two dolla

a list without bullets

Hockey still isn’t my favorite sport, but you know what makes it better? Being five rows up from the glass and being able to see the expression on a player’s face as it gets smashed into plexiglass. Seeing blood drip onto the ice after a referee has been knocked in the head with a hockey stick is kinda neat, too.

That Nalgene bottle I bought from REI last week? It holds 24 ounces of water and I can go through it so quick I don’t even notice. Plus, I get to say “bite and suck” a lot, while referring to my new water container and that’s always entertaining.

My Work BFF™ made me a countdown chain for the cruise, which starts on Sunday. It’s precious and I’ll have to take a picture of it. I’m pretty sure it involved using a glue stick during assembly.

Nine days until the cruise.

My dog might get a complex, because I may be calling him The Prettiest Little Baby Puppy Around. What? He likes it.

My birthday is on Sunday and you know what I want more than anything in a world? Donations for The 3 Day. Don’t be surprised. This is the 3rd year in a row that I’ve asked for it!

i’m crafty

This morning before I left for work, I was trying to find some address labels that I’d made around Christmas time. I need to mail a letter to my grandma and I wanted to use them. When I found them, I was instantly reminded how awesome they are and how awesome I was for making them.
I know some of you got New Year’s cards from me, and you have to admit – the address labels turned out AWESOME. I made some with a pink ribbon, some with a copyrighted Twins logo that I illegally stole, and some with an adorable picture of Big Riley. How much more personal could it possibly get?

I used some off-brand of the Avery labels that cost maybe a billion dollars a pop and I really couldn’t have been more pleased at the results. It doesn’t really make sense to order them online anywhere, even though you can customize them to some degree. It may be a little more expensive, but at least you can get it exactly the way you want with about 2 minutes of screwing around in Word.

There ya go. That’s about as crafty as I get with do-it-yourself homemade projects.

the ides of march hate me

Every Thursday (or at least close to it), I join Jenni, Matt, and Cindi at Keegan’s Pub for a round of trivia. Usually, we find ourselves in first or second place. Our prize includes a free drink and an entry into a drawing where we can win a trip for 2 to Boston.

Tuesday, as I was diligently working from home, I got a call from Keegan’s that started out like this after they confirmed it was me: “Hi, we were calling about the trivia contest and the trip to Boston.” They continued on and as it turns out, they were just reminding me I had to be there tonight to win.

However, they didn’t call Jenni or Matt or Cindi. So, we all got excited and thought that I’d actually won a trip for Boston, which would make my impending trip in September a whole hell of a lot cheaper. We found out today, though, that they also called Jumi, which kinda indicates to us that they were just expecting everyone else to be there since they’re there every week without fail.

Too bad hockey is more important this week, and too bad I’ll have to actually pay to go to Boston this fall!

number 1 kurtis blow

You know where the name “March Madness” came from? It came from my birthday being 18 days into the month. You know who borrowed the term “March Madness”? The NCAA. And I’m okay with that.

You know what else I’m okay with? Awesome basketball equipment that you can get for a good deal just because it’s March Madness time. I figure if towels and bedsheets can be on sales for President’s Day, then heavy-duty, completely dunkable basketball equipment should absolutely take advantage of the whole March Madness hoopla.

I turned in a bracket this year. I watched a total of half a half of a college game this year. I don’t even remember who was playing besides New Mexico State, and I can’t even tell you who won. I just think being a loyal sports fan of any type, you’re required just to guess or you lose your Sports Fan Club Membership. I’ve been a member since 1984, though, so I can’t see giving it up anytime soon!

Imagine my non-college-basketball-watching-surprise when I learned that Duke wasn’t ranked #1 and Missouri didn’t even make the tournament. Then again, when’s the last time Missouri has actually made the tournament?

I think I might have to actually watch a few games of the tournament this year, even if it just happens to be the Final Four or something equally as impressive and covered by TV.

minneapolis ink

Between Jenni and Jodi and all of their tattoo stories/inspiration, I just picked what I want done today. No, you can’t know what it is, because it’s going to be a secret until it’s done. Only a few people are gonna know, although considering I decided on it less than an hour ago and I’ve already told give people, I’m not sure how long that whole secret thing will last. I’m been going back and forth about what I want; this just hit me super hard today and it was so obvious I can’t believe I didn’t think of it earlier!

Tonight’s project? Fire up Photoshop and figure out which font will look the most awesome on my arm.

My longterm project? To not go crazy until I get it done and to remind myself it’s not a good idea to get it done while in Puerto Rico or any other island in the Caribbean that I might be visiting in two weeks.

Update: My appointment has been scheduled for April 3! Hopefully I’m not too burned from the sun, since it’s two days after we get back from the cruise!

it probably can’t be analyzed

I had two dreams last night. One, I won’t be posting, because it’s too creepy. The second one? Pretty jacked up, but I felt like it was the never-ending dream, so here it is:

I was friends with Ellen Degeneres and Portia de Rossi. (Why wouldn’t I be, right?) We were at the Oscars, but there weren’t a lot of people there. I was playing with the band and then walked back to see Ellen and Portia. Ellen was talking to someone else, so Portia and I joked around for a while. I had my arm around her for a while, because we were sitting down and that’s just what I do. Next thing I know, Ellen has her arm on top of mine and we’re all chatting away. It seemed like a long part of my dream involved these two.

I go back up to play with the band, and after we’re done, Owen Wilson comes out to present an Oscar with someone else. The stage is set up with an aquarium on one side and a water slide on the other. As soon as Owen Wilson steps up to the mic, a mermaid jumps out of the aquarium into his arms. And then he motions to me to throw water on them, so I grab the carafe of water that’s sitting on Oprah’s table and splash it onto the mermaid. Next thing I know, I’m winning an Oscar. For Best Heckler. I don’t give a speech, I just climb up the water slide, grab it, and jump back down.

We start to leave and there are cars lined up for everyone to take. I hope on the right side of some convertible car, which is actually the driver’s side, and Jenni’s sitting in the car next to me in the passenger side, which is actually the left side. She tells me to make sure I’m awake when I drive through Memphis. Wynton Marsalis gets into my car with me, and we take off.

And then I wake up.

I seriously need someone that analyzes dream for a living to tell me what this one means.

ai: the top 12

I glad we’re down to just two shows a week. Three shows were cutting into my regular TV calendar and I wasn’t even watching the result show. And let me tell you, I miss dramatic pauses before commercial break. I’m also glad we’re over to the “tricked out” stage, as Ryan explained, and I love when he plays the air drums with his microphone. Ryan Seacrest? Not one of my favorites. Have I made that obvious?Last week, Jared Cotter, Antonella Barba, Sabrina Sloan, and Sundance Head all were denied a trip to the final 12. While I’m glad I don’t have to listen to Antonella or Sundance anymore, I don’t know that Jared and Sabrina were the right other choices… but I obviously don’t speak for the rest of America.

Tonight is Diana Ross night, and I’m excited for that. I hope Sanjaya sings “I’m Coming Out” and Blake sings “Touch Me in the Morning”. No reason.

More »

appointment #43

There is one thing that’s been bumming me out on a regular basis, mainly because I can’t control it.

Today, I have a doctor’s appointment with my primary care physician. In the past six months, I’ve had 42 doctor’s appointments, all because of the car accident I had back in October. 42. In six months. That averages out to be between 1 and 2 appointments a week all because some jackass had to “put his coffee in his cup holder”.

You may be surprised to learn that I’m a pretty active person. I haven’t been to the gym forever, mainly due to my back/foot/whatever injury, but there’s still walking Riley, or dancing, or shopping, or doing something that doesn’t require sitting for long distances. And then there was this lower back thing…

I was feeling pretty good until I went snowshoeing a couple of weeks ago and now I’m in a serious world of hurt. Sure, snowshoeing pissed off my back something fierce, but it was only for an hour and the snow wasn’t that deep. My main concern is how my back is going to hold up walking 6 miles in about 5 1/2 months. If I’m wincing just by taking Riley across the street to the park, how the hell is gonna work when it comes time for The 3 Day?

That’s why I’m going back to the doctor today. As much as I love my chiropractor and as awesome as he is, I’m getting kind of desperate at this point. I know it’s not broken or anything like that, but I’m hoping we’ll be able to figure something out to get me back on track.

The 3 Day is my thing; I have to do it.

the celebrating of 29

While I still have a few more days left of 28, a good chunk of celebrating has already be done. I took my camera, but I can’t really remember taking any pictures that were of any quality worth posting. That means you get links to everyone else’s pictures and also Jenni’s recap.
Friday: We all met up at Grumpy’s, where someone had just finished celebrating their 60th birthday. The staff dropped off the leftover decorations with us, and even offered us some leftover cake, which we politely declined. I couldn’t turn down wearing as many as I could. After a birthday shot and part of my birthday from Jumi, we headed downtown to dance, dance, dance at the Gay 90′s. Before we left the parking garage, Jumi made Cindi get into her trunk. No seriously. Bedtime 3 a.m.

Saturday: I woke up at 8. And didn’t even take a nap. But I don’t honestly remember what I did until time to go to dinner at Pizza Luce at 7 for Awesome Pizza. Then, it was off to Liquor Lyle’s to watch the Gopher hockey game that ended horribly for all my Gopher-fan friends, but was soon forgotten with 2-for-1 shots. I also got a swell gift from Jenni. After Lyle’s, I made the executive decision (by flipping a coin) to go to the Northeast Yacht Club for a drink or two, as well as running into some douchebag in the parking lot that we all yelled at before leaving. The Otter (full name: U Otter Stop Inn) was our next destination where there was karaoke (Vehicle by Matt and Private Dancer by Jumi), a flower of some sort, and a big long whopper of a story I told some guy wearing a sweater vest who also claimed to be writing a novel. I hope he uses the story idea I gave him.

We lost an hour with the whole springing ahead thing, but lucky for us, our new after-bar place is open all the time. Santana Foods. It’s a place I’ll never go sober, because I don’t want to find out the hamburgers and fries are super disgusting. 14 ounces of pepper just tastes so good on French fries after a long alcohol-fueled night! Bedtime 4 a.m., if you don’t take into consideration the time change.

Sunday: Bag/shoe shopping. At REI, nice try. I found a non-purse bag there that I can carry all the time (or at least when traveling) and a nalgene bottle, which has already done it’s trick of making me drink more water. I couldn’t find any shoes I liked. I can’t imagine why. We headed to the airport to pick up Andy, but I was hoping to find Belinda. I never did. It was a quick run to the Mall of America for more shoe shopping, except I still didn’t find any sneakers that I want for the cruise. Sad. Bedtime for me 9:30 p.m.

Yep, best weekend ever. Since last weekend.

spain holidays

I posted before about how I had to get a passport for the cruise I’ll be on in less than two weeks, not that I’m counting down the hours until disembarkation or anything. I found out a few weeks ago, though, that since we’re on a cruise, we’re not getting any passport stamps. Four different islands and no proof of it anywhere official! You can imagine my disappointment when I found out not even Canada gives out stamps.

Now that I actually have a passport, my interest in leaving American soil once again has been slightly piqued. And if beaches are involved? Even more intriguing at this point. Even to the point that maybe some Spain holidays are in order.

When hotel-type accommodations include things like free daily tea and biscuits and measurements listed in meters, it’s hard to say no, right?

Besides, what’s the likelihood that I’ll get my pockets picked by roving gypsies while taking advantage of the gorgeous white sand and sparkling clear water of the Mediterranean Sea? All the pictures I’ve seen make the beaches look so much more less infested with annoying tourists then places like Hawaii and the Bahamas, and that’s definitely boosts appeal for me!

There are even shopping centers in Barcelona that are right on the water and contain half shops (perfect for the day) and half clubs (even more perfect for the night). A trip to Spain certainly doesn’t make me think I’ll run out of things to do even after it gets dark outside with the amazing nightlife it appears to offer its tourists and the people that live there year ’round.
On second thought, maybe I’ll just make sure I enjoy Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, the Dominican Republic, and the Bahamas in the next couple of weeks before I start planning out trips across oceans.