Minnesota Christmas

Surprisingly Gracie Lou didn't rip open any presents under the tree early, she just sniffed around while we were opening them. We had a really nice Christmas. Jason and I went to midnight mass, opened a few presents and headed to a friends house for a fabulous Christmas meal. It was a great holiday weekend!
Gracie Lou even got some toys...her very own stocking arrived in the mail from NY! I'm not sure who had more fun with the toys, Gracie or Jason lol.

Digging Out

We got a present that keeps on giving....a snow storm lol.  It dumped more than a foot of snow on us, which is less than predicted.  It kept Jason busy.  I shot the video with a new toy we got for Christmas.

At least they're creative...

There aren't too many decorations that shock me.  You've seen one, you've seen them all - until I found these.  I have to hand it to these homeowners, I haven't seen anything quite like this....

 

They've changed a classic

Generally, I'm all about moving with the times but this may be a bit much.  Have you seen what they have done to Monopoloy?  What once served as a good family game that taught children how to count money now involves credit cards!! Yea, there is no play money anymore.  Every player has a credit card that is swiped through a machine when you want to buy something.  You can even mortgage property.  Sounds about right huh? Let's teach kids you can just swipe your credit card for anything.

The board looks the same, but all the properties have different names.  Park Place is now Times Square, Kentucky Avenue is now Disney World.  They even changed the pawns.  The hat, shoe, and thimble are gone.  Now there is a dog in a purse and a segway (a motorized bike)

While it does disturb me a little, I have to admit Jason and I had a good time playing it lol.  We both did some Christmas shopping Saturday, and Jason came home with it as an early present.  We played for hours - that part hasn't changed.  (Yes, it's another testament to our crazy night life lol)

Do you think they'll start messing with Candy Land and Battleship next?

Rockin' around the American Legion

Saturday night we had the chance to take in the sights and sounds of the holiday season. We went out and listened to ‘Little Elmer’s Christmas Combo.’ One of our friends is in the band, known for its polka music, holiday tunes, and warm head gear.  The band started in the late 90’s by recording their own version of ‘Elmer’s Tune’ for the father of one of the band members whose name is Elmer. From there the band took off, and now has their own cult following.

 For this performance, they were playing at an American Legion so I was expecting an older crowd, but let me tell you this crowd can move! There was a swarm of older people dancing up a storm. Apparently, polka music, teased hair, and blue eye shadow is alive and well in MN.

There was a small group of us there to cheer on our buddy Chris Sehnert, the guitar player and singer. We had a great time.

Baking bonanza

Christmas time always meant baking in our house. My Gramma used make homemade peanut brittle, and eventually passed the recipe and the tradition to my mom. We’ve made dozens and dozens of batches over the years. If you’ve ever made peanut brittle, you know it’s quite a process. You have to stir constantly, use a candy thermometer, and then quickly spread this gooey mess on pans. My mom has all of this down to a science. My sister and I had certain jobs to do when she was baking this – it really does take more than one person to do it. Every time, without fail, one of us drops a blob of it on the floor. It’s not easy to get up, it typically leaves a sticky spot. My dad always joked, “I know it’s Christmas time when my socks stick to the floor.”

Since I’ve been on my own I’ve never attempted to make peanut brittle myself. I just feel like it’s something that the three of us should do together. Instead, I’m working on my own little set of Christmas goodies. I baked up a storm Sunday. I made fudge, chocolate covered chex mix, sugar cookies, and peanut butter cookies. Of course, I burned a batch of peanut butter cookies (Jason’s favorite) They were hockey pucks lol. But everything else turned out well, so watch your mailbox for some holiday treats from MN!

You've gotta see it to believe it

A police officer was about to finish up his shift this Saturday morning, when he caught something out of the corner of his eye. It was this large, furry creature running around in the woods about a mile from our house. The officer was able to get a little video of it on his dash camera, they had some experts check it out and you'll never guess what it is. It's a cougar! Yea, a cougar. No one knows where it came from, where it went, or what to do with it if it pops up again! Check out the video the officer shot!  Crazy huh?

A winter classic

It's that time of year.  It's cold, wet, and snowy.  You know what that means?  It's time for my favorite winter story.  You know the one where a reporter stands outside in the snow and tells you how to prepare for the cold weather - as if no one has ever experienced winter before.  Yea, we know we look stupid.  I have no idea why producers love that story.  I think it's revenge.  They want to get back at us for something we did to them lol.  Revenge or not, I just about guarantee I will do this story at least once this season.  Here's hoping my live shot goes better than this girls though....

Welcome to Rockefeller Center

On Saturday the three of us set out to cut down a Christmas tree.  Josh, Jason's twin brother who is visiting MN, came along to experience 'the Joy of Christmas' or so it became known as throughout the day.   We all piled into Jason's Dakota, made a pit stop at Taco Bell where Josh introduced us to cheesy gorditas, and headed to a tree farm near by.

We roamed around the forest, freezing our butt off and every time one of the guys thought the entire thing was crazy they would say "Ah, the Joy of Christmas."  Well, we may have out done ourselves this year.  We wound up cutting down a 12ft tree!  That's not a typo, it really is that tall.  We have really high ceilings in our den and we wanted a tall tree to sit in the corner.  Well, we got a tall tree alright.  We had a hard time getting into the house and standing it up right, we had to lay it down in the den and figure out a strategy.

How big is the tree at Rockefeller Center in NYC?  They use a crane to haul in that sucker!  We could have used a crane as well!  All we need is an ice skating rink lol.  We had to stand on a ladder to decorate the thing.  I know, we're nuts. 

After several hours of decorating, it looks pretty good.  Massive - but good lol.  

Timber!

Christmas has always been a big deal in our family.  For me, getting a tree has always been my favorite.  I am like a little kid roaming around in the woods looking for the perfect evergreen.  Now the tradition has added meaning since Jason proposed to me last year while we were cutting down a tree. Well, this year I'll get a triple dose of tree chopping lol.  While I was home I went with my parents and my sister to cut down two trees - one for my parents house, the other for my sisters apartment.  (Jason and I still have to go get ours lol.)  The weather was pretty nice when we went.  As usual we found a few trees we liked, but then couldn't find them again in the maze of look alikes.  We finally found two good ones, sawed them down, and loaded them in the truck.  We decorated both trees - they look nice.   This Saturday its our turn.     

A blast from the past

While I was home, I got a chance to hang out with my sister and her boyfriend.  They live about 30 minutes from our parents, in the small rural town of Croghan.  It's the kind of town where time has stopped.  Old brick buildings and a small train station decorate the main street.  It's a town where Tim really does own Tim's market.  He and his wife run the store and know everyone who walks in by name, including my sister Ashley and Jeff.

It's a town where you can still find a soda fountain, where a small candy kitchen churns out all your holiday goodies, and a maple syrup museum holds the pride of Upstate NY.

Top left: Wishey's Soda Fountain * Top right: Croghan Candy Kitchen

Bottom left:  Maple syrup museum   * Bottom right: Ashley and I outside of museum

It really is a cute spot.  No bright lights.  No traffic jams. Just honest hard working people. But in a small area like this, there are still a few things that make me chuckle.  Among the the buildings dating back to the early 1900's is this sign  'Cows are us.'  Between that and the one stop shopping experience at 'Stumps' you can't but laugh. 

Let's be honest...

I hate flying.  I went home for Thanksgiving to see my family and to do some wedding planning.  I was supposed to land around 1:30pm on Thanksgiving.  My mom was hosting the family get together this year and planned on eating around 6:00pm, giving me plenty of time to get home - one would think.  Well my first flight was canceled. My connecting flight was delayed three times.  I missed Thanksgiving dinner.  I got in at 7:30 only to find my luggage was lost.  Yea.  I hate flying. 

Aside from the rerouting, delays, and eating a Thanksgiving chesseburger at Chili's bar, I had to deal with an anal flight attendant.  This woman woke me up because an inch of my purse wasn't shoved under the seat in front of me.  And then she checked on me twice to make sure I was buckled up. Now, let's be honest -buckling up on a plane is the stupidest thing I've ever heard.  When was the last time you heard of anyone surviving a plane crash because they were buckled up??  NEVER.  And using your seat as a floatation device is even more comical.  No one has ever been found floating in the Atlantic after a plane crash because they hugged their seat cushion. 

Let's just say I'm glad to be home.

(The whole trip wasn't bad though...more upbeat posts to come)

Bizarre bulldog

Ahh Graice Lou.  Typically she does something to entertain us on a daily basis, and this is one of them.  She has an odd way of sitting on the stairs.  She actually puts her front paws on one set of stairs and her back legs on another.  It doesn't make any sense to us lol.  These stairs face the front door, so I think she does it to get a good look outside but it certainly doesn't look comfortable.  But she's not playing watch dog all the time, she finds plenty of time to lounge about too lol.

Christmas chaos

The Christmas chaos begins!  Jason and I went out to do a little Christmas shopping yesterday and found long lines everywhere.  We went to the Outlet mall a few miles from our place and got stuck in a snarly mess of traffic.
It's an outside outlet mall and it was a pretty nice day so I'm sure that added to the crowds. After making our way to the stores, we really didn't get much done lol.  We bought a few things for ourselves and came up with some ideas for others but that's about it.  Next time we need to go with a list!

Cheap entertainment

We're addicted.  Jason and I are hooked on the card game Skip-bo.  When we went camping over the fourth of July, we bought a card game to play while we were hanging out near the fire. (I had played it with my sister a few times and thought we would try it out)  We'll we're hooked.  We were so into the game we were willing to play even as we were getting attacked by mosquitoes!  Our campsite was right on Rice Lake, near Owatonna.  That was months ago - and we have been playing the card game ever since!  It's a pretty basic game, but for some reason it entertains us.  We highly recommend it. 

 (Rice Lake)

One rough story

Don't get me wrong, there are some days the stories I cover seem a little dry. Like any reporter, I try my best to jazz up a story but one reporter in Ohio went a little too far lol.  You gotta check it out.  Who does this???

Date night

Yes, we lead a wild life.  Our idea of a great night consists of playing nintendo wii in our cozies (my word for pj's)  lol.  Anyone who has played the wii knows you look like a complete idiot playing it.  We have a hunting game where Jason actually sets up a sort-of gun mount, by propping the controller up on a pillow on the coffee table - this way he says he can get a 'steady shot.'  In a racing game, I have to sit perfectly upright on the couch with both of my feet on the ground to race my best.  Oh yea, it's quite the competitive sport around here.  There is no messing around lol.  Check out our characters on the game...look familiar? 

I told you ... we look a little silly flailing about in the living room playing wii.  Yup, a wild life.  But hey, we're happy.

A fresh idea

If there is one question Jason and I are always asked its, "So when is the big day?"  Even people in the wedding party ask us, "When are you getting married again?"  I've never been good with dates either, so I get it.  Because of this Jason and I are thinking about sending out 'Save the Dates' - you know a little magnet or postcard or something to remind people when and where we'll tie the knot.  So I went searching for a new idea...something other than a magnet or a postcard with our picture on it and I came across this.  You gotta watch it.  It's the best 'save the date' I've ever seen.

A rough day at work

It's been a rough week, and it's only Tuesday lol!  I woke up this morning and was convinced it was Thursday, so when that reality set in I was not happy.  Then I get to work to find out I have to do a story about a day care provider who uses safety pins to pin children to the bed to discipline them.  What is wrong with people?
It got us talking about some of the crazy people we meet, and some of the crazy situations we're put in.  The one that came to my mind was the day we had a little mishap with the live truck.  A few months ago, I had to do a story about a new highway the state was building. They've talked about this stupid highway for 30 years - no joke - and they were finally going to put it in.  We're supposed to go live with the story at 4.  We got out there and tried to find a spot out of the way of traffic to set up.  So we drive through a field....and get stuck.  I'm talking mud covering most of the tires stuck - and we have 20 minutes before we have to go live.

So now we have to get someone with the highway department to hook up cables to get us out, and at this point we know there is no way we're going to go live - we don't even know if we can get the truck out!!  So the photographer and I look at each other and say, 'who is going to call the boss about this one?'  I got to make that call....it was by no means pleasant...but we didn't get chewed out either.  We didn't go live, but eventually we did get the truck out and I had to direct traffic so we could bring the truck back onto the main road.  That was a rough day...it makes this week seem a little better.

Wanted: Tropical Paradise

We're still working out a few details for the wedding.  We need to find a photographer and a dj.  And I'm still working on the bridesmaid dresses.  I am going home over Thanksgiving to (hopefully) hammer out these details.  (Girls, stay tuned - I'm hoping to narrow down some dresses and send you some pictures of the top choices.)  But also topping the 'to do' list is the honeymoon!  Every time we think about the honeymoon Jason breaks into 'Kokomo' - you know the song from the Beach Boys lol.  Right now we're leaning towards Hawaii.  We've talked to quite a few people who have been there and suggest we spend the first few nights in Honolulu and then head to Kauai for the rest of the week.  We plan on talking to a travel agent after the holidays, but I don't think we could go wrong with this choice...I mean just look at the pictures....

60 degrees in November?

We had a cold and wet October, and now we're welcoming in November with 60's degrees.  It doesn't make any sense, but I suppose I should just be happy about the gorgeous weekend.  We got some yard work done.  Jason broke out the leaf blower and went to town.  Yea, Minnesotans not only rake and bag their leaves they recycle them too.  We load them up and take them to a yard waste recycling spot a few miles from the house. But it wasn't all work - we took Gracie Lou out for a walk.  She can't walk very far without her tongue dangling from her mouth, but she always leads the way lol.  

This is the dam.  It was built in 1914 to generate electricity, but in the 60's it became too expensive to operate so it was shut down for years.  Then in the late 90's they opened it up as a park.  There is a walkway on top of the dam and a park all around it.  (I know - the water looks pretty gross lol)

Surprisingly enough it's a pretty popular fishing spot.  We saw about a dozen people there today with a line in.  They all seem to be regulars.  They all seemed to know each other, and yet they all had their own fishing territory.

Gracie was pretty tired out by the time we made it back to the car.  She's been laying on the couch ever since lol.