Minnesota

I apologize for the lack of posting lately. I wanted to come back on here with something interesting to talk about, but alas, it is business as usual. The weather here in Minnesota has gone from depressingly warm for a winter into a polar plunge. I saw -11 degrees this morning on the ride into the office. I am much happier this way then when it is 40 in the winter. We are going to go out and do a little ice fishing this weekend. Now, if you are not sure on how this works, it is a science. You take a canvas enclosure, pull it out with a power auger, some fishing rods, some bait, and a small heater. Once you get out on the ice and chose your spot you drill holes and fish. I know it sounds like brainwork, but trust me people, it isn't. I took my niece Alex to see Charlotte's Web last weekend and had a great time. She is very fun. That is all for now. Have a great week.

Predictions for 2007

Once again, Happy New Year to all of you and I hope that you brought in 2007 with a good time. I wanted to start a tradition on this page with a few predictions for the upcoming year. Add as many as you would like:

1. My Company will begin swimming with the current rather than against it.
2. I will enjoy rewards from #1
3. Jessica will be completely satisfied with her job.
4. President Bush will say something stupid.
5. The Vikings will finish 8 and 8
6. The Twins will win the AL Pennant
7. I get to have a new neice/nephew (fact)
8. Jessica and I will go on a fabulous vacation
9. I will have a new boat
10. All of my buddies and I will take a trip fishing.
11. America will begin pounding on insurgents in Iraq, thus turning the tide and reducing troop numbers.
12. Osama Bin Laden will be found and killed by Marine Recon troops
13. This will be a great year.

Add away!

Happy New Year!!

Jessica and I would like to send out a Happy New Year to everyone! In case you were curious, this picture was taken in Maui while we were on our Honeymoon. We were about to board that horrible helicopter and take a tour of the island. Jessica loved it and I was near peeing my pants. New Years Eve my brother, a few buddies, and I will be heading to watch the miserable Vikings play and then everyone will be heading to Mike D's house for a few beers to celebrate the new year. We wish everyone the best in the upcoming year.

A Great Gift - click here

You probably do not know this about me, but I have been attempting to play guitar for a very long time. I go in stretches where I really work at it and long stretches where I cannot find the time for it. I do enjoy playing around a bit and even get together on a rare occasion with a friend to play songs together. Anyway, my brother got me a game for my Playstation called Guitar Hero 2. I tried it over at my buddy Joe's house and had a great time with it. I brought it home and have been slightly addicted ever since. It really is a ton of fun and even Jessica, who like me is not into video games, likes to play! I have resigned myself to realize that this is the closest I will ever become to being a true rock star. You can go to the homepage of Guitar Hero 2 by clicking on the title to this post.

Almost Here...

Christmas is getting ever so close, like anyone is ready. Well, maybe my Mother, but that is it. Jessica and I had a very crazy week again. Jessica worked late every night because she is dedicated as hell. I dealt with normal small business stress, which sucks for a short amount of time but usually comes together in the end. My company has a very strong group of people pulling the load and it will pay off. So, what's up for this weekend? We have revived an old family tradition of going to see the Nutcracker Ballet with the entire immediate family. Now that my siblings have children everyone felt it would be a good idea to revive the tradition. We are going to the matinee at 2:00 p.m. then out for dinner. Sunday is the first of 5 Christmas gatherings with the Jorgenson clan. That is always fun. We play games and laugh a lot. Now, I have asked my readers what they are doing for Christmas and NO ONE answers me. ANSWER UP! Have a good weekend.

Another Friday Post

Greetings! Some of you may recognize this picture, but if you don't here is the scoop. This was an actual picture taken at my bachelor party at a cabin on an ice fishing adventure. We even had adult supervision (Ed), yet managed to do this about every night. Well another week has passed and it has flew by as always. Work seems to keep the days zooming by. I love my job most of the time. The last few months have been a bit stressful but that is the way small business goes, like a rollercoaster. The guys have been attempting to plan a day of ice fishing for a buddy's birthday that is coming up. People already have their permanent ice houses out on the lakes! I think they are crazy, but it is natural selection if they die by falling through the ice on one of our many lakes. Planning for Christmas is happening right now. The usual negotiations for who is going where on what day. It is truly a challege having five sides of the family to see over the Christmas season (yes, it is called Christmas). Jessica has been busy at her job as well. Her company is moving locations and trying to gain more customers as fast as they can. If you know anyone who needs the hair on their body lasered off, let her know she will get a screaming deal for that person. I hope all of you have had a great week and the weekend is even better. We are hoping that the Vikings can actually beat the worst team in the universe, the Detriot Lions, this weekend.

Chicago and New Music

You ask why I have this picture on here and the answer is simple. I thought it was mildly amusing.
I cannot even tell you how fun Chicago was. I mean, it beat me up pretty hard, but it was fun. I did not know how much fun the city was, but I do now. Oh well, back to life as normal. I have some music to reccomend to anyone looking for new and different stuff to jazz up your MP3 players. Here it is:
Hard Rock: Army of Anyone - Self Titled (The lead singer is the dude from Filter and the band are the boys from Stone Temple Pilots, it is great).
Alternative Country: Chris Knight - Enough Rope (My Brother and I found him while referencing Hank 3, and he might be the best song writer I have ever heard. Think Hank 3 mixed with John Mellencamp).
Comedic Rock: Tenacious D - The Pick Of Destiny (Not for kids but awesome. Jack Black and Kyle Gass are back to take over the world with rock and it is fun to listen to).
If anyone else has any reccomendations, leave them here. Or just say Hi and leave your name or a comment.

Happy Thanksgiving (Another Trip)

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! The beginning of the holiday season is officially here. Sitting down with family, eating turkey and all the sides, oh wait, we are not doing any of that. Jessica and I are jumping into the car and driving down to Chicago for my buddy Billy's wedding. I am in the wedding and it is in downtown Chicago. Jessica will have to be pretty patient while all the traditional wedding activities are taking place. We are staying in an awesome hotel in the middle of downtown Chicago. We will be back on Sunday. Does anyone else have any plans?

I KNEW IT - click here before you read

Ahhh, I love to be right. I live in the southwest suburbs of Minneapolis and work about 75miles northwest in a town called St. Cloud. I am going to reserve my words, most have already been said. I do agree with the author. Here is my favorite part: "Just about the most joyless and depressing university town imaginable. If the endless below-zero weather doesn't kill you, its soul-killing culture of sheer hopelessness surely will."Basically, people just eat bad food at buffet-style restaurants and watch themselves get fat." Enough said.

Palm Desert Review

We made it back from California unscathed. A little tanner, a few more pounds, and a few good memories. The guys (Ed, Matt, Cub, and I) played a few rounds of golf, we all went out to dinner to some fabulous resturaunts, and we woke up every moring to the view you see to the left. Jessica and I had our own fantastic room and really enjoyed our time together. There were some fun adventures and one scary one. The scary one consisted of an attempt by Cub, Amber, Jessica, and I to drive about 30 minutes up into the mountains that you see and check out a little town called Idyllwild. We made it about 4 miles up the mountain road, which had unbelievable switchbacks and hills, until the ladies decided they were not interested in going any farther. It got a little crazy both on the road and inside the car. Mostly, we spent time laying by the pool and enjoying the sun and 85 degrees everyday. Now that I am thinking about it I don't think I saw one cloud all week. The resort was amazing and the drinks were cold. There were a lot of expensive cars and retired people as well. It was American excess and I loved it. I stood in a store that sold $10.00 shoes for $1000.00 and stared at a gross old man who got into his Porsche 911 Carrera 4 Convertible as he put his driving gloves on, put the top down, dialed his cell phone and took off. I was a bit disgusgusted but then realized it was plain jealousy. Ahh, to dream. In summary, we had a great time and enjoyed time with the family. I am happy to be back work...kinda.

Going on Vacation

We are all doing it, finally a vacation. My Parents own a place out in Palm Desert California and we are heading out there on Saturday morning. My brother and his family, my sister and her family, and Jessica and I will be meeting up with the Parents for a week of sun and even a little golf. I have massive anxiety over the flight out there, but that is typical and has to do with my control issue. Other than that, we should have a great time. It is 85 and sunny out there today and looks to stay that way while we are there. Palm Desert is about 20 minutes away from Palm Springs and has the desert and the mountains as background. Jessica and I have not been there but we will give you a review when we return. I hope you all have a great weekend and hopefully the Vikings will beat the hell out of Green Bay.

Friday Afternoon Post

I really wanted to post something interesting for a Friday afternoon, but it is B.A.U. (business as usual). I was looking through my iPhoto book and thought it would raise some comments to post this picture. Before you comment, let me explain. This was at a bar called "Frenchy's Rockaway Grill" in Clearwater Beach Florida May 2006. This was the first real night we were there, and the damn bartender liked us and GAVE us weird shots. I do remember something called a Florida Alligator, it was horrible. Needless to say, by the end of the night, we were in our happy places. I remember waking up the next day with THE WORST hangover in my entire life. It was then that I realized that I am too old for that nonsense and havent gone that far since. I, of course, blamed it on that damned bartender and Clearwater Beach. "Damn Clearwater Beach" I recall saying a few times. We all had a great time on this trip. I will post about my upcoming trip soon. Anyone else have any cool trips planned coming up?

Have a great weekend everyone.

Bob Dylan/Foo Fighters Concert Review - Click Here

Welcome back! If you actually clicked on the title of this post you can read the review of the Bob Dylan/Foo Fighters show from last night. I have a different opinion from the Star Tribune, however. When the Foo Fighters hit the stage for thier first acoustic show of the tour, we were so excited. That band can truly put on a great show. Dave Grohl knows how to work the audience with humor and stories. The music, of course, was also fabulous. A+ show from the Foo Fighters. Once Bob Dylan came on, the tone of the concert changed a bit. He was not playing his guitar rather he was standing in front of a keyboard for the show. I love his music, but I really had a hard time figuring out what song he was playing most of the time. The words to his songs came out with little rhythm and were really very raspy, making it hard to follow. I was looking forward to listening to the legend engage the audience with a bit of Dylan verbage, and again was dissapointed. Well, now I can say that I saw the man live and continue to listen to his music through recorded mediums. I am curious to those who are reading this post...What was the absolute best concert you have ever been to? Give me all of the details.

Nieces

I just wanted to show all of you the two cutest little girls in the whole world. On the left is Alexandra (Carrie and Matt's daughter) and on the right is Brooklyn (Cub and Amber's Daughter). I thought these cute pictures would bring a smile to your face and maybe make your day a little better. I love them both a ton. Have a great day.

POLITICS POLITICS POLITICS

I don't know about any of you, but I am overwhelmingly tired of the political ads running all over the television and radio. It would seem as though politics has lost sight of the true issues and have focused in on berating opponents. The ads take aim at the other party by digging into past personal issues, quotes that were said 10 years ago that are long expired, and almost child-like name calling. All of this in hopes to sway the "middle-of-the-road" voters who are not affiliated with a party. I will vote, it is my duty. However, these ads need to go away. On a side note, we watched "Meet The Press" last weekend. They are featuring Senate Candidates from different states. I was excited to see Mark Kennedy and Amy Klobuchar spar on issues. I was seriously dissapointed however. I am a republican, and Mark Kennedy did a poor job of defending himself, explaining himself, and debating topics. Klobuchar was much better in this arena. Granted, Kennedy is an accountant and Klobuchar is a trial attorney. I just hoped he would have showed a little better verbal sparring skills. Oh well, I know where he stands on issues. Any thoughts?

Hawaiian Earthquake

You may or may not have heard, but the Hawaiian Islands had an earthquake that hit 6.6 on the richter scale. That is a large sized earthquake and in any other place in the world there would have been an enormous amount of damage. Proving that Hawaii is the perfect place, the worst that happened from this disaster is the bottles of liquor at the liquor store got rattled off the shelves. I love that place.

Shooter Review

Wow, was that fun. We got down to the venue at about 1900 hours and decided to have a bite to eat at the famous Whiskey Junction. The burger was not that good but we didn't care. Once we got into the Cabooze for the show, we ran for a table and scored a nice spot. Jessica and Amber (Cub's wife) bought us beers and on came Tim Sigler. He was so damn good. He played a bunch of old school country, which got us all ready for Shooter. Tim Sigler is a local country artist who actually plays quite often at Floyds Bar, very ear our home. If you would like to see him go to www.mncountry.com. Shooter came on and the crowd went crazy! The show was fantastic. His band, the .357's were great too. If you have a chance to see him live, I highly reccomend it.

SHOOTER!

We are exactly 4 hours away from seeing one of the greatest concerts of the year! We are going to a small venue in Minneapolis called the Cabooze to see Shooter Jennings. The son of Waylon, true new Outlaw Country! I will post a review tomorrow. Have a great weekend!

Ok, People!

When you come here to our blog, I am now requiring you to at least leave a "Hi" in the comments. Show yourself please!

My...eh hem...Heritage

I have been receiving complaints from various sources about my lack of posts lately, apologies. So, with that said, we had a very interesting experience on Saturday night. My paternal Grandfather is not in the best of health and with his 80th birthday there had to be a gathering of relatives. His brothers, sister, spouses, and children made the journey from Parkersburg, West Virginia for the party. I have not seen many of them since I was a very young kid. My thoughts of that side of the family being completely disfunctional has been dispelled completely. They were wonderful people with wonderful stories. I was told stories of ourselves as kids that were truly entertaining. My Uncle Everett kept Jessica and I entertained with stories and philosophy. They treated us like family, insisting on hugs and inviting us to their homes. Parkersburg is on the border of Ohio just into West Virginia. Our family lived there for a short time when we were very young. They are still hillbillies, but they are proud of it as they should be. How about you? Any stories of the weekend? Any relatives who are crazy?