Happy Halloween!

I am excited about our very first Halloween in our new house. Finally, maybe I will have some trick-or-treaters! So far, not so good though...not one little goblin yet. There aren't a lot of front door lights illuminating our street, so I'm not sure how many we'll get. I know the two neighbor kids are coming over though...so they might just get a lot of candy!

Have a 'spooktacular' night!

Happy 1st Birthday, D!

Our dear nephew turns one year old today! We're so happy we were able to travel down to Iowa yesterday for his birthday party.

(photo courtesy of my dad)

Tunes on 2s - Be My Lover – La Bouche (1995)

Listen/watch here

I hear what you say
I see what you do
I know everything I need to know about you
And I want you to know that it’s tellin’ me
You wanna be my lover
La da da dee da da da da...

Many a pre-party were held at Buxton Hall, Room 302 in my sophomore year of college (1995-96). This infamous “suite” was home to me, two of my best buds Dana and Amy, and this other girl we don’t really talk about anymore. On any given Friday and/or Saturday evening after a trip to Pfeiffer Dining Hall to fill up on turkey tetrazzini, we would crack open some fine beers (Keystone, Natural Light, Icehouse) and begin our party primping. This often involved taking brews into the shower, or taking a shot while waiting for curlers to set (I’m sure my parents are really proud right now). Once we were dressed in our best party clothes, i.e. jeans and the ubiquitous mid-1990s flannel shirt, the stream of guests would start to arrive. Frequent socialites included Kristy, Laura, the boys across the hall aka Dirty, Flater, Hoger, Doug and Robby-Rob, and any number of random others.


There was always a steady stream of music being played, and some fairly creative, alcohol-induced dancing. One of our favorites was “Be My Lover,” a one-hit wonder which also spawned a complete choreographed dance routine, cleverly titled the “Be My Lover Dance.” If I hear it now, I still find myself motioning certain parts of the choreography. I think it also involved a lip-synced “rap” interlude by yours truly:

I…must con-fess, girl, yes I wanna be your lover
Take a chance, my love is like no other
On the dance floor gettin’ down
Hold tight, I’ll never let you down
My love’s definitely the key
Like Boyz 2 Men I’m on bended knee
Lovin’ you, not like your brother, aw yeah, I wanna be your lover…

Sadly, I did not have to look up those lyrics. One would think that by now, something more useful would have usurped this memory, but no…the words seem to have permanent residence in my brain.

Anyway, these events were called pre-parties because we usually had somewhere else to go, so sometime around 9PM we would shove spare beers in the waistband of our jeans and trek across the street to the fraternities, where there was basically more of the same.

This weekend is the 10th reunion of my graduating college class [gulp]. Now that we’re all respectable and married and OLDER, it’s fun to think about those times once in awhile. I still find it hard to believe that with all that partying, we still managed to maintain pretty high GPAs. We were a little crazy but we sure had a lot of fun. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Fall Fun

We had a nice, relaxing weekend enjoying the beautiful fall weather. We had a family outing to the Minnesota Zoo yesterday, which was nice not only because of the great weather, but also because Husband suggested and planned the whole thing. We hadn't been to the zoo for awhile, and had been anxious to see the new Russia's Grizzly Coast exhibit. The exhibit was pretty cool, and we just had a grand old time enjoying each other's company. It was a lot of fun just walking around and reminding ourselves of all the fun the zoo has to offer. Of course the gibbons never disappoint...this guy was enjoying a nice foot rub -

We had a nice lunch together and then spent some time out in the yard the rest of the day. Likewise, we spent some time outside this morning, crunching around in the leaves and discovering Buddy's love of the football. The rest of the day was spent watching football, napping, running errands, and just enjoying the wonderful weather. Hope your weekend was just as great!

Ladybugs and Michael Clarke Duncan

It's been a good long while since I posted a dream on here, but I really haven't had anything of note lately. Until the wee hours of this very morning.

The beginning of the dream is a little sketchy, but I know I'm with my cousin S who is currently a senior in high school. We keep getting followed around by this creepy woman who I identified as Mrs. __ (can't remember), and we determine she is an alien who is trying to abduct us. Later it is nighttime and we are in a bedroom, huddled on the floor, scared because this voice is coming from the window, telling us she wants to take the child, meaning S (even though S is high-school sized in the dream). The voice comes crawling through the window, onto the bed, and it is this Mrs. __. She is dressed in some that's entirely red and black, with a red skirt with big black dots on it. It reminds me of a ladybug. This ladybug woman tells me that if she can take S, she will donate $20,000 to the convent in Springfield.

[is this an episode of the Simpsons?]

Cut to the next morning, where two large double-decker Noah's Ark-like vehicles pull up to a curb in the light of day, presumably to pick up S, even though I told her I would never let the ladybug woman take her. But the scheme is thwarted; as two men on motorcycles swoop in, ramming into the Noah's Arcs, making the wood on the outside break apart. Oh, and one of the motorcycle riders was Michael Clarke Duncan. Anyway, inside are several small children, some wearing only diapers, some with abnormally short legs, and they start toddling out into the daylight. Apparently the ladybug woman wanted to take S to help her watch all of these little kids.

And...wake.

Anyone want to guess what the heck this is about?!

Looking For A New Addiction?

Candy corn and salted peanuts. Try it. Let me know how you like it.

Irony

A few weeks ago I took Buddy in for his final test for beginner obedience class. He’d been doing great in class and toward the end he was the only dog who stuck all the way through, so we got a lot of personal attention. By the end we were teaching him things that are part of the intermediate class.

All he had to do to pass was sit, lay down, stay for 30 seconds, walk with a loose leash, and 1 trick of our choice. He decided he really didn’t want to lay down that night, but eventually got there, and did the rest with flying colors. We also did 4 tricks (because he is awesome and super smart) and the trainer just ate it up. She complimented me on my progress as “pack leader”, and said there is a noticeable difference in Buddy’s demeanor since the beginning of class. She thinks he’s a very smart dog and even recommended that he could be a therapy dog if I am willing to go through the training to get certified.

I know I’m biased, but I get real satisfaction out of hearing (and experiencing) that he is smart. When we adopted him, we heard repeatedly from the shelter volunteers that “he isn’t the brightest bulb,” and “he’s really sweet, but he’s not the smartest.” They named him Meatball. I know he just passed a beginner class, but I’m really proud of our pup!

So I was flying high on this canine accomplishment, but was quickly brought back to reality about 2 days later when I came home to this:

I HAD PURCHASED THIS RUG 5 DAYS PRIOR. I thought it would be heavy enough to deter him from dragging it off. Apparently I was wrong, and apparently it’s also fun to chew on. There were reminders of this little indiscretion all over the yard.

He might be smart, but he’s still obnoxious. We start the intermediate class next week.

Weekend Fun

My cousin Kristi came up for a visit this past weekend, which coincided with a planned overnight stay by our niece, Miss H. We girls had a lot of fun doing some shopping, walking around Mill Ruins Park, coloring, painting our nails, and watching Kung Fu Panda. It was a real treat to have them both here at once, and as you can see they became fast friends!

The Way You Make Me Feel – Michael Jackson (1987-88)

Listen/watch here (be prepared for a classically weird MJ intro)

Hee-Hee!
Ooh!
Go On Girl!
Aaow!

Hey pretty baby with the high heels on
You give me fever like I've never, ever known
You're just a product of loveliness
I like the groove of your walk, your talk, your dress…

Yep, still stuck in the 80s. Whatever kind of freak Michael Jackson has become, you cannot deny that he turned out some good tunes that spanned decades. This one in particular was spun quite frequently at our house, back when you could purchase single records (45s) at the local Pamida store. My youngest brother was about 3 years old at the time, and he LOVED this song. He was quite fond of mimicking the high-pitched “oohs” and “hee-hees” that were signature MJ, and we would dance around the livingroom and "the porch." He was a little singing and dancing machine:

In case you were wondering - that orange thing he's holding behind his back? Yeah, that's a piece of the old orange Hot Wheels racetrack. He used it as a guitar when the solos came on. I'm not kidding - I wish I could've found that picture too!

I post this not to embarrass you, Justin (much), but to make you realize how much fun it was having a little brother. I enjoy each of my brothers, but you were a special little dude in many ways. I spent a lot of time watching after you, and I wouldn’t have had it any other way. It’s kind of funny how when we were young, you brought out the “little mother” in me, and as we get older you have always succeeded in bringing out the little kid in me. Thank you for that.

Happy (early) birthday, Bud. I will always enjoy being your big sister. Aaow!