Giddy with Anticipation

Well, outside of the brand, this picture pretty much encompasses our upcoming extended weekend. If you haven't been apying attention, Jessica and I are heading to Chicago to visit our friends Bill and Melissa. We leave Thursday and come home on Monday. While there, we are gonna take in a Cubs game, go to Second City Theater for some comedy, and be tourists. Tons of fun to be had and the weather down there looks great. Cub and I got out and spent a few hours on the lake yesterday (Sunday). We caught a few fish and had some good conversation with locals. Have a good week!

The State of the State

Here are a few of the local headlines from a Minnesota News Outlet, Kare 11, from 04/24/2007:

Minnesotan killed in Missouri plane crash
• Teen charged with sexual assault of child
• The annual war on mosquitoes has begun
• House bill ramps up Capitol tax debate
• Virginia Tech student touched by home state support following shooting
• St. Paul woman mauled by pit bulls

I take a few minutes out of each day to look at what is happening both globally and locally. The world is not looking great, but what's worse, Minnesota looks to be spiraling along with it. I read to stay educated and am starting to feel as though news outlets report only horrible stories and sensationalize them for effect. It is simply depressing. I want to stop reading these headlines but feel as though I will be left behind in conversation and knowledge of the happenings in my state. I should stick to The Onion for news, at least you get a laugh. The State of the State: Not so much. What do you think?

Random Mumblings

* I want to go golfing right now.

* Joe cannot hit a homerun in softball, ever.

* Does anyone know what a chemical peel is? I don't.

* I spent 4 hours in 1 meeting this morning. Imagine what I was thinking at hour 3.

* We are wide open this weekend and open to suggestions.

Ready for the lake

Wow, has the climate changed around here form my last post. It is going to be almost 70 and sunny here in the great white north today. I realize that all I have been posting about lately is the damn weather, and I am committing to stop now. Last weekend was relatively calm. Jessica and I drove 3 hours for a 40 minute wedding ceremony. The groom works for me and they actually sang their vows. Interesting. My siblings and their families came up to our house on Sunday. We had a good time and I am working on getting better at being around screaming children. They usually push my panic button. My cousin Blake is in town from the U.S. Air Force (my beloved Air Corp). He is stationed in Italy and hopefully will spend some time out in the SW Minneapolis Suburbs. Susan, Ed's sister and our Aunt, is flying into town soon too. So, that is the news from here. We are hoping to get out and do some fishing and golfing shortly. Go Twins and Wild.

A Note To Out-Of-Towners

DON'T MOVE HERE! This is an actual picture out my patio door from today, April 11th at 0900. It sure makes it hard to drive to work when it is 75 miles away when it is doing this.

More Family Time

Well, we have made it to another Easter people. And with it comes Easter egg hunts, chocolate bunnies, and more reasons to get a family together. We are all heading over to my Mom's place (and Ed's of course) for both an egg hunt and a family dinner. Unlike most of you, I will not be attending any church this weekend as I am not affiliated with one. Last weekend was spent surrounded by other family and the weekend before was with most of Jessica's family. Sensing a theme? Me too. From 81 degrees a week ago, we woke up to 2 degrees this morning with wind chill. Love it. We are going to Second City Theater while in Chicago to see something called "Between Barack and a Hard Place." I am notably right of center but I do get the humor of both sides of the political spectrum. For those of you not in the know, Second City Theater is a comedic theater helping to start the careers of John and Jim Belushi, Chris Farly, Chevy Chase, and others. So, we are looking forward to that. Happy Easter everyone (assuming you celebrate).

RAIN!

It is raining, and raining, and raining. It is supposed to be gross like this all weekend here in Minnesota. The good news is that the ice is almost off of the lakes. Time to get Cub's boat on the water and catch some fish. Jessica and I have a reception to be at this weekend (if you want details, ask Cub). Work is good, life is good, and the beer is cold. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and enjoy your friends and family.

work work work...

Like my good friend Joe, I apologize for the lack of posts lately. My job has kept me completely overwhelmed and the same goes for my wonderful wife. This weekend should be fairly quiet. There may be work to be done (work-work, not house work), which I love doing on Saturdays. I am currently in a hard rock mood. I have been listening to a lot of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Shinedown, Black Label Society, Zeppelin, and Reverend Horton Heat. It is keeping my spirits up as work gets more and more demanding. The snow is almost completely gone here in the great white north thanks to light rain and temperatures in the 50's. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and I am always looking for new artists that you all are listening to.

My Kinda Town

A man walks into a bar, orders 12 shots of whiskey and begins to slam them. The bartender looks at him and asks "you are drinking awfully fast, is something wrong?" The man says "Well, if you had what I have you would be drinking like this too." Bartender asks "what do you have?" The man says " $.75 cents." Cub, you love that joke, stop lying. Jessica and I have planned a trip to Chicago for the first weekend in May. We will be there visiting my good friend Bill and his new wife Melissa. We are heading to a Cubs game while out there. Our view should be a lot like this picture. Jessica and I are also working on putting a deck on our house. It is a large project that we have been constantly discussing, but hope to come to a decision on design in the next week or so. We are very excited to have a deck and will plan a deck break in party when it is complete. Have a great week.

Please get here Spring!

For some reason, and it is rare, but if my brother picks up a nasty sickness I do too. I actually feel like the guy getting a wooden mallet in this picture. The flu has been crippling me for the past few days but I have the best wife in the whole world who takes care of me. I get a little whiny when I am sick. We all made it through the snow storm, although as you may have read in the previous post, some had it worse than others. We watched the nieces last weekend, had a great time. I want to get all of your opinions on the following poll: What band/singer/artist would you consider your top 5 right now? Here is mine:

Chris Knight
Gov't Mule
Hank 3
Social Distortion
Scott H Biram

POST!

Snow Storm...AGAIN?

Once again, we are going to digging ourselves out of yet another snowstorm over the next few days. I am seeing reports of 10 to 20 inches coming down. That does not bode well for my 75 mile commute to work or installing new customers at work. Oh well, the inconveniences of living in Minnesota. We just completed an enormous expasion in our services today. We have spent the past 9 months working on this project and it has finally been completed. We are going to become a case study for the manufacturer of our equipment because we are the only company in the world who have taxed the equipment like we are doing now. So far, it has been working great but please keep your fingers crossed for me. Jessica and I will spend our Friday night watching the nieces, which I am looking forward to. Otherwise, we are both open.

We're Tracking Snow

It is finally happening! The snow is about to pound us up here in Minnesota, and it is NOT screwing around this time. We are talking 10 to 17 inches over the next 2 days. I have my snow blower running smooth and will try to stay ahead of it. Jessica will be out helping me clear the snow. We went to the grocery store tonight and it was jammed with suburbanites loading up on groceries to keep their kids entertained. To those of us without kids, it was amazing to see what parents would buy their kids. A LOT of preservative laced, sugar overloaded horrible junk food just to keep the little kids happy. Unbelievable really. Anyway, we will be here all weekend so feel free to call and say Hi. Or AT LEAST comment on this! Have a great weekend.

Wow

I hope that all of you are doing great. I just thought I would update you all on the events upcoming and some that have passed. Last weekend we had our good friend Bill in town from Chicago. He is the type who does everything with intensity. Triathalons and drinking to name a few. Needless to say we had a great time on Friday night, then Saturday slowed it down a bunch but went to the bar for laughs. A bunch of buddies were there and I can't remember laughing that hard. Jessica and I went out ice fishing on Sunday and heard crickets for a few hours, I mean not even a bite. So, that was our weekend. My brother and I are turning 20 on Wednesday (maybe it is 31, I don't remember) so that will be just great. This coming weekend should be fairly quiet which will be a nice change of pace. Work has been nuts. We are about to begin a new coverage area and build for our company that we have been working on for 10 months. I am not sure if you have noticed, but the media is STILL talking about Anna Nicole Smith. Does anyone still care about this? Did anyone care ever?

COME ON

Ok, new rule. Like my good friend Joe, no one seems to comment when they stop by. I would LOVE it if anyone who stops by would leave a NAME and a comment. Just so that I know I am not wasting time. Thanks so much.

Grammys and General

Happy Monday (severe sarcasm). Jessica and I decided to try and watch the Grammy Awards last night, figured it would invoke some emotions (probably anger). Anyway, The Police reunited for the opening which was very good. I also enjoyed the Chili Peppers. From there on, I was right, anger. I simply have gone so far away from MAINSTREAM pop culture that to watch it all unfold in front of me on an awards show is like watching a train wreck. I mean, Mary J Blige...DON'T CARE. Dixie Chicks, absolutely horrendous. Obviously, Jessica is not adding to this blog as her opinion differs on that. John Mayer was the only other artist that I enjoyed. Oh well, confirmation of my age and patience. Lots of activities coming up in the next week. Don't forget that Wednesday is Valentines Day. Buy your sweetie something nice, like a new iron. KIDDING! Have a great week everyone

WHO CARES!?!?

I finally found something to write about that I am a bit upset about. So, Anna Nicole Smith dies. She is the headline all over the world for it. She was a f#$%ing drug addict, a horrible mother, a horrible wife, and had a horrible past. So, she dies! What else was going to happen?!?! A family member called me yesterday to "break the news" to me. My response..."SO! Did you know the 2 more American Troops died today too, they aren't all over the news!" The people to the left and right of this post are heroes, they die defending this country, right or wrong. American Media, stop glamorizing drug addicts with pretty smiles and start telling the stories of the soldiers,airmen, and sea men who are dying for this country.

News and Birthdays

We made it back from our annual ice fishing adventure with a couple of bags of jumbo perch fillets. We caught a lot of fish and had a great time. We actually ended up at the same resort as Vikings Fullback/Tight End Jim Kleinsasser. That should explain how much we really were roughing it. A great time was had all around. We have a bunch of birthdays coming up in the next few weeks, most importantly, Jessica's is on Wednesday the 7th. We will celebrate at home on Wednesday and possibly be going out with the family on Friday to a nice place. My buddy Joe entered himself into a contest to make an album and I hope to contribute to that this weekend. I have a few songs that I have been messing with on guitar for a long time and hope they will make it on the album. That is the update. Have a great week everyone.

John and Dereeeen - clicky

A horse walks into a bar...if I remember right, in order to capture an audience the speaker is supposed to start with a little humor (emphasis on the little). The picture you are looking at to the left is the actual cabin that my Dad, my Brother, a family friend, and myself will be staying in beginning Thursday night until Sunday. Yes it is our annual ice fishing trip up to Lake Winnibigoshish (Winnie- CUB) for some fun on the ice. This is our fourth year of this trip and we all really look forward to it. Some years we catch a bunch and some years not. This year has been reported to be one of the best. On Friday the forecast says the high will be -6 degrees, that is the HIGH temp. It won't matter, the ice houses will be heated and we will keep a fire going in our cabin. This particular lake is about 4 hours north of the Minneapolis metro area and sits on a Indian Reservation. Wish us luck!

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!