Something Creative » Embarrassing stuff I make Abe do to entertain me.

Celebrating Nine Years

Nil17 — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 02:59:28 +0000

Today is our ninth wedding anniversary. I can’t believe it has been nine years… In some ways it feels like I’ve been with Abe for a lifetime (in the best of ways). Abe gets me, balances me & survives me.

This year we had planned to have dinner out some place semi-nice… Nothing too fancy since we have Magnus in tow.

Actually we spent our day in the hospital. I had a regular prenatal appointment & ended up being admitted for overnight observation. My blood pressure was high, Marit wasn’t moving much & so after a failed non-stress test I was sent to ultrasound for a BPP test. We happily passed the BPP but the amniotic fluid is low & Marit is a little small for being 35 weeks.

The plan for now is to push IV fluids overnight & see where things are in the morning. We are praying that I’m able to go home & wait a couple weeks before delivery is necessary…

Umm…Surprise?!?!

Nil17 — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 21:32:20 +0000

I am getting closer to my due date & frankly I’m a little freaked out! I can’t imagine how I’m going to deal with 2 kids within 15 months of each other. Magnus is a busy little boy & I know things will only get busier when he finally decides that our stairs must be conquered. However, this isn’t about how stressed I feel when I allow my brain to think about September 23rd. Last year when Magnus was born he was in the middle of a group of kids on my side of the family. We had four babies in 2 months…talk about busy! Anyway, what with everybody else being pregnant & me being on bed rest I never got to ~~enjoy~~ experience a baby shower. (My lovely, awesome, gorgeous friends Tish & Nic on Twitter did throw me a shower there which was fun & a total surprise.) This time the idea of a shower got bandied about several times but nothing specific was ever really said to me. I let it pass after mentioning that I would like one but that was about it. It wasn’t something I was going to force anybody to do & I feel awkward in those situations anyway. While I enjoy a good party I REALLY don’t like them to be about me. Anyway, it seems some of my family got it into their heads that a surprise shower was the way to go…so they set the wheels in motion for an August shower. Apparently the plan originated before the July 4th weekend ‘cuz my lovely husband was busy whispering in ears during our trip to the Cities. I haven’t yet dealt with Abe on his part in the whole scheme…but I will…he knows how much I hateloatheabhorr surprises. As it goes I was unsuspecting until a couple weeks before the event. Then my suspicions were aroused a mite when one sister-in-law suddenly had a lot of questions regarding decorating the nursery, what we were hoping to have ready when the baby arrives etc. The matter was dropped & I pushed it to the back of my mind. After all I had a sick baby, an unborn baby & a heat wave with which to contend. However, the cat came screaming, hissing & scratching out of the bag the week before the shower…I won’t reveal how I found out…in fact I pretended ignorance of the whole affair & acted out my part of the surprised (and pissed about being surprised) mommy-to-be. We had a good time & I am so thankful to have such amazing sisters-in-law & other family that went to so much work. I am so blessed to see how much love our little girl already has & how excited everyone is to meet her next month.

Clubbing with David

Nil17 — Sun, 01 May 2011 00:33:49 +0000

My brother R turned 27 this week. To celebrate, his wife invited a bunch of his friends & siblings to go out to dinner followed by dancing. Abe & I were glad to go out for dinner & Magnus is always enjoys checking out somewhere new.

We had a nice time at Granite City Brewery & after eating the votes were in to go out to Club David for dancing. As we had Magnus along we needed to make quick arrangements for a babysitter (a huge deal for me since we’ve never left him with one). R’s little boy had a sitter & she agreed to watch Magnus too. We dropped him off; after a quick feeding, diaper change & clean jammies…. He was playing quite happily with a pair of pacifiers when we snuck out the door.

SWEET FREEDOM!

As we drove toward the club we discussed ditching my brother to go see a movie in the theater or heading home for some uninterrupted sleep. Although we were tempted our Jeep was soon parked near the club. Walking along the sidewalk, Abe reached for my hand & laced his fingers through mine. It was the first time in 10 months there wasn’t a baby between us. We sauntered into the club, presented ID & met up with the rest of the party.

The music was pumpin’, videos playing on flat screens scattered throughout the room and lights flashing off the dark red walls. The décor was very nice. Beautiful dark red/maroon walls with clean white accents on the pillars & around the ceiling, random statues & framed photos of Michaelangelo’s David and strings of lights around the bar.

Other than our group of ten there were few people in Club David when we arrived. There were a couple of 60 something men sitting at the bar doing some serious drinking, a 50 something lady with crazy person hair (think electroshock) & bib overalls and a couple of girls in their mid to late 20s. A rather motley crew for a gay bar (or at least it used to be).

Drinks were ordered (a beer for Abe & a cranberry juice for me) and the few of us who like to dance hit the floor. R, my brother D & his wife Z and I were enjoying ourselves…in the groove and having a good time. As R cut loose on the floor two girls started dancing closer & closer to him. Pretty soon they were bumping & grinding on R…and his face showed more than a little dismay. He slipped away as graciously as possible & made a beeline for his wife who was standing on the edge of the dance floor. Meanwhile we kept dancing, chatting & having a good time.

Soon R was back on the floor with us & a Britney song was on… (sorry, bad pop culture reference). Not only did the two girls quickly join us but they wasted no time in once again getting all up in R’s business. This time one of them decided that a quick grope was in order. R jumped about a foot in the air, screeched in horror & RAN off the dance floor. I nearly collapsed I was laughing so hard. After his groping R would no longer dance unless his back was securely against the wall. Somehow the two girls didn’t get the message that R is quite happily taken (how they missed the wild & disturbing (to me) public displays of affection between R & J I will never know).

Anyway, the crowd was starting to grow & the people watching entertainment grew exponentially. A group of 3 men came in & grabbed a table in the back. There was nothing to call attention to them at first…then we noticed that one member was “Hipster Gay Man”. It wasn’t that he was gay but rather the tragically hip air & clothes that offended me. Classic dark hipster glasses, shirt & tie and the clincher—skinny white linen “man-pris” (you’ve probably never heard of them). No I’m not kidding…it was hilarious & sad all at the same time.

All in all it was an entertaining night out & one that we will hopefully repeat if we can find a babysitter.

Seen Your Weiner or Why I Prefer Hooters

Nil17 — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 04:17:13 +0000

Lately life has been hectic & overwhelming to the point where I’m a hot mess. Recently I’ve been off work quite a bit (ok in the last 2 weeks I’ve worked a total of 5 days) and it has reinforced my need to be done at my current job. However I digress…this post is a review. As a recent music reviewer (which I so enjoyed & hope to do again) I now take pen in hand ….ok keyboard in hand…to give you a review of a new restaurant in Sioux Falls, SD. If you are looking for an adventure in eating I will admit that Señor Wiener is an adventure. However, it’s a frightening adventure filled with double entendre of the lowest caliber. There is nothing clever about the innuendo & even less cleverness in the menu. Purporting to be a novelty hot dog restaurant this place lays on the schtick with a trowel. Wieners, wieners everywhere & no relief in sight (bring your R O L A I D S—just so you are prepared). Now from the outside there’s room for a few snickers & groans at the over the top signs. Just inside the door is a large statue of Señor Wiener along with posters of our “hero” in iconic places/events. The menu is basic & has the potential to be pretty good & seemingly inexpensive. The offerings start with bratwurst, all beef hot dogs, corn dogs or Polish sausage. Choose your white or whole wheat bun & whether you want grilled, boiled or fried. For $2.50 it seems like a good deal…then the pick-pocketing begins. For every additional topping that’s hot (chili, cheese, grilled onions etc) or every cold topping (onions, pickles, peppers, shredded lettuce, shredded cheese, mushrooms, olives etc) it is an additional $.50 & sauces (mayo, hot sauce,barbecue sauce, gravy) are an additional $.25 with the exceptions of traditional ketchup & mustard. Seriously if you want a Chicago-style dog with all the fixings: onions, relish, tomato, kosher dill pickle & sport peppers your hot dog now costs $5.00 plus tax. Add in fries at $2.50 & a soda at $1.50 and you are looking at $9.00 plus tax for a very mediocre meal. Now for the rest of the restaurant…okay I get why Señor Wiener is funny in the most sophomoric of ways. I mean the first time I heard it & saw it I snickered like a 13 year old. It’s funny but the over-the-top nature makes Hooters seem less absurd. Here’s a small taste of what I encountered ….

All in all I will take a trip to Hooters any day. Sure there’s more butt cheek on display there than I really care to see & if I wanted to look at that much cleavage I could do it for free at home but their wings are pretty damn tasty. If I am going to tolerate body parts (or pseudo body parts) with my meal I want something that is more like actual food & less like a chew toy for my dogs. Besides let’s be honest—I’d much rather have some hot girls serving my food than a snotty nosed teen with a wiener complex.

Cave-ing

Nil17 — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 06:09:20 +0000

I’m feeling like a trip down memory lane again today & this is another one the that makes me laugh ‘til I cry &/or snort. Whenever Abe really wants to make me laugh he will mention our one & only “real” vacation. Back when life was good & full of promise we decided to take a vacation…so I planned a week long trip to the Black Hills of South Dakota. I booked online & we chose the first week in October. (I will never go there during the summer again if I can avoid it…it was heavenly to be there & avoid the crowds.) A lot of the tourist traps were closed but the good stuff was open & we were able to wander around without feeling like we were in a herd of cattle. When I booked online I chose a package which included passes to the Badlands, Mount Rushmore, Wind Cave & Custer State Park among a few other things. The Badlands was amazing & we spent a glorious afternoon off-roading through the southern part—totally alone on the windswept buttes & as we drove out at sunset we were lucky enough to drive through the herd of buffalo. We were so close we could nearly touch them. They were completely undisturbed by our presence so we coasted along for quite awhile watching them. I was lucky enough to experience a truly primitive moment when one of the large bulls looked me right in the eye as we drove past… Anyway, one day we drove to Wind Cave National Park…this was my first time in a cave & although I am a bit claustrophobic I was a trooper (at least I think so….) and just held my breath when I got scared. It was amazing & beautiful — some of the best scenery I’ve ever had the pleasure of photographing. Someday I’ll get ambitious & post them here. One of the most memorable things about the tour was our guide…. Picture, if you will, a tall woman…ordinary in every way, very pleasant manner & the speaking cadence of Keanu Reeves in “Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure”. Yes you heard me…suddenly all I could see was Keanu in drag…it is a memory that both haunts & amuses me. In order to give you the full experience please take a trip with me into the cave….(this is all in a California surfer voice…very nasal from a woman born & raised in the Midwest) It went a little something like this— “So, like there’s tons of cavers (I’m thinking what in the world is a caver?) in like Russia & Mexico. They’re super great & like laid back and stuff. So if you think you wanna go caving (the English major shudders even thinking that word) like just go & you’ll like have the awesomest time. I mean I went caving in Mexico right? It was just really like so fun. All these people just like hang out in caves, ya know, and explore. There’s just so much cool stuff to do when caving….there’s the tunnels & the crawling around….and then there’s like just all this really cool stuff to see.” Now I understood what she meant when using “caving”….I am fairly well-read & I love words so it wasn’t that I had trouble grasping the definition. However, I am much more familiar with the term spelunking ….the word “caving” falls into that horrible place where words are turned into verbs for no good reason. I personally don’t understand it…just saying. Well, the monologue went on like that for some time…since just typing like that has given me a nervous tic I must stop there. ( It was amusing & yet horrifying as Abe & I had to listen to that for over an hour. I nearly threw myself into a pitch black hole to avoid it but Abe restrained me & promised me a stiff drink if I could soldier on. If I can find the video we took (I believe we have audio of the guide talking) I may have to attempt an upload so you can get the full effect. We did have a great time & it was fascinating to see all the formations. The one thing that always comes back to us though is the “caving” & the “cavers”….so like anybody wanna go caving & like totally have the funnest, most awesomest time ever? (in my best Valley Girl accent).

Fleur de Lys Surprise

Nil17 — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 03:40:27 +0000

My husband is amazing! He is also so sneaky & patient it stuns me. Our 7th anniversary was August 31st & with everything so hectic & topsy-turvy we didn’t really celebrate. We did have a quiet evening at home & time together is always the best. Today I got a surprise belated anniversary gift. It is the most beautiful necklace & Abe worked with one of my Twitter friends @Silversmyth who designed & made it. I met Julie through a mutual friend who had also worked with her in designing a custom piece. I was so impressed with her work I told Abe if he ever wanted to get me something special that he should contact Julie. I also bookmarked her website http://silversmyth.com/ so that I would remember to keep up with her ever-growing collection of jewelry. Now I know ya’ll are either super curious to know what the necklace looks like or you’ve seen the pics on Twitter already & my gushing has made you sick. For the curious I will satisfy you soon….for you sickies—well I hope you have your own sick bag ‘cuz I don’t provide them. (okay so not the best pic of me ever but focus on the shiny silver necklace & it’s not so bad…) The reason Abe picked the fleur de lys is because he knows how much I love that particular symbol. I like it because it is pretty, French & can be very swirly & girly. I love it because the 3 pieces have always represented us. Abe & I on each side & the middle is us together…the band around it is the bond we share as friends & spouses. To me it represents how we are separate people yet we share a life & a common goal. We have promised to remain bound together through this life & it is something I cherish. Seeing a fleur de lys reminds me of how lucky I am to have found Abe…he puts up with my moods, supports me when I’m struggling with depression & laughs at my jokes, wild stories and how I will be completely exhausted at 2 am yet suddenly be unable to stop talking to him about all the little weird thoughts that swirl through my brain. It reminds me that in spite of how VERY aggravating he can be with his secret smiles, teasing & purposely misunderstanding my every word just so he can watch me stamp my foot I adore the ground he walks on. So to Abe I say—Wow I can’t believe you managed to surprise me! Thank you for making every day that we share special just by being you. I hope you are happy with my reaction (I was totally speechless for at least a minute) & that you are proud of me for being so good & not putting my great detective skills and undying curiosity to work so I could find out what you were sneaking around about for so long. It was so freaking hard not to rip that box open at lunch today…it, like everything else with you, was totally worth every agonizing second.

My 2nd 5k

Nil17 — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 05:52:14 +0000

Today was the big day…for the 2nd Annual Friends of Don Sather 5k Run/Walk. Which I was pre-registered to participate in (along with Hubby this year). First a little backstory on the whole event. {The inaugural event was July 10th of last year (2008) & was put together to help raise money for medical bills associated with the treatment for ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) for a local man. His classmates (Class of ‘71) got together & decided to help Don out. It was a great success & we raised a significant sum of money to help him out (along with some of the proceeds going to ALS research). This past spring Don passed away…but his hope was that our little town would keep the 5k alive in his memory & work to help find a cure for ALS…which brings us back to today.} After last year’s walk (I did it alone…on a whim) I was determined to do it again this year. I did set some specific goals for myself in the meantime. I wanted to be in better shape & prepared to better my time this year. Did that happen?…well not so much. With my always irritating gallbladder & life too I rather lost my way in the “get in shape” plan. I started out pretty good too…was working hard every day, building my stamina and looking forward to a good showing at this year’s race. Then I got sidetracked, run down & my motivation took the last train out of Slugville. Still I decided to go ahead & walk this year…while I don’t feel so awesome (damn gallbladder) I decided I could still do it. So this evening I laced up my new Ryka’s (not brand new…I’ve been using them in my WiiFit workouts so they’re broken in just not road worn), stretched my body out good, grabbed a water bottle (after I took the shuttle from parking to the starting line…which in this case was a very comfy Lincoln Navigator. Ahh, I love riding in style) & promptly set off at the sound of the air horn. This year the course was through Savanna State Park rather than on the highway. There were pros & cons to the new course. Being in the park it was much cooler and there was some shade. Of course we were walking on a narrow gravel road rather than a newly paved two-lane highway…this meant some soft places where the runners especially had to watch out. Since we were in the park there was no way to avoid any traffic either…this meant sucking on a giant dust cloud every time someone drove past. As we walked…I picked a pace I was comfortable with which meant we were quickly left behind…the course wound downhill back toward the park entrance. I was feeling good, enjoying the sunshine filtering through the trees & my mind was alternating between composing the beginning of this post and providing some encouraging thoughts. We wound up & down hill (this was a con—-too many hills!!) to the park entrance. As we approached the turn I was feeling great…except for the blister I could feel forming on the outside of my right instep. Our pace was reasonable & we didn’t seem to be too far behind some of the other walkers. The official time announced for the 1st half was 32 minutes. I felt pretty good about that…considering I’m almost completely out of shape (no wait round is a shape right?) So we began our trek back to the finish line…up hill. The sun was filtering down in longer shadows and the aspen leaves rustled impatiently at our passing. Wanting to keep on pace I pushed myself up the hills (did I mention the hills?) and lengthened my stride on the few downward slopes. Of course I’m starting to breathe hard, my legs are feeling it a bit & my gallbladder is hammering against my right side. Abe in the meantime has had his headphones in, calmly keeping up with me…no accelerated breathing, no sweat pouring down his back. He didn’t even have to lengthen his stride as I chugged up the hills (yep that’s right…it was hilly). {Side note: Of course keeping to my pace Abe’s stride was pretty comfortable so unless for some insane reason I broke into a full on run he wouldn’t have to lengthen his stride very much anyway} I was starting to wear out…my right foot felt like it was on fire (stupid random blister. I even made sure I wore the right socks, my shoes were broken in properly…I did everything like I was supposed to do it.), my side was getting a bit tight & I could feel the strain beginning to show. Yet I kept going…not slowing my stride. When we came to the final hill…yeppers that right, the end of the course was nothing but uphill all the way… I kept my head down & pushed myself the whole way. After crossing the finish line I headed straight for the most secluded picnic table where I yanked off my right shoe & sock to reveal a 3” long raw, blistered spot just below my instep. Not pretty…it still hurts like crazy but in sandals it doesn’t rub so that helps. All in all I feel pretty good. I’ve got some sore muscles but nothing like last year! My final time was 1:04 so I did just a little bit better than last year’s time without the feeling of an impending heart attack or stroke. Hmm, maybe I am in better shape….

It was so cold in Minnesota….

Nil17 — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 04:33:23 +0000

*How cold was it?!* It was so cold I got this picture this morning. That’s right it’s “Guitar Hero-Subzero” Okay I’ll be honest, Abe was getting vehicles running & warm while I was supposed to be getting ready to leave for Duluth. In between checking vehicles he came in to work on his Guitar Hero.