why the bloody hell didn't I think of this

Why the bloody hell didn't I think of this when in college....



I mean I was ENROLLED in Liberal Arts and realllllly should have drunkenly made this happen. I blame all my a-mazing friends for not being creative and supportive enough.

On a related note, I have horrid spelling but I think I could have mastered this one.

only in MN

I really love MN. My heart is there, although maybe covered in ice due to the frozen tundra like winters. The men there are tall, they are sexy, and they eat alot of butter and mayo. Apparently they also have good senses of humor when fighting fires in drag.

Here’s a group of volunteer firefighters from Sauk Centre, Minnesota who jumped into action while wearing dresses as part of a charity fundraiser during their St. Patrick’s Day parade. It’s kind of like Mrs. Doubtfire meets Backdraft. These drag-wearing fellas do not, in fact, like it hot:

one way to stop office thieves

Well here is one way to stop all those food thieves around the office, mislabel your food:



Not sure how effective this will be but you have to respect the creativity. I'm pretty sure the people who steal food would probably be the ones who think these types of diseases could be carried in a yogurt container.

Back in the big Minney I used to be the pop stealer. I mean I was poor and putting myself through school, and sometimes a girl just needs a Coke pick-me-up. I wonder if they knew it was me??? Probably. I'm not that stealth.

I don't have this problem at work, but I'm thinking about putting "Lupus" on all my containers just in case.

how about a little austin

Early in January, I mentioned a new artist called Sahara Smith who apparently is a badass singer song writer from Austin. Well we were pumped to see her here in the big Cville, but for whatever reason we didn't make it out to the concert. Turns out she was back in town last week, and fortunately we were able to check her out:



Remember, the chick was mentored by T-Bone Burnett, which I again emphasize is pretty badass. That guy could probably cut me. And she was promoted via Prairie Home Companion song writing competition....who doesn't love alittle MN humor.

It is interesting to see young artists on small stages. She definitely has certain stage mannerisms, which may or may not stay as she grows as an artist. Anyways, we enjoyed it and it was good to pick up a signed CD.

It's a new gay, hip MN

Well Minneapolis is one of my favorite, all time, cities in the world. And although it has been awhile since I lived there, I started noticing these new trends back in the early 2000's. Recent news highlights two new trends, increases in:

1. Hipsters
2. Gays

Apparently, MN has taken the lead in hipsters (and for the record I've had to explain what this term means to more people than I'm comfortable with--pop culture people, keep up), overcoming all time leader of greater NYC. Brooklyn and the Bronx has been known for their dark rimmed glasses, tight jeans, alternative music, independent thinking and general vegetarian. Well good work MN is taking the top spot. Who know you were so progressive (although I do remember saying to Helga a time or two "fucking hipsters!" when we would be out as concerts).

I think they make a good case for MN, with our stupid flannel shirts (I really REALLY hate flannel shirts--just kill me now), farmer's markets, a-mazing music scene, and self-propelled tendencies (no need to tie up your pant leg from your bike chain, you're already wearing tight pants). And not surprisingly, Portland is definitely a close third. And for that matter, Cville might also be right up there in our hipster tendencies as well. Actually, we are alittle more east coast douchey than hipstery.

OK so we know MN is hip, but apparently they are also now gayer than CA! And let me tell you, that isn't an easy thing to do with all the donkeys and in general the big bright rainbow over San Fran:

The Daily Show - Minneapolis Is the New Gay
Tags: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

So I've known MN was gay, and definitely getting gayer. My gay husband lives in MN and I love him very much. 8 years ago I was his beard and would go to more gay bars than straight ones! We had a great time dancing for hours, hot tubing, and singing show tunes. Good times. Gay, yes we all knew that in MN.

taking it back to the cold(er) days

Sooo last weekend I felt as if we had a throw back to the good old MN days when some friends and I went snow tubing. These are the types of winter activities we used to do in the frozen tundra, ya know, back when I was mitten in the Winter Carnival parade. This year I hear the St. Paul ice and snow sculptures were a-mazing but still dangerous to put your tongue on.

Apparently right here in the big central V-A there is a "mountain" where snow is made for skiing and some tubing hills/lanes. I was pretty impressed with the degree of safety employed here, considering I'm used to be strapped to tray and pushed sideways down an icy hill praying I don't break my butt or get whiplash. Not in Wintergreen, no sir, it is all about safety first. Although it was starting to get icy fast where I did crash once into the end barrier throwing my legs over my head!

Luckily there are two microbreweries on the way to and from this mountain, and if you know me at all, you know I don't like driving by anything booze related ending in -ery (i.e., wineries, breweries, etc.). We stopped by Backbone Brewery where I had the best BBQ sandwich ever, some good beer, and listened to some live music. I also had a bonding moment with my friend M when I stripped down naked to change my clothes amidst the moonlight in the parking lot. It was soooo romantical.

Would definitely go back to both places, and soon.

Haven't been able to download the pictures yet, but here are a couple good ones:



I was a fan of the non-spinning two-sies, especially since the first round when I couldn't get in my hole fast enough and almost flew out (don't worry I reformed my technique after that).



This is where I normally spend most of my time on the ski slopes....drinking in the clubhouse by a toasty fire! There is less of a fear of falling down an icy hill to my death and then having to ride in the body bag behind the snow mobile. True story.



Again, do I sense a beer theme here? And PS, is it just me or do my boobs look huge??? Seriously the girls look a little out of control or maybe my friends are just short, OR maybe it's a combination of both.

music of the moment

Well here are three things that make you an interesting artist to me:

1. Born and raised in the Austin, Texassss music scene
2. Discovered as a songwriter by Prairie Home Companion (Go Minney)
3. Mentored by T-Bone Burnett

Enter, Sahara Smith (PS, you're named after my favorite movie!). I heard an NPR report on her a couple months ago which put her closer on my radar. Diggin her--definitely a hybird of country and bluegrass with a little Ryan Bingham feel. She also made the list of albums missed in 2010.

She is coming to Cvile this month and I'm hoping to hear this catchy song:

christmas card winner winner

Well last year my Christmas card winner was my favorite old lady friend from WA, but this year it was.....drum roll....my MN friend with a photo of her daughter who is now in high school (yet I haven't aged a damn day). I got her card on Monday!!! That was before December rolled around. Chicken dinners for you. Amazing!

The secret was that I actually bought, organized and wrote all my xmas cards last weekend, but decided to save them until later in December before sending them. I didn't want people to think I was ttttthat organized or prepared. So they have been sitting under my two foot tall tree, but I'm shipping them off tomorrow. Grid your loins, your f-ing LL holiday cheer is coming....including blow up dolls and flaming bags of poo.

Happy (pre)holidays hookers!

music of the moment

I've been a fan of Bon Iver, the north WI band, for awhile now. They have some neo-soulful music which I like to chill to. They recently received a star at 1st Ave. in Minney and have also collaborated with St. Vincent and up coming with Kanye. I enjoy them very much. Here is one of their EPs (fan made video is definitely shot in WI/MN on 94):

attention crackers, randy's back

Well Randy "the freak" Moss is heading back to Minney to return as a Vik!!! Favre (former Packer) and Moss are now Viks....whoever would have thought. Back in early 2000's Randy was a real class act running over cops in downtown and running his mouth. Check out some of his greatest hits, including but not limited to his "Straight Cash Homie!" comment. And Randy just launched his new Viks website this week....maybe he got to use the same skin from 10 years ago :) Yesterday I went back through some of my podcasts from 2002 with some very very funny skits about Randy, but I'll have to email me for the links since they are not available anymore.

Sooo we'll see what happens with Randy and what he'll do for the purple pride, but as he said in his press conference this week, "at least I wasn't on that boat!" True. True that.