A Six Hour Cruise

This past Sunday I woke up in the beautiful furnishing of the Perham Super 8 motel. After some continental breakfast Anne and I went to the country club in Perham to celebrate my Grandma's 86th Birthday. We had a nice brunch, some picture taking and visiting. After about an hour I had to make the long journey back to the cities to pick up Nate at the airport. Yes, Nate is home. Most of you know that Texas (along with several other states) has been dealing with some ice. So, Nate decided to leave before the storm to come home. It took me a little over 3 hours to make it to the airport, but his plane was delayed an hour. That being said, I spent another hour in the car at a hotel parking lot waiting for his phone call. Don't worry - I stayed occupied by talking on the phone. Good thing I have unlimited minutes on the weekends. In a nut shell - I left Perham at 1:00 in the afternoon and didn't get home until after 6:00pm.

It is so nice to have Nate home. My uncle and his girlfriend Kathy have also been staying here for a few days. I never seem to get away from a full house. I really enjoy the company. My uncle is leaving Thursday for the trip back to Florida and Nate is not sure when he will be leaving to go back to Texas. I am not looking forward to saying goodbye again.

Grandma is 86

This past weekend my sister, dad, and I made the trip to Perham, MN. We drove up on Saturday and checked into the luxurious motel. We visited for a few hours at my aunt and uncles before heading over to see Grandma. She moved to a senior home in Perham last May and she tells that she enjoys living in a small town. Sometimes it can be a little difficult to talk with her because she has dementia. Here is a picture of my grandma, Anne and I at the country club where we had a nice brunch.

I had to leave a little early from the celebration because Nate was flying into the Minneapolis later on Sunday afternoon.

A Trip to Texas

Wow, I can't believe that it is 2007 already. Last week my sister and I took a trip down south to visit my mom. I hadn't seen her for over a year, so the trip was greatly needed. I want to first mention that Nate has taught me how to pack for a trip. Granted he wasn't here when I was packing, but he would have been proud. Granted I needed another bag for the way home, but that is what happens when you go shopping after Christmas. There are sales all over the place.

I want to first thank my Auntie Marsha. She spoiled us buy treating us to many meals. I can't say that we went hungry when we were there. Anne and I decided that we needed to fast for about a week for the amount of food we ate in the 5 days we were there. I also want to thank my mom too. She was a great host and I wish she lived closer so I could see her more.

We spent most of our trip in my mom's town. The interesting thing about where she lives is that it is in a dry county. This means that only private clubs can sell alcohol. This includes bars. So, I had the privalage of joining a few clubs while we were down there. During one our evening outings my mom and aunt decided that they were going to sing karaoke. Anne and I refused to take part in this event, but we were able to get it on video.

Our last night the four of us traveled to my cousin Heather's house in south Houston. We spent the evening at the Kehma Boardwalk where we ate at Ichibon's (Japanese Steak House). It was so good, but I needed to be carried home because I ate too much.

A Hard 24 Hours

Some of you may know that Nate is a foreman for a landscaping company here in the cities. Every December he gets laid off until mid - April. Last year he stayed home and collected unemployment. It was really hard to keep him busy during those months. Nate always has to be doing something. Well, this winter he has the opportunity to make some good money. The problem is that he has to be in Dallas, Texas to make this money. Yesterday he left for Texas. I cried of course. (He will be home by April 1st.) He will be working 6 days a week driving a dump truck for a company based in his home town of Mora. Living in a townhouse with 6 other guys from MN and sleeping on a twin size mattress. That doesn't sound like too much fun.

I am so thankful for my neighbor Diane. She has really helped me and has been there for me while I cried to her on the phone. (I also want to say that Kristin and Mike too. They also got the privilege of listening to me cry.) The good thing is that Diane told me that Nate will only be gone for 12 Grey's Anatomy episodes. That sounds a lot better than 90 days.

A Very Merry Christmas

Wow - I can't believe Christmas has come and gone. Now I am just waiting to bring in the new year. Nate (I am dropping the nick names for 2007) and I spent a few days in Mora to celerate Christmas with his family. Like usual we looked to Hailey for our main entertainment. She was really good at opening everyone's presents. Christmas Eve we made our way back to the cities to celebrate Christmas with my dad and sister. Christmas Day we met my dad, aunt and uncle at Mystic Lake Casino for their Christmas brunch. The good thing is that Nate and I played our favorite nickel machine and won a total of $60.

A New Addition

Yesterday was a big day in MotoRider's family. The newest member of his family was born. Monday Mandi (MotoRider's sister) was induced and MotoRider and I made the trip to Mora to welcome the newest member of the family. Mel, MotoRider, and I waited outside the room while Darren made his arrival. It was pretty intense because MotoRider and I were on the baby board for Darren to arrive on Tuesday, Dec. 19 or his cousins for Monday, Dec. 18th. It was 11:45 pm when they called the doctor and Mandi was progressing very quickly. The good news is that Darren waited until 12:26 am to arrive. It was so neat to hear him cry for the first time and be able to hold him right away. Here are some pictures.This is MotoRider and Darren about 40 minutes after he was born. He is adorable.

This is Darren and I later in the day after a few hours of sleep. We are excited to get to know him.

Last Weekend

I apologize that it has been over a week since my last post. I have been meaning to sit down and write this post. Last weekend MotoRider and I went to our neighbors 1st birthday. We had a great time. Here are some pictures for you to look at.

Here is a picture after the first fist full of cake. Good thing FavoriteNeighbor bought a special cake for Hailey. A few minutes after this picture was taken Hailey got it all over her face and in her eyes. Sorry I don't have any pictures of that, but I had to help mom clean it off her face. Hailey wasn't too happy that it was in her eyes.

MotoRider enjoyed teasing Hailey before she opened all her new toys. She also enjoys coming to our house to play. I can't wait until she can ask her mom if she can come over to the cool neighbors house. I am hoping she will ask this summer.

All By Myself!

I did it all by myself! That is right - I made a turkey dinner. Sunday afternoon my sister, dad, and Randy came over to our house and had a turkey dinner. I found the easiest way to make a turkey from Motoriders mom. All I did was clean and put the turkey in an oven bag and cooked it in the oven for 3 hours. That is it and the turkey was perfect. I was so proud of myself. We also had mashed potatoes, stuffing, green bean cassorole (my dad made), and bread.

I do have to mention the negative event from my dinner. I made my favorite pie that my grandma use to make. Anyway - I have made the pie in the past. (No problems than.) Let's just say that the pie was more like a soup that had to be served in a bowl. It tasted the same, but just would not hold it's shape. I was so frustrated. I even put it outside for 2 hours to see if it would freeze. Nope - that didn't work.

So my dinner was a success. I am official now!

Dentist

I never thought that I would have blog about my dentist experience today, but as luck would have it I am. Actually, the appointment went well. No cavities and everything looks good. It is what happened after the appointment that I am upset about. Just to give you a timeline my appointment was at 4:10 and I left at 4:45. At about 5:45 I was at home checking my email and eating my favorite Christmas cookie. (Corn flake wreaths with red hots.) Anyway, I wasn't paying attention and I bite the red hot with my front teeth. And guess what? I chipped my tooth. Yes, 1 hour after my appointment I chipped my tooth. Now I have to go back and get it fixed. Too bad I don't have dental insurance. Especially since I just paid $118 to get my teeth cleaned. Don't worry, because my company will pay me back at year end of the year.

Good thing is my dentist is cute! :)

An Urgent Matter

Some of you may recall my post about changing the headlight in my boss's car. Well, my fixing talents did not end at fixing the headlight. The other day my co-worker comes out of the bathroom and mentions that the toilet doesn't flush. At first I kept my mouth shut, but I had a feeling that I knew what the problem was and could fix it. So, I mentioned that I could most likely fix the flushing problem.

My thoughts were right and I was able to fix the toilet. Honestly is was pretty easy, but it was only a temporary fix.

Tonight as I was driving home my co-worker called me to tell me that there was an urgent matter that they needed my help with and that I needed to come back to the office. My first thought was "Great, I need to go to the grocery store so I can get home and make dinner. I don't have time to go back to work." I asked "What could this urgent matter be?" - "Well, the toilet won't flush again." I just laughed and said I would be able to fix it tomorrow morning.

Maybe I need to put these types of things on my resume.

Duties of a Maid-of-Honor

This past Saturday my good friend Jen got married. I met her my freshman year of college. Several months ago she asked me to be her maid-of-honor. I wasn't expecting to be her maid-of-honor. During the planning stages I started preparing to plan a bridal shower, and a bachelorette party for Jen. After some discussions I realized that a bridal shower would be planned by her aunt and sister-in-law and that a bachelorette party would have to wait until fall. I didn't mind, but I felt like I wasn't honoring my duties as the maid-of-honor and I was not worthy of this position. I mentioned to Jen that she could trade me in for a new maid-of-honor and I would make the announcement before the ceremony on the correction in the program. She of course didn't agree with me, but I had to offer up the idea. I also have to realize that she lives in Duluth and I live in the cities. This does propose a challenge.

In the end, the wedding was beautiful. It was perfect! Here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure. I do have to say one thing... I loved my hair!!!

On a side note: Motorider really surprised me. Normally, at least all the weddings that we have gone together - Motorider wears jeans and a nice shirt. I have given up on convincing him to wear dress pants. Anyway, I told Jen that I hope she didn't mind that Motorider would be wearing jeans to her wedding. (Of course she didn't care.) I was completely convinced that he would, but when we were packing to go - Motorider put out a shirt, tie, and dress pants. I couldn't believe it. Here is a picture of the two of us at the reception. Doesn't he look so good dressed up?

Happy Thanksgiving

I can't believe that Thanksgiving is already over and we only have 4 weeks until Christmas. Motorider and I went to St. Cloud and celebrated this festive occasion with his family. We spent the day reviewing all the Black Friday ads and eating. I also did my annual trip to ShopKo with Mel (Motorider sister's) and Angie (Motoriders cousin). I am not a big fan of shopping on Black Friday. I usually like to avoid the crowds, but this year I couldn't go because I offered to babysit Hailey (Motorider's niece). Motorider's mom was nice enough to pick up a few things that I wanted.

Hailey and I spent the day playing, reading, going on a walk, and taking pictures. Here are a few pictures that we took. I have also included a family photo of Motorider and I. Enjoy!!

Remember that you can make comments on my blog. I have made it so you don't have to have an account to make a comment. I enjoy reading your comments and it will let me know that people enjoy reading my blog. I don't want to be writing this if no one is reading it.

Black Tongue

You are probably wondering why I titled this one black tongue, well it is quite the story. Last week I stayed home because I wasn't feeling to well. I caught that wonderful cold going around. (At least I am getting it over with early. ) Anyway, I woke up the next day and went to brush my teeth and my tongue was black. Yes, it was all black. I was trying not to over react, but I was really freaked out by it. It came off when I brushed it off with my toothbrush, but I couldn't think of what caused this. I had taken some night-quil capsules the night before, but they were green and why would it turn my tongue black. I asked MotoRider and he just hugged me and said that I might be dying and than went to work.

I got to work and it just so happened that a nurse was coming in to give us flu shots, so I asked her about my little problem. The good thing is that she solved my mystery. She told me that Pepto-Bismol has been known to make your tongue black. And guess what... I had taken a chewable tablet the night before.

I do apologize that I didn't take a picture of this great episode in my life.

Naughty Puppy

This weekend was pretty low-key for me. My goal was to clean the entire house, put up my christmas tree and holiday decorations. I actually cleaned most of the up-stairs. When I say most - I mean... closing the door to the office, so the rest of the upstairs looks clean. The office is my "winter project". I will probably have to have another garage sale this coming spring. If you didn't catch earlier... I didn't get to the christmas tree or holiday decorations.

Anyway... my story begins on Saturday morning. I woke up and let CrazyPuppy out to play with the neighbor dogs. CrazyPuppy usually stays in our yard or the neighbors and I occasionally yell out the window to make sure he hasn't strayed to far from the yard. (To our surprise CrazyPuppy has not wondered too far from mom or dad.) While CrazyPuppy was playing outside our little neighborhood girl (we refer to as Crazyeyes) came over and was playing with the dogs in our yards. I think she played with the dogs for a good 2 hours. I enjoyed having a babysitter to let Crazypuppy release some of his energy.

I happen to look out the window and noticed that Crazyeyes was walking CrazyPuppy towards the front door. It looked like she had him on a leash, but actually it was a ribbon she wrapped around his collar to bring him home. Than the doorbell rang and Crazyeyes tells me... "Nikki, your puppy was being naughty so I brought him home." I said... "Thank you" and she left with no explanation on why Crazypuppy was naughty. We sure do live in an interesting neighborhood that I wouldn't trade for the world.

Deer Hunting

This past weekend MotoRider went deer hunting. I went with him to Mora, but I spent the weekend doing girl stuff. The point of this blog is... Well maybe there isn't a point, but I need to capitalize on different parts of my life. This is really my first experience with hunting. My dad was never a hunter and the only other person I really knew that hunted was Kristin's dad. I do remember going to her house to see the deer hanging in the garage. Anyway, I digress...

This is what I know about deer hunting... Guys (and some gals) spend hundreds of dollars and time getting ready to hunt. They have to buy the right gun (and even than they want a bigger one.), bullets (which are quite spendy), deer tags (to allow you to kill a buck and a few does), and of course the fashionable orange gear. So, it is deer opener and this is what happens... Remember this is from a non-hunter perspective. You get up at 4:30am to meet for breakfast before sunrise. You walk into the woods (in the dark) to your deer stand (which is hoisted in a tree about 10 feet above the ground) and sit. Yes sit and wait. I have heard rumors that they occasional fall asleep. Not only are you just sitting the temperature outside ideally should be no warmer than 30 degrees. Than when someone shoots a deer in your party you wait until it dies and than have to go and gut it out. Yes, cut through the deers skin and bones and remove the insides. (This is not for the faint of heart.) Once you have that done, you drag it to the truck to be tagged and registered with the DNR. After that you can either process it yourself or take it to a professional butcher. This does not sound like any fun to me. I told Motorider that this can something he does on his own and I would not participate in this adventure. I think he was relieved.

Waking up early, sitting in a tree freezing to death, and waiting are definitely not my cup of tea. I am hoping for some pictures to capture these moments in the next two weekend hunting trips. I guess we will just have to wait and see.

What would you do for your Boss?

Yesterday my boss took me and my co-workers out for our weekly lunch. As we were driving to our lunch destination... my boss was complaining that she needed to get her headlight fixed. So, I said..."That is easy... I could do that." My boss's reply..."Okay, we will stop and pick one up on the way back from work." Of course I was kind of nervous of her response. I had changed my Grand Am's and Camry's headlights, but every car is different. I read the manual and it didn't sound too difficult. The most scary part of the directions was when I needed to take out the entire headlight assembly. So, I called MotoRider (who is working about 1/2 mile from my work) and told him my plan and to be on call if I needed help.

We get back to the office and I notice I have left my purse at the restaurant. My co-worker says she will call and make sure it is there and that I will pick it up on my way home. I than realize that my keys are in my purse, so I have to get my purse now. The good thing is that I needed to go back that way because the stupid people at the auto parts store (which will remain nameless because they are not giving me advertising dollars to mention their name) to get the right one.

I borrow my other co-workers car and make the trip back to get my purse and exchange the headlight. Don't forget my boss's car is sitting in the parking lot with the headlight hanging off of it. Once I exchange the bulb for the correct one I start heading back to work. About 2 stoplights from the auto parts store I realize they gave me the high beam bulb and not the low beam bulb. Now I am frustrated and turn around and go back. I did learn that Yukan Denali's use the high beam bulb for both high/low beam headlights. (Just in case you needed to know.)

Once I am back at work - it takes me about 2 minutes to finish the process and now it is fixed. I am not sure if I would do it again, but at least I know I can do it without help. On a side note: Not only did I have Motorider as a back-up, my friend Rob (who fixes everyone's cars) works on the other corner of my office building making him back-up number 2.

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween plus one day. I can't believe it is November and it is cold. This morning I woke up and saw that it was only 20 degrees out. You see, Motorider and I have a clock that projects the time and outdoor temperature on the ceiling. It really makes it hard to get out of bed when it is cold out.

I am not a big fan of dressing up for Halloween, but Nate enjoyed in the festivities this past weekend. He decided to dress up this year. On Friday night I went to pick him up and didn't recognize him. I had to ask our friend where he was and he was a few feet away. I actually think he could pull off this look in real life...

Who Pays?

Have you ever gone on a date with someone you just met or a long time partner? If yes - there is always that undeniable question of Who is going to pay for dinner? Well, I have some advise on how you will never have to ask or wonder this question again. My advise of course comes from personal experience. My advise can be taken from the stories I am about to write about.

It happened last winter when MotoRider and I went to Subway for dinner. Normally we take turns on who will pay and a quick conversation at the cash register determines this. But this time was different. MotoRider knew what he wanted so he placed his order and I was quick to follow with mine. Just as I am about to finish telling the sandwich maker what I want on my sub. MotoRider turns and says... "I have to run to the bathroom. I will be right back." At first I don't care, but than I realize what he has just done. He left right when the decision was suppose to be made on who will pay... So, his absence has confirmed that I will be paying for this meal. When he returns... I ask about his quick disappearance and confirms my suspicions are true. That was his way of letting me pay for dinner.

The reason I am telling you this now is that he did a similar scenario to me just the other night. We were at Jimmy Johns (MotoRider's favorite sub place.) and he ordered first because it was my first time at JJ's. Once I placed my order I look to find MotoRider filling his beverage far enough from the register that we can't make this quick paying decision. (Plus there about 3 people behind me.) So, I had over my credit card.

Now you can try these tricks the next time you don't want to pay for dinner or want to avoid that awkward feeling. I do want to make one side note. MotoRider does pay for me on a regular basis and he did the other night when we went to see a movie. I just thought these were some creative ways to avoid this awkward moment.

A Weekend in Mora

MotoRider is home!! Friday I drove to Mora to see MotoRider. We spent the weekend with his family. His niece Hailey is so much fun. I thought I would post a few pictures from our weekend. We also celebrated MotoRiders sister Mandi's (Hailey's mom) birthday. It was a weekend of celebrating.

Here is a picture of MotoRider and Hailey. It is nice to see that Hailey finally likes MotoRider. It has only taken about a year for her to not cry when MotoRider held her.

Here is a picture of MotoRider and Hailey doing some reading. I think Hailey is reading to MotoRider.

Hailey also is very polite because everytime someone sneezes she says "bless you!" Let's just say that everyone had to sneeze.

Lap Dog

Last night sure was an eventful evening for our household. MotoRider has returned to MN from his hunting trip to Colorado. Even though he is in MN doesn't mean he is actually home. I guess there is a lot of work to be done after the big trip. So, the CrazyPuppy and FriendlyKitty are still lost without MotoRider. I won't go into details, but both animals did not feel very well last night when I got home. I have a feeling they thought I left them because I wasn't home at my normal time. They are feeling a lot better today and were enjoying my company last night when I got home.

CrazyPuppy has been a lot more protective over me and has been craving some extra attention. I have a feeling that CrazyPuppy thinks that he is a lap dog now. Everytime I sit in the recliner, CrazyPuppy thinks he can sit with me. It is kind of funny to see a 70 pound dog trying sit on my lap. I wish I had a picture to give you a visual. It is kind of hard to take a picture of yourself when no one is home. I am pretty sure FriendlyKitty wouldn't be able to take the picture.