I Are Smart

So...there is a friendly guy in my office who is always poking his head in, saying hi, seeing if people want to go to lunch, etc. A couple of months ago, he popped in and said,

"You garden?"

Assuming he was referring to the flowers on my desk, picked from Husband's parent's house the day before, I said,

"No - mother-in-law. Wish I could though!"

He nods, moves on to the next office. I didn't think a thing of it.

Today, same guys pokes his head in.

"You garden?"

For a second, I am confused. There are no flowers on my desk. Then it dawns on me.

U Garden is a Chinese restaurant near the University of Minnesota. He was asking if I wanted to go to lunch, not making small talk about my day lilies.

Uh-huh. Yeah.

Big Weekend

We had another busy weekend...on Friday, our friends Kristy and Hiram came up from Des Moines to visit. We had dinner with them and sat around chatting, and playing some Wii. This was Kristy's first time, and I think she had the most fun creating Miis (game characters) representative of her and Hiram. I've never seen her laugh so hard! It was great to see them again.

Saturday we saw our guests off, and Husband headed to his company picnic with Brandon. I got a free pass from this event because I was attending a bridal shower for Stephanie, who is marrying one of Brett's cousins in September. It was a nice afternoon with family. Can't wait for the wedding!

While I was at the shower, Husband also did some car shopping and purchased a new vehicle! His GMC Jimmy was in need of some repairs that were going to cost more than it was worth...so we made the decision to look now. Although I was bummed at first (I just paid off my car a few months ago and he just paid off another loan last month), we knew this was coming eventually, and I guess I'd rather adjust to the payment now than have everything hit when we buy a house in the spring. We test drove some vehicles last week and agreed on the make and model, then talked about our financial limits...the rest was up to him.

Turns out he is a brilliant negotiator (I had an inkling) and we got a great deal on a 2004 GMC Envoy. I know this is an SUV, not my favorite choice, but we had 3 essential criteria that drove us in this direction:

1) It must fit Husband comfortably.

Let's face it - I married a big, tall man. You should see him try to fit in my Honda; it's not pretty.

2) It must be able to tow the boat.

Our trips up north are essential to our sanity.

3) It must conveniently accommodate a carseat, for any potential future family expansion.

No news here, just planning ahead.

We got all three in a non-gargantuan SUV that gets better gas mileage than what we had. We're quite happy with how it all turned out. Next up, new house!

You Think it Can't Happen to You...But it Can

Tonight I found out that a friend had a bad bicycle accident a few weeks ago...he was riding on a recreational, crushed limestone trail and somehow, ended up flipping his bike and laying in the middle of the trail, bleeding. Our friend Larissa was far enough behind him to not see exactly what happened, just found him like that. There are no roadways that cross this trail, and no vehicles are allowed. It is surrounded by trees and in a pretty serene environment.

Rich is a very active person - I used to play volleyball and softball with him, and he is a man of many teams and physical activities. He is an avid and experienced biker. This freak accident has left him with a brain injury and he has essentially been in a coma since July 8.

He was not wearing a helmet.

Please wear a helmet. And please pray for Rich.

Grrrr...

It is now July 23rd and our landlord has not cashed the check for this month's rent yet. I don't know why this irks me so much, the money is there, I know it's coming out eventually...but it's just irritating. It's a sizable check, not pocket change...If he doesn't need the money that badly, then why can't I just pay whenever I want?

Update: It finally cleared the account July 28th!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BRANDON!

Today was Brandon's 14th birthday. We had a little family party at the house with his (current) favorite dessert, chocolate pie. Brandon, Dad and I wish you the best year ever - and don't worry, by Christmas, you'll probably be taller than me!

Center...Clarity...Peace...Serenity...

I'm in need of all these. It's been a long week, but I don't know why. Nothing particularly stressful at work or at home. I just feel a little off. My back is all knotted, I'm not sleeping well. I am tired of TRAFFIC, tired of long days, tired of everything and nothing at the same time. I think it's because I haven't had a vacation for awhile; haven't taken more than a one-night trip in a long time. I feel the pull of wide open spaces...it's time to lose myself in the middle of nowhere, in the midst of trees and water and the sound of loons...

3 more weeks, and we're headed to Lake Vermilion. Here's to holding out.

A Visit From the Folks

This weekend Mom and Dad came up to visit. They attended an Allison Krauss concert on Thursday night, then Dad rode around with brother Josh on Friday, while Mom and I did some shopping after we all had lunch together. Friday night Husband and I went out to dinner with them and we just sat around and talked. Saturday Mom and Dad did some antiquing in Hopkins, where we found out it was also Raspberry Days. Saturday when they returned we visited Historic Murphy's Landing, a local Minnesota landmark that I had never visited myself. It was a lovely day, and it was very interesting to browse through the historic buildings they have on display there; a nice little bit of history. Saturday evening Husband grilled and did some bird watching in the backyard.

Today we did a whole lot of nothing...but a very nice weekend overall. We always love when they visit!

Lovin' Me Some Harry Potter

Lastnight Husband and I went to see "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," which is the 5th movie in the series. We are all in love with Harry Potter in this house...we've seen all the movies and read all the books...like most of the rest of the world. I resisted jumping on the bandwagon until I met Husband, when I decided to borrow the first 3 books from him. I ripped through them in short order. They are so creative, such wonderful stories. I've been hooked ever since.

The movies have been great as well (though per usual, not as good as the books). This movie was very different, much darker and focused less on action and more on Harry's internal struggles. Although there is another book and movie in between this and the hugely anticipated 7th and final book, this movie is a perfect set-up for the final installment. It's going to come down to Harry vs. Voldemort, and someone has to die. Who will it be?

Anyone else seen the movie? Thoughts? Theories on Book 7?

FYI - I realize by running this post, I am setting myself up to look like a total nerd. Whatever dude. It's happened before.

Blast From the Past

Anyone watch the show "World Series of Pop Culture" on VH1? (I know some of you do). Tonight I recorded the first episode of the season on DVR, and am currently watching it. On one of the teams, I found a familiar face. MY BOYFRIEND WHEN I WAS 18 (freshman year of college). He looks a little different, but the name and the sense of humor match up. Too funny!

For those of you who knew him, go here, and under Check It Out, click "Meet the Teams on VSpot" and click on "Fat Guys in Little Coats" for a video clip. (Sorry there's not a more direct link). Some of you will get a real kick out of this, including you, Mom and Dad.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LAURA!

Hot Stuff! Jess, Laura, Kristy - March 2003

"If you occupy space on this earth, you're an environmentalist - you're interested in what's happening around you."

http://www.liveearth.org/

Camp Okoboji – The Short Story

This past Friday Brandon and I took off for a little family reunion in Okoboji, IA. We do this every year – Grandma Mardie gets a cabin at Camp Okoboji, where a bunch of us used to go for church camp every summer. There are about 30 of us – aunts, uncles cousins, significant others – that converge on the place at various times during the week. This year was unique in that we had 24 there at one time or another, including cousins from Washington D.C. and Panama (yes, Panama). It was a great time, filled with cookouts, campfire talks, bean bag tournaments, trips to Arnolds Park, kayaking, swimming, waterskiing, and lots of just sittin’ around talkin.’

I have to just say this…when the entire family lines up in lawn chairs to spectate the White Family Bean Bag Tournament Championship Game, complete with singing of the National Anthem, “7th inning stretch” Chicken Dance, and revival of high school cheers from decades past, you know you’ve got something special going on here. This is Camp Okoboji, folks. And if you don’t like the noise, we’re sorry…but that doesn’t mean we’re going to stop. We just can’t help ourselves. We’re that darn fun.

Camp Okoboji – The Long Story aka My Kayaking Adventure

I did add a little adventure to my stay in Okoboji. Sunday morning I got up early to take a little kayaking expedition with my dad. By about 6:30AM we were on the water. It was a gorgeous, peaceful morning and a great time to be out. We detoured away from the lake and explored some adjacent canals and marshes, and just talked and meandered our way, looking for signs of wildlife and just generally feeling content. I particularly enjoyed watching some barn swallows and their graceful acrobatics on the open water. It was quite a beautiful morning.

At one point we were exploring a marshy area filled with cattails and a plethora of bossy red-winged blackbirds. It’s nesting season, so they chattered at us quite a bit and hovered a few feet above us, chiding us for getting too close. Just as we were about to turn around and begin the return trip to camp, we heard a weird bird noise from the reeds, and Dad headed back in to explore.

I noticed a different-looking bird flying away, being chased by a red-winged blackbird. I turned my head to watch as it flew above and behind me. I twisted just a little too far, because...

I fell in.

Kayak full of water, Jess in water, and the worst thing – digital camera overboard. The good news was, the water was only about 2 feet deep. Bad news – my feet sank in disgusting muck up to my knees. All I knew was by the time my feet sank down, I was waist deep in water green with algae and who knows what else, and that muck was stinky. It sucked so hard on my feet that I almost lost my shoes, and even with them off I had a hard time getting my foot out when I wanted to take a step.

Dad reacted like a champ. He took my camera (I did find it) and also my shoes. Although he had a camera of his own, he did not feel the need to photo-document this experience (though in hindsight, we both kind of wish he would have). He was calm and helped me the best he could, without getting out of his kayak, because we didn’t want both of us stuck. I had a heck of a time getting back in that boat. Holy cow was that frustrating! With the muck so deep and sticky, I had no leverage to hoist myself back in, and with the boat half full of water, it was heavy and didn’t offer much leeway in terms of weight before taking on more water. We didn’t have anything to bail water with. At one point we pulled the kayak into some reeds, and I was able to get in by hoisting myself up with the help of some cattails, but the front end was up so high that by the time I got in it, the water in the kayak weighed it down so much that the back end sank! So I had to get out again and try something different.

I pulled my kayak up over the back of Dad’s, which was quite a chore because it was so darn heavy. I got it up high enough to tip it and drain some of the water out, which helped. We pulled it into the reeds again to a more level position, and I figured out that the cattails were dense enough that they had a pretty solid root mass that I could stand on. With that I was able to get back in the kayak, although I was still sitting in the water that we weren’t able to drain out. That was kind of gross in itself (though at that point it really didn't make a difference), but it also made the kayak sit very close to the water, and very prone to tipping. I had to paddle very slowly and carefully so as to not have another “spill.” We found a spot along the bank and although muddy and not very wide, we were both able to get out and fully tip my kayak to finally drain it.

I have to say that although the experience was a little frustrating, and I was bummed about the camera (verdict still out on if it will ever work again), we were both laughing the whole time too. The water wasn’t deep so it wasn’t scary, just really disgusting! I remembered yesterday on the ride home that Dad said to me before we left on our trip, “I hope you’re not grossed out by green scummy water.” I assured him that I was not. Little did I know I would be essentially covered in it by the time our trip was over.
A little kayaking adventure, and a story I’m sure we’ll be telling for years. Apparently I also hold a record, which Dad reminded me of shortly after I splashed into swamp monster habitat. This is the first time that he’s gone paddling with someone who has tipped over. He told me earlier that day that he bought his kayak in 2000, so…there you have it.