Alex Girls

Yesterday and last night were awesome reminders of just how good I've got it. I've got some of the greatest friends in the world - and here are three of the oldest (as in - I've known and been friends with these guys since 7th/9th/10th grade!).



Since Julie's shower - we've been talking about getting together in the cities just to scrap. It worked out - in the emails it sounded like we'd have a few hours during the day to scrap, relax, visit - whatever we wanted to do. Nancy was spending the weekend with her sister's family in St. Louis Park - so wanted to head back that way before it got dark. We wrote out directions, hugged, posed for the above photo, and said goodbye.

I really thought Julie and Mike would have to leave soon after that - as they'd be heading home (about 3 hours away) and wouldn't want to be driving too late. To my surprise we spent another 6 hours after Nancy left looking at old pictures and talking - and then we dug out my old VCR, plugged it in (it still works!) and watched our Girls Weekend videos from 1996:



and 1997:



It was a lot of fun - my face hurt from laughing so much - and the videos brought back so many great memories and times we've had together.

Here's to my "Alex Girls" - I love you all and can't wait 'til "Girls Weekend '07!"

The Quilt

Ok - I waited til today to post pics of the quilt - so it would have it's own "day" :). I started this baby about 3 years ago. My friend Terry's sister knew I wanted to attempt one. She gave me a photo copy of a pattern, shhhh, and brought me to a fabric store. (To do this again - I would totally shop with coupons and sales - do you know how expensive flannel can be???) Anyway - I carefully chose rich reds, yellows, and blues to match Lonny and Jaime's (at the time) living room. It was fall. Must have been fall of '03. I worked at Terry's sister's house. She had a rotary trimmer and cutting mat. I cut squares for hours and hours. After that night, I didn't pull this stuff out until this past spring. I opened my cutting mat and trimmer that I had purchased just DAYS after that first night - for the first time here in MPLS - Spring '06. (ya - I know).



I finished cutting squares. Cut more squares out of the batting material - and then the fun started. I started making the little "sandwiches" by pinning flannel, batting, flannel and then sewing an "X" over it with gold thread. The sandwiches were by FAR the best part of the project. Then, I put the sandwiches together to make 9 stips of quilt. Then, I sewed the 9 strips together. At this point, I was so proud, only to find out that the most time consuming part of the quilt was ahead of me - the cutting. So I had to now take scissors to all the unfinished edges - and cut them - so as to cause fraying when washed.

This is what brought me to Christmas - and I was able to present this cut quilt to them -but I wasn't done. Finally, yesterday, I brought it to a laundromat (for the industrial sized machines - and so as not to clog my lint catcher). Another friend suggested I wash it with a product called "color catcher" - which I did - and so far, none of the colors have bled into each other. I was very happy with the laundromat results - and my first "Rag Quilt" turned out exactly as I had hoped!



I hope Lonny and Jaime enjoy it - but it's already proven to be a hit with Alice, Icky, and Nipsy - so that works for me too!

:)

Happy New Year!

Well - it's 2007 - and here I am. My Christmas break seemed really short. Mom and dad were here and then gone - even tho we did a lot in the short time they were here. Then I had a few days to myself - and before you knew it I was back at school! Ok - I did manage to sneak in some fun. Julie took me to a Timberwolves game (went to another one just last night also - if you're keeping score - that's 3 games this season!). Her tickets are even closer than our upgrades from the other time Paul and I went.



It was a lot of fun. Here we are - Julie in her Christmas Wolves hat - and you can even see the kids behind us who kept kicking our chairs the whole night! :)



New Year's Eve was outstanding. We had our first real snowstorm of the season - which was ok - since I had my jammies packed with a plan to stay at Heidi's new condo. Let me tell you - she put out quite the spread! She even had her punch fountain going! Julie and I brought snacks (enough for a party of 20 or so) and Heidi prepared a four star menu - steak, shrimp scampi kabobs, fresh green beans, baked potato, and we had a chocolate fountain with things to dip for dessert.



I don't think I stopped eating all night - I for sure donned my jammies a little early - to take advantage of the elastic waist band! - as you can see in our "Just before the ball dropped" timed-photo!



So, I'm back at school and back into my more normal routine. Hope you are having a wonderful start to the new year!

Merry Christmas

Christmas morning with the family!



I woke up this morning to Lonny calling me like it was "old tyme." Like back in the day when he'd wait as long as he could (usually around 6am) before waking me up to tell me what I got in my stocking. Then we'd both wait as long as we could (usually another hour) before waking mom and dad.

I got dressed and joined the rest of the fam (at Lon & Jaime's) for gifts and Christmas breakfast. We had a nice time before mom and dad had to head out to the airport. I found some time in the afternoon to go to a movie with the Hens - then stopped home to let the dogs out before heading back to Lon's for some leftover Christmas dinner. I just got home - let the dogs out - and now fed them . . but neither puppy ran for the food. Strange . . they should be more than ready for dinner. . . .then I found this.



I guess the puppies couldn't wait for me to get home - they helped themselves to the rest of the orange cookies and donuts from pierogi/cabbage roll making day. Huh. Guess I'll be getting up a few times tonight with sick puppies. We'll see. Ugg.

MERRY CHRISTMAS to ALL!

Little Red Hens 2

Today was the second annual Polish food making day!



We waited until this weekend so the Queen Hen could join us from Vegas! Mom and dad have been in MN since Wednesday night - and we planned to spend today cooking pierogi and cabbage rolls for Christmas dinners. Heidi arrived around 8:20 this morning . . and the people didn't stop coming! Mom and Dad, Julie, Michele and the girls, Lon & Jaime & Alice, Mary Joy and Greg, Jon and Genevieve - even uncle Jim and cousin Fred stopped by!

We cooked, ate, gossiped, talked sh*t, laughed, and some drank. Some drank more than others. It was fun day as my apartment was full of family and laughing! Baxter and Bella enjoyed being under foot - and loved going outside with grandpa!



Even as we (my generation) are still learning and trying to perfect our ethnic food techniques - we dragged in the NEXT generation. Kelsey and Abby got right into it. I think they enjoyed it - they should have - they did a great job!



Here are the (cool) cousins who hung out today (the Jeromes and Nordins) - including THREE future Hens - Kelsey, Abby, and Alice.



Now for a little relaxation, gift wrapping, and re-grouping! Tomorrow and Monday will be busy days! Merry Little Christmas Eve to you all!

First Week of December

Ok - It's December again - and it's been a busy week. Last weekend was the craft fair (finally!) - and I got to spend the whole day with Alice! I was kinda bummin'- because I'd figure she'd get cranky - and I'd have to take her home (therefore missing something) . . . but she held out. All day. Like 12 hours. Like I was kinda hoping she'd need to go home and take a nap. I needed a nap. :) It was a great day - I hung out with Alice pretty much the whole time - but also covered for Lon and Jaime when they needed P breaks - and if anyone needed food. Alice and I took a few walks around the place in the stroller - and even a few in the Baby Bjorn. Here's the smiley girl near the end of a long day of fair'n. (This is actually her 2nd outfit - I didn't get my camera out until after she'd messed the cute "Books by J-Me" onesie she had on.



Even though I REALLY could have crawled into bed and slept until Sunday - when I got home from the craft fair - I changed clothes - and waited for Donnie and Julie to come over so we could head out to see Me First and the Gimme Gimmes. It was a great show.



Some highlights:

1. Donnie got a kick ass parking spot (which rubbed off on me the following day).
2. Some guy paid Julie $5 to get the bartender's attention (which almost cost us any relationship we had already established with this cranky guy who needed a break - real bad).
3. We got a spot on the rail - so could actually SEE the band that boasted the most expensive tickets the Triple Rock had ever seen. (yeah - worth it).
4. A good time was had by all - and we deserved it!

Back at school this week (well sort of). Out of the last 10 school days - I've only been in my classroom for 5 of them. What can I say - I like meetings. Lots and lots of meetings. I WAS at school yesterday - to get pumped up for wrestling season (which started last night!). Before I kicked off my 4th(?) (or is it 5th?) season of keeping the books for our high school's home wrestling meets - I ran down to TG to catch Vanhtha's PREMIRE as Girls 9B Basketball coach. He did a good job. His team won. I think he's pretty proud. Maybe even a little giddy. Go V! Here's a pic of him coaching - he was in the zone. Totally.



Ok - so just got back from Lon and Jaime's. Was sufferin' a little "Alice withdrawl." - I hadn't seen her for like four whole days! Anyway - wanna know what the dogs do when they're "starving to death" and mommy isn't home? Yeah - they find the candybar in her school bag that she bought like 2 weeks ago and then forgot about. Know how dogs get to a candybar that's nicely lost in a school bag? They chew it. Yup. A nice little hole. In mommy's favorite bag. Hmmm. Good thing mommy's good with a sewing machine. Naughty puppies. No, dad, I did not beat them - but Baxter was PRETTY guilty looking. I wish I had my camera out when he lowered his head, looked up at me with those pathetic doggie eyes - and tiptoed - not kidding - TIPTOED across the hardwood floor to lick my knees. (That's puppy for "I'm sorry.") Whatever. It's just a bag. And it was probably my fault for not feeding them for 2 hours. Sheesh.

Ok - That's a nice "update" for ya! Happy December!

Thanksgiving in Vegas

I left for Vegas Tuesday night. The flight was pretty uneventful - I even got to watch the new Pirates of the Carribean movie. Even tho it took a long time to get to mom and dad's from the airport - ahem - once we got there - all was well. Mom, Grandma, and I got pedicures on Wednesday and Sue and Bob joined the party on Thursday. Thanksgiving dinner was shortly after Bob and Sue arrived. We ate alot (duh)! We had all the normal stuff - turkey, stuffing, potatoes, yams, cabbage rolls, and potato sausage. And of course - pie! We had the free Pumpkin pie from Santa Fe Station and also cherry.



Of course there were leftovers - so I tried the Pampered Chef recipe I learned just last Monday. (& now mom has leftovers of the leftovers!) Grandma's cousin, Valerie came in from AZ and mom and dad's neighbors, Ed and Lynn, walked down the block for said leftovers. :)

A holiday with Grandma and Grandpa is not complete without many rounds of cards - and this holiday did not disappoint. I think I may be a little ahead - but Christmas is right around the corner - so I'm not counting my nickles just yet!

Here's a favorite shot from my trip. Three generations of cutie pies! Mom, Grandma, and Me.



Coming home on the redeye last night - wasn't terrible. I was bummed that the flight was too late for the movie. I had to listen to my iPod, try to ignore the woman behind me - who couldn't decide if she wanted to or did NOT want to use her tray, and sleep sitting up. Oh well, I made it home - Julie came and picked me up even tho she was comfy and warm in her bed when I landed - and I was in my own bed by 5am.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

Becky's Married!

Saturday morning - Amy and I took off for Fargo. We arrived around 3pm - so before we checked into our hotel - I drove Amy around campus a little. I showed her one of my apts and where my dorm once stood. The wedding was at 5pm - a very pretty evening event. (the church was across the street from ANOTHER on of my apartments - so I made Amy check it out as I drove thru the parking lot - also - took the long way home - so drove by my little run-down house I lived in on Main - in total - Amy saw 4 of my former dwellings!) We enjoyed the reception that followed - and even enjoyed retiring a little early to the hot tub and some beers. Either our age showed a little - or the fact that we weren't with a big party group - I think we were in bed - watching TV by 10:30! It was a fun weekend - some girl chat and bonding . . . oh yeah, and of course - Becky's married now.

It's A Boy!

Luca Stefano was born November 15th in Thailand.
He weighed in at 7.04 lbs.

Luca and Mommy



Luca and Daddy



Welcome to the world Luca! - I can't wait to meet you!

Crazy Night

Ok - yesterday (Tuesday) was kind of a crappy day at work. To say I was crabby is an understatement. Pretty much anything that could go wrong, did - and I didn't like the kids too much - so that didn't help.

The night was looking like a beacon of light in an otherwise yukky day. My boss from soccer/wrestling had called me and asked if I'd like tickets to Tues. night's Wolves game. I'm like - heck ya! I ended up taking Paul with me - I mean come on - Wolfies and Vikes - they're kinda our thing. (ok - were - but it was still fun).

Anyway - so we get there - our tix are up in Timbuktoo - like row P in some corner section - but hey! We were at the game - and it was free! I had paid $9 to park - but hey - the tickets were free - and I had visions of a Dome Dog (or whatever they call those huge slabs of hot dog at the Target Center) dancing in my head. Except for new seats and scoreboard - it was kinda like we remembered it. I spent the pre-game watching the cheerleaders and Crunch more than anything else. I actually enjoy the non-basketball entertainment that goes on at the T-Wolf games - and I was telling Paul about how Crunch comes to our school's "Pride Rally" and kinda takes over - and acts like the "emcee" - yadda yadda yadda - and how he was great at the Wolves scrimmage that was at CPHS a few weeks ago. (ok - I Heart Crunch)

Not too long after that - Here Comes My Man walking up the steps to our nosebleed section! Paul nudges me and says here's my chance to "high five" my hero. Well - Crunch didn't high five me - but he pointed at the two of us and held up 2 fingers. We're like "yeah - two of us" - and he holds up two tickets and motions for us to follow him. We grabbed our stuff - and ran down the steps after him. When we got to the landing - his human escort told us that Crunch wants to upgrade our seats and we should follow him! We had to practically run to keep up with him as he went down stair after stair - and in the end - Crunch showed us to our NEW seats - on the lower level!

It was so cool! That's NEVER happened to me before! I was giddy! (But trying to act cool - cuz we were obviously underdressed for our new section - and I didn't want all the "richies" to know we didn't belong there - but yeah - I was giddy!) Being so close to the court - I had to whip out my camera - and with the zoom - I got a few good shots of KG up close and personal!



We stayed for the whole game. Here's a shot of me standing in the aisle of our NEW seats. - to get an idea of how close we got.



Well - I never ended up getting the Dome Dog - yes - I'm cheap. I thought it better to get a McRib (yes! they're back!) on the way home for like $4 - instead of an $8 hot dog! :) Just as we were crossing the river into Nordeast - Annie calls. (She had been at a cooking class.) She was quite upset - maybe even crying - and quickly blurted out her deal. She had broken down on her way home (luckily before she hit the freeway - but UNluckily on the corner of Washington and Broadway). We changed course - and headed straight for her. I actually stayed on the phone with her while we drove there - she had already encountered some strays knocking on her window - people telling her to move her car (duh!) - and even a blind guy who had to feel his way around her to get by!

The tow truck arrived about 20 minutes after we got there - and both Ann and I were truly glad Paul was there. There is a reason why you wouldn't want your car to break down in North Minneapolis after dark - and I'm glad Ann didn't have to be there by herself for very long - and I'm glad I wasn't the only one there to "protect" her! Anyway - Aaron from Gopher Towing - was AWESOME by the way - got her up and towed (ok - it took like 45 minutes - but I'm sure the crackhead trying to tell Aaron how to do his job - wasn't helping anything!) :) Even though I found a few times to giggle - here's how Ann felt about the situation:



SO - Annie got her car towed to Bobby and Steve's in Columbia Heights (I love this place - but am glad I haven't had to see them since I got rid of my old car!) Paul headed home - and I brought Ann home to Osseo. It was after 11pm when I finally got back to my house. Didn't get my Dome Dog. Didn't even get the McRib. I settled for a bowl of cereal - and went to bed!

A crazy night. I was tired all day today. But it was fun! And hopefully a fun story to read!