Saturday, August 30, 2008

Two Entries, One Weekend... The State Fair Entry

So, Sonny and I went to the state fair this past week. If you have ever been the the MN state fair, you know that the big draw is to eat things on sticks: ostrich, meatballs, tator tot hotdish (which by the way wasn't bad), reubens, etc. And that's basically what this entry is about...what we ate (whether on a stick or not).

(Side note: Some of you may wonder why I would have an entry about the food that we ate at the state fair...but if you are wondering that, then you obviously don't know the state fair. When I have told people that I went there, they want to know what I ate, so here it is.)

Alright, so this is broken down into foods we shared, foods I ate, and foods Sonny ate. Keep in mind that we got there around 1:30 pm, and were there until around 9 pm or so, and did a lot of walking. But it's still a lot of foods to try.

Our shared list: (1) a sausage sampler consisting of wild rice and jalapeno, italian tuscan, and potato sausage pieces along with peppers and onions on top (this stand is the home of the viper jerky (where they make you sign a waver before you can buy it)), (2) crab cakes, (3) walleye cakes, (4) garlic fries, (5) chicken bruschetta pizza, and (6) Sweet Martha's Chocolate Chip Cookies.

My individual list: (1) corn on the cob (a MN state fair staple, in my opinion), (2) a marshmallow dipped in chocolate (on a stick), (3) a smores, (4) lefse, and (5) deep fried mushrooms.

Sonny's individual list: (1) teriyaki ostrich on a stick, (2) turkey jerky, (3) a strawberry smoothie, (4) frozen grapes on a stick, (5) a free beer sample, and (6) mini doughnuts.

Sorry to have to confess that even though we sent pictures of the Big Fat Bacon stand and the stand that had Kool-Aid, we failed to have either of these goodies. We also skipped the Pronto Pup this year and the cheese curds. I have no regrets about that but Sonny said that next year, we have to include the cheese curds again. I guess it's not the state fair, for him, without them.

Besides eating, we went on two rides, walked a ton and even played some games and won an stuffed animal for Lukin.

Friday, August 29, 2008

Stacie's Bachelorette Party

Okay, Stacie. So you want a new entry? I suppose you only want a new entry because you want me to write about your bachelorette party...be careful what you wish for. :)

First off, I have to say that I didn't know that planning for a Bachelorette party was so much work. I figured that the Bridal Shower was the one that had all the planning and that a Bachelorette party was just a gathering of girls to have a few cocktails and share a few laughs and go home. I didn't know we had to make trays of sandwiches and a huge bowl of salad and more stuff like that.

I didn't know that there would be an opportunity to play games, but thankfully I planned some at the last minute anyway. I didn't know that the girls' party was so much more detail oriented than the guys' (but I probably could have guessed that).

That all being said, it went pretty well. There was more than enough food (as tends to be the case at our house). There was some laughs, some embarrassing gifts, some games, some prizes, some drinks, and a two-year old stripper (as in he has learned to take his clothes off and felt that the bachelorette party was an appropriate time to do so) and then we all left to go to the bar.

At the bar, I had to play the Joe Cocker song (You are So Beautiful) for Stacie. She MADE me. I also played Milkshake by Kelis for Jill (because of Stacie's 21st birthday party). I had to step in and take action for the behavior that our entire table saw happening (as in I know whose fiance Mike is, and I know whose fiance he is not.) I had to make sure that my sister got home at the end of the night, in her high heels, and that she was okay with her passed out fiance. We were at his house for a good hour in which the best man showed up. Why he showed after 1 am, I am not sure, but it proved a couple good laughs during the tense times of Mike throwing his phone because he couldn't remember his code.

Mom bought a round for all the girls that were around for the bachelorette party...except Stacie and me...what the...? Granny stayed out til close with us and many people knew who she was. I bought a round of shots for four people (only two of them actually wanted the shot). Coincidentally, this was the shot that put Mike over the edge and he was out the door throwing up. (I failed to mention that it was his bachelor party that night too.)

All in all it was a fun night, complete with the little meatballs in bbq sauce at the end of the night. yum! And Stacie, I think I speak for most everyone when I say a good time was had by all, and my favorite line of the night remains when you were walking by the bathroom door into the kitchen when we were at your place at the end of the night and you looked in and said, "Honey, please throw up in the toilet." It was like you were already married. That was classic.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Las Vegas and Bridal Showers

I have been quite busy since my last entry. (Has anyone gotten their postcard yet?) We were fortunate enough to get on the 5:30-ish flight last Tuesday to Vegas. The bad news was that Sonny got to sit in First and I had to sit in Coach. Even worse was that we were only a row apart. When we landed, I leaned forward to ask if he had his bag handy so he could put my book in, and the guy next to me couldn't believe that I was sitting in Coach while he was in First. I just replied, "It was his turn." Because it was.

We had a good time in Vegas. Sonny managed to lose all his money arriving at the AP on the last day with $3 left. I appear to have done better than him arriving at the AP with around $420 left. After getting a seat on the 7:30 plane without Sonny, I gave him $200, of which he gave back $100 and I got on the plane. It was sad to go without him but after they called the last three guys to the plane, two of them showed up and then there were these two girls around Stacie's age in front of us and the lady asked if they were willing to split up if she only had one seat. They thought about it and said 'no.' Sonny had already decided that we were willing to split up because I needed to get back if I had any hope of making my flight home to be at Stacie's bridal shower. I was okay with the idea until it was time to act on it. I cried when some lady offered me $40 for my seat because her friend was getting married on Saturday, but got on the plane at Sonny's insistence. I cried on the plane too for a moment before settling in to MY First Class seat. Too bad for that guy that missed his seat.

The time in Vegas was fun. I learned that I would much rather play blackjack on a machine (where I turned $20 into $140) than at a table with a continuous shoe (where I lost $240). I saw a man wearing capris. I heard so many languages, you would have thought I was at the Olympics. And I sat next to some guy at a dinner show that I don't think spoke English. At least that is what I am telling myself about why he was so creepy during the show. I decided that I like Grandma's favorite game: Super Jackpot Party. That was fun. I miss having Krispie Kremes around. I recommend 'The Deuce' for a break from gambling. Oh and I got a new purse that is big enough to carry everything I need (including my shoes, book, candy and my cosmetics) for $5. Sweet.

Stacie's shower was fun. Rushed, but fun. I couldn't get over the fact that we were being pushed to hurry up, as if there was some big thing going on after that everyone had to rush off to, and if that was true, then why come in the first place? The shower was scheduled to last from 2-4 pm but was done shortly after 3 pm. Good thing you rushed through all your gifts, right Stacie? I am glad that my shower was in a private home where I got to unwrap MY OWN gifts and look at them before passing them on. Sheesh. My poor sister being rushed through her bridal shower.

Monday, August 04, 2008

So much to do...so little time.

Do you ever feel like you have ten thousand things to accomplish and hardly enough time to even take a bathroom break? Then do you ever experience the flip side and have very little to do, if anything? Well, I have had a bit of option 2 this summer but it feels like for the past week, we have had this abundance of things to do everyday. That is good. Except that it makes me tired, so tired that as I sit here I have to force myself to keep my eyes open.

You see, the last two days I have been cramming to get the house all cleaned up and the laundry all done and a bunch of other odds and ends taken care of because tomorrow Sonny and I are off on our annual trip to...well, if you know, you are lucky, if not, you will have to guess. And no, the answer is not GF, even though we do get there often.