Gone Fishin'

This past Memorial Day weekend was spent 'up north' in Alexandria at the annual fishing trip. I could be wrong, but I believe this is the 11th year I've attended. The participants change every year as some people have other plans, but it's usually the same group of friends +/- a few extras.

This year marked the start of what could be a new tradition: Wine Tasting & Tour. Unlike the winerys the wife and I visited in the pacific northwest, the local establishment allowed you to sample approximately 20 variations free of charge and then showed you how wine is made. Obviously, the hope is to get you to buy a bottle or two (which I gladly did) and everyone is "happy."

Most of my friends have little ones which provided some additional entertainment. From making Smores and wearing them, catching 'fishes' and comparing who caught what, and random games in the lawn like "Pickle in the Middle" with a frisbee about 3' in diameter.

Otherwise, we drank more than usual (but not too much, as we're "too old"), played games, told jokes, laughed at funny things, etc. And no, I didn't catch a single fish - but that's okay. I still had fun anyway.

Attack of the 25-lb Salted Nut Roll

Part of the Lawn Bowling event last night involved a raffle drawing. This is no ordinary raffle, as there are several big-ticket items for those lucky enough to win them. A 37" LCD TV, DisneyWorld passes, airline tickets and gift certificates to fancy restaurants in the metro area were all up for grabs.

I always partake in the raffle as it's a good way to earn money for a good cause - and I might get something cool out of it too. This year, I threw three tickets in the hat for a 25-lb Pearson's Salted Nut Roll...and won! Here's a pic of it sitting in front of two employees:



It's enormous! We still haven't figured out how to cut it, either. I also won two round-trip airline tickets, which made my night (and $$$ spent on raffle tickets) quite rewarding.

Lawn Bowling

Tonight is our company's fundraising event for the March of Dimes: IT Lawn Bowling. It's always a lot of fun, but Mother Nature tends to spoil things by throwing rain at us - which means we can't bowl. 2005 - Rained Out Completely; 2006 - Rain Delayed...twice; 2007 - ???

There's a tornado warning out right now for the NW burbs, and a Severe Thunderstorm warning for us here in Minneapolis. The outlook doesn't look promising, but hopefully it will rain now and then stop - allowing the wind to dry off the grass and let us play after 7:30pm.

*crosses fingers*

Update: It poured for about 30 minutes later in the afternoon, soaking the green and cancelling the bowling part of the event. Oh well, better luck next year!

Random Observations

The weekend brought me to the following conclusions:

1) People don't know how to properly park in Dubuque, IA. (hint: it's with the traffic)
2) If a road is closed you can probably find a way around it...maybe.
3) There is absolutely nothing on local TV on Sunday at 7am worth watching.
4) Big celebrations don't necessarily mean a lot of square footage or thousands of attendees.
5) You should have more than 10 cars if you decide to have a car show and charge admission.
6) When the signs say "Left Lane Closed Ahead" don't wait until the lane ends to move over...id10ts!
7) My parents dog really isn't as smart as he lets on (and that's not much).
8) Cell phone coverage is getting better in the sticks.
9) My dad is old enough to start collecting Social Security?!?!
10) Wifey's little red Jetta really likes cruising at 80 mph.

That's all for now.

From The Suburbs to the Farm

"I like cows
And they like me
I like cows
Just you wait and see
They go 'moo'
Hey, mooove over!"
- Excerpt from the song "Cows" by The Suburbs

The wife and I are heading to my parents farm this weekend. I'm looking forward to it, as I haven't been back since Christmas. It's great to get out of town and away from city life every once in awhile. Maybe this time I'll teach wifey how to drive a tractor. =)

Adventures in Babysitting

The wife and I spent the weekend babysitting our 2.7-year-old niece Allison and 5-month-old nephew Will while their parents went up north for a wedding. The weekend was pretty uneventful, but since I got woke up early with a work issue Saturday morning combined with Will not wanting to sleep Saturday night I didn't get a lot of shut-eye. I'm paying for it now.

A shout-out to all you parents out there. Taking care of kids is a lot of work, and both Elizabeth and I decided that we're not in any hurry to join the club. =)

Food, Fun & Fire

Elizabeth and I were invited to join Heather and Adam at their house for dinner last night. We brought home-made beef jerky and it was enjoyed by all. They made turkey brats & burgers, excellently seasoned, on the grill with some tasty early season sweet corn on the side.

It was a perfect night to be outside, so we sat around the fire for a couple of hours. Heather made strawberry shortcake for dessert and it was quite yummy. After things got a bit chilly, we went back inside to watch Thursday's episode of "The Office."

As always, Adam and Heather are great hosts and we had a wonderful evening!

No Alternative

It's a sad day for Twin Cities radio. Our only commercial Alternative station, Drive105, has been replaced by a new format devoted to sappy love songs. I literally screamed when I heard the call sign while driving this afternoon!

Disney really pisses me off sometimes. Listen to this drivel yourself...even the logo makes me cringe.

Spider-Man 3

My good friend Adam won tickets to see Spider-Man 3 at the IMAX theater last night. He graciously invited me to join him, and we trekked 'south of the river' after work yesterday to get our seats.

Not only were the seats perfect (center screen, half-way back), but the movie itself was spectacular! We agreed that it's the best of the three. With multiple villains, good story line and superb special effects you can't really go wrong.

GO SEE THIS MOVIE!

And thanks again to Adam - you rock!