Day Two in MPLS - Part I

Day two had an early start. We needed to be at the Convention Center by 8:30 a.m. Having not been able to fall asleep as early as I had planned on Friday night (damn you, roast of Flava Flav), we both awoke very tired and very unmotivated to get going. We also both awoke with cravings, mine for Caribou Coffee (mmmm...mint condition) and he for Jamba Juice (he was SHOCKED by how many there were in the immediate area).

We got up, got ready and headed out the door. (Funny story about heading out the door at hotel rooms...ever since I can remember my dad has always taught us to leave the TV on and say something into the room when you leave...like "See ya guys later," or "have fun, we'll be back soon!"...even though there's never anyone else in the room. If I remember correctly this is to prevent people from breaking into your room because they think someone else is in there... are hotel room break-ins that prominent?! At any rate - I shared this with the BF which he thought was HILARIOUS and proceeded to do it every time we left...which would send me into a fit of laughter...and I'm sure also convinced everyone else that whoever was in that room every time we left had gotten us high as a kite for that kind of geeking out to happen)...I digress.

We tried to hit the sky walks...but they don't open until 9:30...then we tried to find the Jamba Juice/Caribou by car and failed. Eventually we decided we could just walk the 5 blocks it was from the hotel to the convention center. Because we thought we were skywalking it, neither of us had jackets on (yes, I DO know how cold MN is and yes I SHOULD have known better). So needless to say it was a VERY frigid, long walk. But we made it to the convention center.

This competition was for the Varsity squad only and given that I'm a JV coach and there weren't any JV girls there - this was my first chance to just watch a competition and not be responsible for a gaggle of high school girls. It's kind of nice to do it that way! I had given the BF fair warning that this was going to be exhausting, overwhelming & awkward for him...and I think he felt appropriately warned. His response midway through the competition was that he's never having a daughter...period.

All in all it was a good competition. I was sad I wasn't able to see their routine on Friday as it was all the buzz on Saturday. It was flawless. Saturday they performed well and made all of the parents/coaches extremely proud. They finished as Division II Champions and 3rd place in the Grand Champion round. There was a lot of sitting around between squads & performances (which was what allowed the BF to solidify his decision to not have a daughter). And in these breaks and pauses there was lots of time for the girls to interact w/ the BF. What 16 year old girls make up for in volume, they lack in tact. It was almost hilarious how uncomfortable and untactful the conversations were.

But most importantly - they finished well and he still loved me...even after 7 1/2 hours of non-stop high school cheerleading! And he left feeling better that he parents finally met him and realized that 25 year old their daughters have all befriended on Facebook is nothing to fear.

Stay tuned for Saturday part II in which we move from cheerleaders to sorority girls (seriously - how did I get him to agree to this weekend!?)

Minneapolis...you've stolen our hearts.

We'll get the suspense over with right away...he still loves me and if possible he loves me more.

Now onto the weekend...I started writing this whole post thinking that I'd just sum up the whole weekend in one post -but after I realized I was only through dinner on Friday and it was a LONG post - I'll start w/ just Friday, and save Saturday & Sunday for upcoming posts...

First things first - the drive there was a long one. It always amazes me how incredibly varied the travel time can seem to me (it very rarely ACTUALLY changes between trips but it can sometimes feel like it flew by and other times seems to drag on and on and on). We were fortunate enough to miss the snow falling for most of the trip - until we hit Eau Claire. (About 3 years ago I was driving back to MN from WI and the roads got really slippery & icy and I crossed 3 lanes of traffic on the freeway only to be stopped by the concrete median...since then, precipitation on the roads FREAKS ME OUT). Once in Eau Claire the snow started to fall, I FREAKED MY SHIT OUT, and we had to stop so the BF could take over the driving duties. However - once we were safely in the cities, the snow was beautiful. It was huge flakes falling, creating this totally beautiful scene out the window...romantic snow.

We checked into the hotel first. We stayed at the Marquette Hotel right near Nicollet Mall. It's been recently renovated and for the rate of $93, it was absolutely beautiful. (My dad hates when I reveal deals & steals that I get - he'd cringe if he was reading this right now). It's a great location - in the heart of a great part of downtown MPLS. We both agreed that if we could take the room home with us and make it our master bedroom we would've. And they've got great showers too - you'll have to stay there once for yourself to see....but it made me want to shower more often (which you know is quite a feat if you know me).After checking in we decided to go to Wasabi for dinner. I had been once before and it came as a recommendation from a friend. Since he loves Sushi and I knew they had many alternatives for the non-sushi eaters as well, I figured this would be a great place to go to. Dinner was fantastic. We started out w/ the Pork Dumplings & Yaki Tori Chicken. Both were very delicious. The BF ordered Purple Haze to drink which was Sake w/ Chambourd. It was REALLY sweet...I don't like Sake but I did try it! For entrees I had the Fillet Mignon Teryaki...it was amazing. So tender I could cut it with my fork. Perfectly cooked, the teryaki was delicious, not overpowering. It was a GREAT meal. The BF had 3 different kinds of sushi....I honestly can't remember what they were (yellow fin tuna? Spider rolls?)

For desert we had the Mochi ice cream...which was interesting but tasty. And also the tempura bananas (which were REALLY good). It was a delicious dinner and we'll definitely visit again when we're back in the cities. It was perfect w/ the snow falling outside - the great service & food inside...just really completed the experience. I had a really hard time trying to decide where to go for our first meal in the cities and I lucked out with this choice!

Also a highlight of Friday...we weren't in the city for more than a couple hours before the BF had decided he wanted to move there. We spent most of dinner talking about how freaking awesome MPLS is and how great it would be to live there (and this was before he met all my awesome totally kick ass friends). Given my tendencies for extreme funks upon returning to WI after a visit and my 3 month stint of searching for houses/apartments for when I moved to MPLS in May (which I'm not actually doing as of now - but seriously considered), this was extremely dangerous for him to fall as hard for MPLS as I had...dangerous but also extremely exciting! :)

Stay tuned for the Cheer competition, Brit's Pub & Skywalking (and possibly pictures if I can get some!)

If he still loves me Sunday morning...

Just in case I don't get a chance to blog tomorrow I figured I'd get a quick one in now before my 4:00 meeting (another one w/ the chocolate people...stressful one I'm sure :).

First things first, I am going up to Minneapolis this weekend! (Where 1/3 of my fan base resides!). I went to school at the U of M and spent 4 of the best years of my life there. I met some of the most wonderful people & friends ever. And though I don't get to see my "MN friends" (as I've started calling them since I've moved back to WI), they are still such great influences in my life and one of the greatest support systems & group of friends a girl could ask for.

Due to a couple close friends getting married last year I was able to make it up to the cities quite a few more times last year than I had in past years and given that my last 4 trips happened less than a month apart and the last of which was in October, I'm feeling some withdrawal and can't wait to get back!

This is more than just a visit back though! For two reasons... One, this is the first time the BF is accompanying me on said visit and therefore the first time he'll be meeting the "MN friends". Two, the varsity cheer team is on their way up to the cities now to defend their title as REIGNING NATIONAL GRAND CHAMPIONS at the UPA National Cheer competition.

Which ties in the title of this post. If, after waking at 7:00 a.m. to spend the next seven hours in the Minneapolis Convention Center PACKED full of young girls (ranging in age from 5 to 18), young girls who are also cheerleaders (which gives them special powers "normal" girls lack, like carrying on 15 conversations between 3 people all at volumes that make the deaf squirm) and watching some odd hours of cheerleading, only to move on to a night out w/ me and a bunch of sorority girls (who also possess similar powers to above mentioned cheerleaders), he still loves me...I know we'll make it through anything.

So...keep your eyes open for the post giving the report of Sunday morning...hopefully he'll be with me in the car on the way home and not already half way back to WI on his run home from the convention center!

Wish me luck.

MPLS I'll see you in a little over 24 hours :)

26x26

It sounds like a measurement (mostly because of the way I wrote it), but really it's 26 things to do by the time I turn 26...therefore, 26 by 26 or 26x26.

It started after being inspired by Charm City Kim's 101 in 1001. I love lists, and even more so, I love crossing things off of lists.

I realized that, this being the first list of it's kind in my life, I best start out a bit smaller and work my way into a list of that size & proportion. So I started last year with 45 by 25. 45 things to do (both large and small) by the time I hit 25. I think I originally was going to start with 100 by 25 but ran out of ideas, and given that I didn't create the list until I was already a month and a half into 24 I figured I didn't have time to think of more ideas, I needed to get cranking on my list!

Some things were really big deals...like get my boobs reduced (yup, I said it). Some things were not such big deals...like eat a pomegranate. Seeing those two next to each other makes me wonder how I was able to get the first done and not the second.

I was slightly discouraged as I hit 25 that I hadn't completed everything on the list...however, looking at it in retrospect, I was happy that I had completed over half. And realized maybe next time I start with an even smaller list. Hey, I'm ambitious with a side of realistic...sometimes I don't get everything done, might as well start small and increase gradually!

So I decided from here on out, I'd try to list as many things as the years I'd be turning. Hence, 26 things by the age of 26.

I went public with the list so that people can keep tabs on me...you can see my progress (or lack there of if you check out the list now...I've done nothing). Some of the things have carried over from the previous years list as they are all things I really want to do. Some are additions of new things I thought of along the way. I'll keep track of what I get done and what I have left to do.

Some highlights from my list for 25:

• I learned how to start a knitting project AND successfully COMPLETED a project. (I have MANY, MANY started pot holders at home that have yet to be completed). I knit the BF a scarf for x-mas. I was quite proud.
• I started real estate school (still finishing - but hey I did START it last year).
• I made it back up to MN at least THREE times (this was a great one to get checked off - I was more than happy to get my butt up there that often!)
• I took advantage of things in Milwaukee I had never done before...like seeing a movie from one of the many festivals we have here (Seriously - Were the World Mine - go see it! It plays at many of the GLBT festivals and takes all the awards...so good. I believe it opens in February in most major cities. - For those of you who know Ted - his brother is in it!).

So here's hoping I can finish off this list! Either way - it's nice to start DOING things instead of talking about them!

Titanic & Tosa

Since my Valentine will be spending the actual holiday with his other girlfriend, Walgreens, we decided to celebrate yesterday. He already had off work and I had a light day so I was able to take the day off as well.

First things first, we started the day as all good days off should be started, at noon. Well actually the dog woke us up at 6:00, we woke up, split a bagel and watched an episode of Saved by the Bell before we fell back asleep, then we slept until noon.

We had attempted the Titanic Exhibit at the Milwaukee Public Museum once before, only to find out tickets were sold out for that day. I was pretty upset about that. I suppose here is where I should insert a quick comment about my obsession with the Titanic. It should be known that though this obsession originated from seeing the movie, my love spanned FAR beyond Kate & Leo and the love story. I was intrigued and captivated by the story of the ship itself. (Intrigued and captivated are nice ways of saying completely obsessed and consumed). I cut out every article in the paper/magazines about the ship. I recorded EVERY show that there was about the Titanic (On VHS...and still may or may not have them at my parent's house - in fact they use a clip from a show on Discovery channel in the exhibit and when it started I turned to the BF and said, "I have the whole show on VHS if you wanted to see it in it's entirety." That's when he turned and walked away...he still loves, but sometimes he needs to step away).

So anyways - attempt #1 fail.

So when we talked about what we could do during the day of our Valentine's Day celebration we thought this would be a good idea. Well, I thought it was a GREAT idea, and the BF loves me so much he agreed.

All in all - I think it was pretty cool. I'm pretty sure I already knew everything from the exhibit (and probably a little more if I really thought hard) but it was still pretty sweet. They give you a "boarding pass" when you enter the exhibit of a real person who was aboard the Titanic and it tells a little bit about them, who they were, why they were traveling, etc. Then at the end of the exhibit you can see if they survived or perished. I lived. The BF sadly did not.

The real highlight of the day was our dinner. The BF grew up in Wauwatosa (yes, the town that currently holds my heart), and used to work at Ristorante Bartolotta in the (adorably quaint and picturesque) Village of Tosa. He's been raving & craving their food for the past couple weeks so we figured V-day was as good a reason as any to go there.

I have a MUCH better review of dinner than the exhibit...as I'll never know as much about food as I do the Titanic :)

First things first, they offer wine in a 5 oz. glass, a 14 oz. decanter, or the bottle. This made me very happy as I am a light white drinker and the BF is a heavy red drinker. I usually hate buying multiple glasses but also know the problem with me drinking a full bottle of wine alone at a nice restaurant (as shown by dinner a few weeks ago in which 2 27 oz. margaritas had me speaking at VERY loud volumes and the BF's face turning only slightly red). This is a nice option - 14 oz was just the right amount of wine for me.

We both had the Creme de Funghi soup w/ Black Truffle shavings. It was a fantastic base (mushroom puree not just cream w/ mushrooms in it), had a crustini floating on top that was covered in goat cheese and black truffle shavings all over it. so. damn. good.

For entrees I had the Grilled Pork Chop in Marsala wine sauce w/ mushrooms and roasted potatoes at the suggestion from the BF. He worked there, he knows. He was so right. The pork chop was cooked PERFECTLY. It was (w/o ANY exaggeration) 3 inches thick. The Marsala was incredible (he was also right about that - best Marsala wine sauce ever). The potatoes were crispy on the outside sprinkled w/ fresh grated Parmesan and were like little flavor bombs in your mouth.

He had the salmon served on a bed of spinach and pureed potatoes. AXO ruined Salmon for me forever. He said it was really good and he ate it all so it must've been.

For dessert we shared the Tiramisu. Also delicious, perfectly soaked lady fingers (not overwhelmingly strong but you could definitely taste the rum).

Fantastic dinner. Wonderful service (they work in teams of 2 so you always have someone paying attention to your table). Adorable atmosphere...great place for a romantic dinner.

Blog and you shall receive.

My mom always used to say "ask and you shall receive" whenever she would give us something we asked for that was relatively easy to provide. She also says (this being a direct generational hand-me-down from Grandma Peggy), "Shit in one hand and wish in the other and see which one fills up faster." I like ask and you shall receive better.

However, in this particular case, the response is blog and you shall receive. I posted three wishes last week. The first wish granted...I got answers. What questions I had and answers I received aren't really imperative to you understanding. However, the important part is, I got them. And I realized so much truth to so many cheesy advice tips while waiting for them. Patience really is a virtue. If you love something and let it go, it very well may come back to you in better fashion than originally. Waiting sucks but sometimes it's necessary and worth it. (What you've never heard that one before?)

And before I move on from that - I need to send big thanks to those of you who supplied me with advice, encouragement, and support while I was waiting for said answers :) Most appreciated.

The other two wishes are a little bit closer to be granted...I'm doing my research and figuring out what's feasible right now. To be honest, it's all VERY overwhelming and only reaffirms how incredibly simple my first home buying experience was. I do realize already owning a home while you're thinking of buying another is slightly more complicated than just buying. The whole, "Gee I wonder if I can actually sell my house" thought crosses your mind quite frequently.

When I bought my house I live in now, it could not have been easier. It was to be my first house when I moved back to WI after college. I was home over winter break was set on choosing a house during this time and then moving in around May.

I had done my research online and picked out about 5 or 6 different condos, set up showings and had a weekend full of house hunting ahead of me. I was browsing around and saw this beautiful condo for sale by owner. Called him on Wednesday, set up a showing for Thursday. Fell in love. Called my dad, "Dad, I found it", being Dad he responded with "you can't fall in love with the first one you see, you have to shop around." Brought Mom & Dad to look at it on Friday, they fell in love. Offer placed Sunday afternoon. Offer accepted Tuesday morning. Closed in March, moved in May. Done. (that is by no means an exaggeration - it literally went that smooth).

Just LOOKING at other houses seems more complicated than this last one...I know it's a totally new area I'm looking into and I'm not all that familiar with it (I'm leaning on people more familiar with the area to help make sure I'm not moving into a horrible neighborhood ridden with crime and theft - kind of scary).

The good news for you - I'm sure the next year of house hunting, house selling, home improvements, moving & potential new dog will provide for some hilarious posts on the good ol' blog.

Wish #2: I want another dog.

Carrying on from the post yesterday, wish #2 is that I really want another dog. I've got Bella, the most wonderful doggie in the world. I love having her and am fully aware that I am crazy about my dog. I think she so freakin' cool. I also know that I treat my dog, VERY well. She goes to day care 2 times a week, when the weather is permitting we go to the dog park multiple times a week, and she's allowed on all furniture and has full run of the house. The dog gets more treats (& canned peas & carrots) than any other dog I know...however, no matter how much I do for the dog, I still feel REALLY guilty leaving her at home alone when I leave for the day...and don't even get me started on the guilt I feel when I come home from work for a half an hour and then leave again right away...ugh, she totally guilts me. I know she's a dog, and she's got a sweet life. But I think I would feel much better if she had a buddy when she was home alone. She is extremely partial to golden retrievers. They are her best friends at Day Care and she prefers that breed to any other. So, if I were to get another dog, I think I'd stand my best chance with a Golden.

However, as with my previous wish, there are some set backs.

1. Bella likes playing with other dogs, but does NOT enjoy sharing my affection and attention. She and my parents dog have GONE AT IT, if Lucy ever tries to come near me when I'm at their house. She picks "her people" and they can't touch any other dogs. Which might make having dog #2 slightly difficult...unless that dog becomes one of "hers" and then she'd love it.

2. My stupid condo board (as I've mentioned before) likes to also hold me down in terms of number of furkids I can have. They say one of the canine variety and one of the feline...but no two of either :( Boo...they dislike flowers & friends for Bella, who are these people?!

3. I've always wanted a big dog and a small dog. I love the combo and how fun they look together. I also realize that my "yard" (which isn't really my yard but a shared grassy area) is about 5 square feet and leaves little room to run/play. Bella can do both of these things in the house (as she demonstrates by running up and down both flights of stairs and her figure 8's over and under the beds in both bedrooms). A large dog can't quite expend the kind of energy she can in given space restraints...so I should probably wait to get Dog #2 until I have a place w/ at least a little more space for him to run around and play outside. (a.k.a. my dream house in Tosa with it's fenced in back yard).

4. I'm doing my best at not being the crazy single girl. I know I'm already nuts about Bella. Seriously - people accept this about me and I love them for doing so. She's got a voice, I talk about her in an unnecessarily excessive amount sometimes and find hilarity in almost everything she does. I'm not sure how it would be possible to find me normal and sane if I had this x2. It might be out of control.

Which brings me to...I am going to be SO damn happy when I find a house in Tosa, get dog #2 and make my own board rules for said house.

3 wishes.

It seems that as soon as I'm done posting I can always think of 4,323,656 ideas of things to blog about and think, "Totally! I'll blog about that tomorrow" and when tomorrow come, I can't even remember one of those ideas. So I started a list next to my phone at my desk and now whenever a brilliant blogging idea comes to me, I write it down and save it for a rainy day (or any day I need a posting idea).

Today's idea comes from that list. I've got 3 major wishes I keep thinking about over and over and over. In short:

1. I want to move.
2. I want another dog.
3. I want answers.

Don't worry I plan to expand - mostly because I know my MPLS friends will read that and think I'm reconsidering my decision not to make the move from here to there this coming May. I'll cover one wish per day (in an effort to keep up w/ my goals of keeping postings shorter than they have been & than this one already is).

Today's wish...Moving.

1. There's a few things that have been spurring this strong desire I've got to move out of my condo. One, is that right there, I live in a condo. And after getting a copy of the minutes from this past month's meeting (read: gathering of the oldest residents of the neighborhood who have nothing better than to determine which dirt areas are appropriate for planting and which should be left to the landscapers). Apparently the board (made up of the OLDEST of the aforementioned group, and those with the MOST time on their hands), has decided the (perfectly fine & functional) doors we have on the units now are just not good enough and we should have (totally unnecessary and not wanted) small windows on our doors. Quite frankly whether I have a window or not, I don't really give a crap about the door. Except for when said (unnecessary) door will also come with a $710.96 price tag to the owner. I was pretty sure I wanted to write a letter back to the board that went something like this,

"Dear Board,

I like my door and would rather have an additional $710.96 in my checking account than a window on my door.

Thank you.

Angie"

I should note that I will be sad when I no longer have people mowing my lawn & plowing my driveway after the first 5 flakes of snow have fallen. I'll be begging for a condo come first snow fall I have to shovel...which is why I've also said I'm not leaving my condo until I live with a man who's willing to do said shoveling.

2. I have fallen in love with Wauwatosa. Seriously, cutest damn area ever...they've got the Village, which is an adorable gathering of little shops and restaurants...it's close to the city (closer than I am now at least!)...not TOO far from work...houses are reasonably priced and taxes are cheaper than Shorewood (which is my other town I'm in love with).

3. I want a fenced in back yard. This also touches on dog #2, but even if it was just Bella - there's a short list of things I wouldn't do for a fenced in back yard...moving is NOT on that list.

4. I want to be able to do what I want. I have most freedoms a home owner does in my condo, however, there are still things I can't do. The above referenced board is the "man" in this situation and when it comes to doing things like planting flowers in the front section of dirt, the man is holding me down. And quite frankly, being held down from planting flowers makes me quite sad. There's far more appropriate things I should be held down from than planting flowers. Believe me.

5. While I do love my standby Waukesha eateries (both of which are Mexican places and one of which I visit at least weekly)...it would be nice to expand my horizons to some new fun restaurants, local pubs (seriously - I can't even tell you what Waukesha has to offer in terms of "corner bars" because I'm too scared to enter half of them), and little shops. (Note: Pick 'n Save doesn't count as a "little shop" right?).

There's more reasons, I'm sure...but this is what I've got so far. And I've already made this blog too long...And I know no matter how many reasons I list for wanting to leave Waukesha for Tosa, Rebecca will come up with 2x more in favor of MPLS and Jessica 3x more for San Fran.

Something hilarious about a "drunk" 7 year old.*

I fully intend on actually posting a post (about things probably far less hilarious than this video) after this one...but I had to share this with all 3 (that's right I've got THREE followers now) of my blog.

There is something too funny about a 7 year old all messed up on Nitrous after the dentist that I couldn't resist sharing.



*By hilarious, I mean FAR more hilarious than when a grown man/woman does it, something about the youth makes it funnier than when any friend is this messed up in the back seat of the car.

Dear Blogspot.

Dear Blogspot,

The fact that it just took me 20 minutes and 4 tries to post my previous entry makes me slightly upset. Why do you want to deprive the 2 fans of this blog the joy they get from reading what I have to say about nothing.

Please don't do that again.

Love,
Angie

Things I feel right now.

You know how sometimes you think something is going to go a certain way and then it goes EXACTLY how you thought it was going and it even shocks you just a little bit? You're all, "woah. I practically predicted that shit right on the money. Maybe I should look into some sort of fortune telling profession with these kind of skills?" And then like a day later you're rocking your super sweet fortune telling skills and you predict how something is going to go and it goes POLAR OPPOSITE of that? And you're all "What?! This can't be right, some one done f'd up on this one, because this is what I thought was going to happen and it seemed like we were following that pretty dead on before."

That's where I'm at right now. And as a good friend's nana (whom I've never met but now definitely feel in debt to for this advice) said, "When you don't know what to do, do nothing. Eventually you'll wake up one morning with your answer staring you back in the face". So that's what I'm trying to do. Turns out, doing nothing is way harder than doing something. I guess somewhere along the way things have changed since sophomore year of college and I've become a much more proactive person. (though, don't get me wrong, there are still plenty of days where being proactive and doing what I need would easily take a back seat to the AXO couch, my roomie, and multiple hours of I love the (insert whichever decade is playing now)'s on VH1). But alas, I will do my best to do nothing and let time and fate, the universe, God, whatever (we've discussed this) figure out my answer and then graciously deliver it smack dab on my forehead some morning...Unless of course someone somewhere has found some sort of "Life for Dummies" guide and you can provide me with an answer without waiting...as I do despise waiting (seriously - I am the world's worst waiter - person in waiting, not someone serving you dinner. I can't stand surprises, waiting to find out what I got for Christmas, waiting a week for the new episode of my favorite show, waiting through a commercial during my favorite show, any sort of results or before/after situation drives me out of my mind. I can't really think of anything I'm even remotely good at waiting for...how about yearly check-ups...yup, those & dentist appointments, I'd gladly wait more than a year in between both of those things).

On a completely unrelated note - though another thing to wait for - totally scored 3rd row seats to Flight of the Conchords...damn excited. Even excited enough to use the word "score" in terms of something I've accumulated...that's pretty excited.