Crystal, Tiff and Peter for some tasty dinner. Many tasty beers and margaritas were consumed, as well as Ahi Tuna! I've been waiting for that tuna steak for SO LONG. :P

Jerry and I went to Floyd's in Uptown for haircuts. I got three inches taken off my hair! I just about died! :P Jerry's hair looks quite nice. It was edging rapidly past the point of "cute messy" look into "crazy curly" territory. :P

We had a scoot to my spot and had a lovely sit. When it got too cold, we moved back to my place for laundry and DS time. We totally fell asleep before I changed the laundry over into the dryer. I wish I hadn't, because I ended up waking up around 4 to do so. :P

Friday, I woke up slightly later than I would have liked to. I had a great morning laying about in bed and watching Jerry play Scrabble. I scooted to Maple Grove to meet Mom and Grandma for lunch. Of course, I was about 20 minutes late. I swear, if I'm on time to my own funeral, I'll be disappointed in myself.

We had a lovely lunch of Chinese buffet. SO TASTY! I hopped back on my scooter and headed home. I had about five minutes at home before walking out the door to head to work. The story of my life--five minutes at home and then back on the road. :P The rain cooled the patio off considerably, and I left work with $20 at the end of my shift. I really hope the weather looks up next week. I work W-Su, all really good shifts, so I'm not too worried. Bleh to you, money.

That leaves us where we are now--I'm chilling solo on the couch. I could have tried to join up with Jerry in NE or gone for movies with my ladies in DT, but I decided to camp in. I had a lovely dinner of a chicken sammich and a Jynnan Tonnyx. I'm considering some Rock Band, but should really dig through my clothes and try to de-clutter. I might just call it all a loss and go to bed even though it's only 9. :P