This warrants its own post. 'Nuff said.
"I miss camping!" - T*Star
15 years ago
Well, I'm sad to report that the storm is over and now we're facing overnight windchills of -30 degrees. BUT, we got a LOT of snow. How much? Enough to collapse the roof of the Metrodome, apparently! I'm still waiting to hear exactly how much we got here in my neighborhood, but totals across the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro were 16-22". But, rather than TELL you how much snow we got, maybe I should just SHOW you. What do you think? I ventured out and snapped a few photos this afternoon. They really don't do it justice, but they should give you an idea of what we've got up here!
The view when the garage door went up.
The main entrance to the building. Please, no skateboarding. Or, more importantly, snowboarding.
(There are usually stairs between those two white railings.)
Two cars in our parking lot. And a lot of snow.
This is what the neighborhood looks like.
The apartment building next door to my condo.
Another view of the neighborhood.
Looking down the sidewalk...
Looking down another sidewalk...
A view of everyone's favorite monument.
I <3 snow.
I watched a kid digging out this tunnel in front of his house.
A view of my local grocery store.
Please note the size of the tree vs. the size of the snow piles.
This is my Ihopeyouenjoythisphotobecauseit's-2degreesouthereandI'mabouttoloseanear face.
The Target parking lot. AKA a giant wall of snow.
(Thank you, SUV, for driving into my photo and giving it perspective.)
Our hero.
(This photo pretty much sums it up.)
Winter Storm Warnings are for wusses...what we have here's a Blizzard Warning!
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Well, turns out I didn't have to wait very long for that snow storm. In fact, what had initially been referred to as a Winter Storm Warning has now been declared a Blizzard, and we're under a Blizzard Warning until 6 o'clock tomorrow morning. WOOHOO!
This is what I saw around 9:45 last night:
By 11:30 it looked like this:
When I got up around 8 this morning it looked like this, and it was still coming down:
Sadly, we had to cancel the Delta Gamma Holiday Auction this morning, but the snow "showed no signs of stoppin'" and it was really blowing, so we really didn't want anyone on the roads unnecessarily. (In fact, the weathermen were telling everyone to stay home today unless they HAD to go out, and in those cases they told viewers to be sure they had emergency kits in their cars.) Plus, nothing was being plowed because there was just no point. (When I turned on the news this evening I found out that they shut down Metro Transit and even closed the Mall of America this afternoon!)
This was looking out the front door of my condo building around 11:30 this morning:
This was looking out the front door around 3:00 this afternoon:
No one was going anywhere, clearly:
A while ago I watched someone take their dog out and stop by the neighbor's house. I wish I had gotten video of them trying to get up the stairs, but watching them go down was pretty good too:
And, have I mentioned how much I LOVE living in a condominium? It was probably one of the best decisions I ever made. Occasionally I wish I didn't have those pesky Association dues every month, but on days like today I remember that it's money well-spent, because I'm all toasty and warm and this guy...well...there were several times that he looked like he might just quit:
(For the record, he needs to do it all over again already.)
I'll be back tomorrow with REAL photos, once they've cleared the sidewalks and plowed the roads and I'm able to go outside and check out the damage. Until then, I hope you're all snuggly and warm in your homes like I am tonight!
This is what I saw around 9:45 last night:
By 11:30 it looked like this:
When I got up around 8 this morning it looked like this, and it was still coming down:
Sadly, we had to cancel the Delta Gamma Holiday Auction this morning, but the snow "showed no signs of stoppin'" and it was really blowing, so we really didn't want anyone on the roads unnecessarily. (In fact, the weathermen were telling everyone to stay home today unless they HAD to go out, and in those cases they told viewers to be sure they had emergency kits in their cars.) Plus, nothing was being plowed because there was just no point. (When I turned on the news this evening I found out that they shut down Metro Transit and even closed the Mall of America this afternoon!)
This was looking out the front door of my condo building around 11:30 this morning:
This was looking out the front door around 3:00 this afternoon:
No one was going anywhere, clearly:
A while ago I watched someone take their dog out and stop by the neighbor's house. I wish I had gotten video of them trying to get up the stairs, but watching them go down was pretty good too:
And, have I mentioned how much I LOVE living in a condominium? It was probably one of the best decisions I ever made. Occasionally I wish I didn't have those pesky Association dues every month, but on days like today I remember that it's money well-spent, because I'm all toasty and warm and this guy...well...there were several times that he looked like he might just quit:
(For the record, he needs to do it all over again already.)
I'll be back tomorrow with REAL photos, once they've cleared the sidewalks and plowed the roads and I'm able to go outside and check out the damage. Until then, I hope you're all snuggly and warm in your homes like I am tonight!
They're calling for anywhere from 12-20 inches of snow in Minneapolis over the next 24 hours, and to say I'm excited would be a gross understatement. I made several stops on my way home from work, so I'm ready to hole up and watch the white pile up outside my window. I've got wine, popcorn, baking supplies, a new magazine, and a good book. So now we wait...
As I mentioned in my last post, a lot has happened recently. If you hadn't heard, in addition to having a birthday I also started a new job! I mentioned in my very first blog posting that I had lost my previous job and I thought it was important to mention it, but I made a conscious decision before that first post was even up that I would not drag you all along on a rollercoaster of job applications and interviews and what was certain to feel like a lifetime of waiting. (Some of you did get that by phone though, and I will forever be grateful for your patience and positivity.) Many of you probably tired of hearing my mantra: "This is all going to work out the way it's supposed to. There's something better out there for me. I just have to be patient because it's out there, and a year from now I will be so much happier than I've been for the past year," but it turns out I knew what I was talking about.
What am I doing, you ask? Well, I'm working for one of these:
Okay, not for any of these specific titles, and it's not nearly as glamorous as working for one of these specifically might be, but it's also not Hotdish Monthly. I'm working for a glossy lifestyle magazine as their newest Account Executive. The transition from textbook publishing to magazine has presented a bit of a learning curve, but so far things are not only going really well, but I'm also enjoying it! Now I just have to learn to enjoy the 5:30 wake-up time and the $170/month parking contract...
What am I doing, you ask? Well, I'm working for one of these:
Okay, not for any of these specific titles, and it's not nearly as glamorous as working for one of these specifically might be, but it's also not Hotdish Monthly. I'm working for a glossy lifestyle magazine as their newest Account Executive. The transition from textbook publishing to magazine has presented a bit of a learning curve, but so far things are not only going really well, but I'm also enjoying it! Now I just have to learn to enjoy the 5:30 wake-up time and the $170/month parking contract...
A lot has happened since the last time I blogged! Amongst other things, I had a birthday! (Actually my birthday was the weekend of Tyler and Debbie's wedding, but I don't think I mentioned it in that post. Or did I? Obviously I'm becoming senile in my old age.) I was lucky enough to spend the day with Jan and Ron in Chicago, and we just had a nice, relaxing day. We sat around drinking coffee in the morning, Jan and I went to HomeGoods and poked around in the afternoon, and in the evening they made me Mom*Star's World Famous Homemade German Chocolate Cake. (Ron grilled salmon for dinner and I made spaghetti squash to go with it while Jan made a salad and assembled the cake.) Yum!
After dinner we ate cake and they gave me some really mushy cards (Yep, I cried.) and a couple of super awesome gifts. I'm sure you're dying to know what they are, so I'll tell you! Gift one was something that I asked for: a Polar F6 heartrate monitor. (Pink, of course.)
If you don't have one of these and you work out with any regularity, I cannot recommend it highly enough! (You're welcome, people at the Polar company!) I absolutely love it. In fact, I might even be a wee bit obsessed with it. Upon unwrapping it, I immediately busted it free of that stupid, impossible to open bubble pack and programmed it so that I could demonstrate exactly how it works for Jan and Ron. (Yes, I demonstrated by showing them what my resting heartrate was and then running in place like a maniac and then showing them what my heartrate was again. I may or may not have also worn it while I ate my slice of GCC, and in case you were wondering, I burned 59 calories by eating birthday cake. I call that a win/win.) Now I wear it every single time I work out and I'm forever checking to see if I'm in my target heartrate zone and tracking how many calories I've burned. It even sends me a message every week on Sunday to tell me how much time I spent working out that week, what my average heartrate was, and how many calories I burned total. It's amazing. Get one!
Gift two was a total surprise, and I'm super excited about it. (I'm also a huge nerd. But I don't think I need to tell you that.) It's a book called The Great Typo Hunt: Two Friends Changing the World, One Correction at a Time. I just started reading it a couple of days ago so I can't give you much of a review yet, but I love it already, just on principle. It combines two of my favorite things: correcting typos and roadtrips. What's not to love??
There was also some OPI nail polish thrown in there for good measure. So fun! A big thank you to both of you for making my birthday so fun and relaxing!
I also received several fabulous birthday packages from friends. Thank you all so much! You all really outdid yourselves and I'm so lucky to have you in my life!
When I got back to Minnesota I celebrated with friends here (who also outdid themselves). Julia hosted a lovely birthday lunch for Laura and me, complete with Spanky's breadstix (Fremont shoutout!), soup, and salad, and Julia, Jon, and Kristin took me out for the annual birthday GCB. (That's Garlic Cheeseburger, for those of you that didn't go to DePauw.) Afterwards Kristin had us over to her place, where she gave me the traditional golden birthday gifts of Golden Grahams and Hershey's Golden Nuggets and we had champagne and cupcakes. What more could a girl ask for?!
I think 29 is going to be a very good year...
Ron's Grilled Salmon
Jan's Salad
(How cute is her new salad bowl/claw combo??)
My Spaghetti Squash
Mom*Star's World Famous Homemade German Chocolate Cake (Complete With Festive Candle)
(Ron helped!!)
After dinner we ate cake and they gave me some really mushy cards (Yep, I cried.) and a couple of super awesome gifts. I'm sure you're dying to know what they are, so I'll tell you! Gift one was something that I asked for: a Polar F6 heartrate monitor. (Pink, of course.)
If you don't have one of these and you work out with any regularity, I cannot recommend it highly enough! (You're welcome, people at the Polar company!) I absolutely love it. In fact, I might even be a wee bit obsessed with it. Upon unwrapping it, I immediately busted it free of that stupid, impossible to open bubble pack and programmed it so that I could demonstrate exactly how it works for Jan and Ron. (Yes, I demonstrated by showing them what my resting heartrate was and then running in place like a maniac and then showing them what my heartrate was again. I may or may not have also worn it while I ate my slice of GCC, and in case you were wondering, I burned 59 calories by eating birthday cake. I call that a win/win.) Now I wear it every single time I work out and I'm forever checking to see if I'm in my target heartrate zone and tracking how many calories I've burned. It even sends me a message every week on Sunday to tell me how much time I spent working out that week, what my average heartrate was, and how many calories I burned total. It's amazing. Get one!Gift two was a total surprise, and I'm super excited about it. (I'm also a huge nerd. But I don't think I need to tell you that.) It's a book called The Great Typo Hunt: Two Friends Changing the World, One Correction at a Time. I just started reading it a couple of days ago so I can't give you much of a review yet, but I love it already, just on principle. It combines two of my favorite things: correcting typos and roadtrips. What's not to love??
There was also some OPI nail polish thrown in there for good measure. So fun! A big thank you to both of you for making my birthday so fun and relaxing!
I also received several fabulous birthday packages from friends. Thank you all so much! You all really outdid yourselves and I'm so lucky to have you in my life!
When I got back to Minnesota I celebrated with friends here (who also outdid themselves). Julia hosted a lovely birthday lunch for Laura and me, complete with Spanky's breadstix (Fremont shoutout!), soup, and salad, and Julia, Jon, and Kristin took me out for the annual birthday GCB. (That's Garlic Cheeseburger, for those of you that didn't go to DePauw.) Afterwards Kristin had us over to her place, where she gave me the traditional golden birthday gifts of Golden Grahams and Hershey's Golden Nuggets and we had champagne and cupcakes. What more could a girl ask for?!
I think 29 is going to be a very good year...
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Two weeks ago I went to Chicago to celebrate Tyler and Debbie's nuptials. When I saw them over Mother's Day weekend Debbie asked me if I would be her official "Wedding Gestapo," meaning I was to make sure that people were in the right places at the right times and that she didn't walk down the aisle without her shoes. (As it turned out I kept her from walking down the aisle to the wrong song! "Debbie! Where do you think you're going? Is this your jam? No. Wait for your jam!") What I didn't realize until I arrived Friday evening to help set up the reception venue was that she would have a page-long To Do List for me! (Debbie is one of the most organized people I've ever met. I'd like to make her an honorary Virgo!) Among other things, my duties as Wedding Gestapo included setting up favors, putting together centerpieces, lighting candles, DJ'ing the ceremony and reception via her iPod, lacing her into her corset-back dress, and bustling/re-bustling/re-re-bustling the dress. Jan & Ron were wonderful and helped me check lots of items off my list and everything went very smoothly (if I do say so myself!)! The ceremony was beautiful and the reception was tons o' fun!
And now for a few photos from the big event...
It was an honor to be a part of Tyler and Debbie's big day, and I'm so glad that I was able to take a few things off Debbie's plate so she could relax and enjoy the day. Now Tyler and Debbie are off galavanting around Europe for a couple of weeks enjoying their honeymoon. Congratulations, you two! Can't wait to hear all about your latest travel adventures!
(Vickie, I see you lurking in the shadows! I'm still waiting for you to officially follow me!) ;)
And now for a few photos from the big event...
With my mom and the Travelocity gnome at dinner before setting up at the reception venue.
Tyler, Ron, & Jim
(Ron & his two boys!)
Tyler with the Flower Girls
Jan & Tyler
Tyler & Trish
Champagne as far as the eye can see!
Jan, Ron, & Trish
Cake!
First Dance
I didn't take nearly as many photos as I normally would (I was a little busy), and I especially hate that I didn't get many photos of Debbie or even a photo with her! I suppose it's a good sign that I was having too much fun to take photos though, right?
Oh, I suppose I should explain the title of this post. As I was driving to Chicago I was talking with my good friend Missy and we were discussing the fact that I was the official Wedding Gestapo. Now I'm not sure if she mis-spoke, or if I was just losing it after so many hours alone in the car, but I could have sworn she referred to me as the "Wedding Gazpacho" which, if you don't know, is a cold tomato soup often served in the hot summer months in Spain. I couldn't stop giggling about her alleged slip-up, so when I arrived that evening I told Debbie about it and she thought it was pretty cute too. The next morning when I texted the bride to wish her a happy wedding day and to tell her to let me know if she needed anything before I was scheduled to see her she responded with a cheery, "Good Morning, Gazpacho!" It kept us giggling all day long, so thanks for the laughs, Missers!
It was an honor to be a part of Tyler and Debbie's big day, and I'm so glad that I was able to take a few things off Debbie's plate so she could relax and enjoy the day. Now Tyler and Debbie are off galavanting around Europe for a couple of weeks enjoying their honeymoon. Congratulations, you two! Can't wait to hear all about your latest travel adventures!
(Vickie, I see you lurking in the shadows! I'm still waiting for you to officially follow me!) ;)
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