Cream Cheese Please

Great Day for a Birthday Party!

It's Spring (no snow here!) and it was a beautiful day to celebrate a certain 5 year olds birthday. Yes, Spring is upon us in full force here in Texas..........just look at this beautiful wisteria blossom that has sprung forth in my backyard.


And then there was the birthday party. Here is the Princess for a Day (more like a lifetime!), Miss Emori Lynn.

Everyone had a great time and fortunately for us grandparents, it didn't last all night. Here's some pictures of everyone having fun.........


Don't hate me because I'm beautiful!!!

Horseshoes anyone?













FORE!!!!!!!!!!!

It's Uncle Mike!

HAPPY EASTER JENNIFER!!!

A Gazillion Inches of Snow Last Night

Note the advantages of shoveling!
A nice clean driveway :)

More on the Geese

You're welcome, Jenn! Glad they made it back. I see that Hank, Earl and Waylon are looking fit (we took very good care of them while they were here in Texas).

ah hum.........

Happy birthday to youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu
Happy birthday to youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu
Happy birthday Dear Elidaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
Happy birthday to youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu

Sandi

Happy Birthday Elida!!

They're back......It's officially Spring

Thanks for sending the geese back to Minnesota Sandi!
They are everywhere this morning... beautiful site!

Buzzer Dude

Did you ever wonder who activates the goal siren at a hockey game?
Yes we are your one stop blog spot for wealth of information. BK & I were at a
Minnesota Wild game last night and I asked who the dude in the suit was.
BK told me it's the guy that watches for goals and pushes the button to activate the
siren. WELL DUH..... Silly me. I thought he was some "really" important guy sitting
there in his suit. Nice seats huh - Row 6

Snot Cam

I have the plague and I think my dh gave it to me. Bless his pointy little head. I think I’ve been trying to get sick for a week. All week I was coughing and sneezing and then *POW*, Friday morning I woke up all congested. Me and 47 million other people woke up congested. I don’t have time for this. I have quilts to make, bracelets to make, carrots to sculpt out of salt dough and our granddaughter is having her birthday party (she’s 5) here at our house next Saturday and I have a million and one things to do to get ready for that………. *GASP*.

You know when you get a cold or sinus infection, how your eyes swell up until you can’t see anything and your nose is so packed with snot you can’t breath (just keep‘n it real folks). I hate that. I, for one, like being able to breath. It gives me a warm fuzzy feeling and I tend to get very cranky when I can’t breath.

So this morning I wake up…….trudge into the bathroom and make the mistake of looking in the mirror……more gasping. Because I have moderate sleep apnea, I use a CPAP machine at night so in addition to the swollen snot encrusted eyes, I have strap marks all over my face. My face literally looks like I fell asleep, face down, on a lawn chair. It was very scary.

I was talking to Jennifer this morning and told her since I wasn’t feeling well, I was having trouble thinking of something to *blog* about. She emphatically told me *NO SNOT PICTURES*. And then I got to thinking. For all you people out there that just HAVE to know why things happen, wouldn’t it be great if someone created a NASAL CAM (aka proboscis cam, schnoz cam, beak cam, snot cam)??? Then maybe we could find the answer to the oldest question on earth……… where does all this snot come from!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now there’s something to think about………

Blessings!

Boy, times have changed!

Here's a photo of me on one of our 4 sleds waaaay back when. Note the DOT
compliant helmet...isn't that a charmer? Then you have the fashion statement
snowmobile suit and where did I ever leave those leather mittens w/liner?





And today. This is my Blue Knight last month at a vintage
snowmobile event. BK's helmet is "flashy", matches his snowmobile
gear. His jacket and snow pants cost more than the sleds
he's standing behind I'm sure? Look at those vintage sleds...they are polished
spit shined and wax has been applied to them I'm sure. I don't EVER
recall putting a drop of water or wax on our sleds. They are snowmobiles
for cryin' out loud??? Times sure have changed........

Chuck Norris & I

My Blue Knight and I were going through old photo's last night and here's an oldie!
Chuck Norris and I when I worked for Wellcraft Marine in Sarasota/Bradenton FL.
Chuck and Don Johnson, yes the Miami Vice Don Johnson,
use to race our Scarabs (for the layman - that is a long VERY fast boat)
Like the boats used on Miami Vice. Those were our Scarabs.

Nice Hair Jennifer!

Here I Thought Minnesota Had Issues!!

This is my girlfriend "Elida's" truck buried in her Canadian driveway.
She said she won't get her truck out till June??? (Snicker)

Elida's attempt at "hand shoveling" her sidewalk to the house.
You guys really need to invest in a skid steer. I hear they work great!!

Love you Elida! Jennifer

Cool Perspective

Luna and I went for a walk yesterday over by the water tower. (Photo 1)
I took a break and sat on the concrete footing of the tower overlooking the
vast land. Actually, I was watching Luna buzz around like
a chicken with her head cut off and I looked up.

What a cool perspective I saw of the moon. Well maybe you had
to be there????

Here are a couple of photo's.
Enjoy! Jennifer

Can You Believe...........

It's suppose to get up to 85 degrees F here tomorrow, but down in the 60's at night. I went out this afternoon and took some pictures to show you how Spring is shaping up down here in the big T. A sure fire clue that it's Spring is this picture here........ This little guy (his name is Thomas) was on the Bridal Wreath which is just now beginning to flower. Where's there's one, there are many! I usually find them the first time I open the umbrella. No kidding! There was one year that I opened the umbrella and there were hundreds of them. What a sight!.


















Here's another sure sign of Spring. The peeps start getting rowdy. Can you believe this behavior. This is totally unacceptable!

Now this is HOT!!!!!!

Jennifer Nettles is just one incredible singer what can I say??
Puts tears in my eyes and a smile on my face !!!!

I apologize for the 30 sec commercial shown first, but I have no control over that.

Sugarland (Jennifer Nettles), Her Band "Little Big Town" and "Jake Owen"

http://www.cmt.com/videos/sugarland/209852/life-in-a-northern-town.jhtml

Enjoy!
This Jennifer ~

It's Coming!!!

I believe Summer is just around the corner??
Ah yes, I can see it now ......Swimsuit's, Thong's and Sarong's !!!

What you can do with your G.I. Joe Action Figures

Donkey Basketball Anyone??

My Blue Knight asked me last week if I've heard of an event called "Donkey Basketball"? I replied......."um no". So the inquisitive me checks it out. Here's a photo. It looks fun to me!!!
No PETA I am not promoting the use of donkey's for recreational use.
Just passing information along :)

Have a great day!
Jennifer

Chicken Enchiladas To Die For!!!!!

After my DH's scary episode yesterday (from which he has fully recovered) I thought I would fix him a special dinner tonight. I have never fixed any kind of enchilada (much less any other mexican dish) before so it was an experiment and Holy moley, they were awesome. My DH and I both just sat there moaning and groaning. He said they were better than anything he'd ever had in a restaurant....WOO HOO!!! I want to share this recipe with you, so here goes..............

Chicken Enchiladas with Creamy Green Chile Sauce

Things you'll be a needin.....

1 tbsp. butter
3/4 c. chopped onion
1 large clove garlic, minced (I used 1/2 tbsp. of the minced garlic you buy in a jar)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cumin
2 tbsp. flour
1-1/2 c. chicken broth
2 cans or jars (4.5 ounces each) chopped green chiles (undrained)
vegetable oil for softening tortillas
12 corn tortillas
2 c. coarsely shredded cooked chicken
2 c. shredded Monterrey Jack cheese
1 c. heavy whipping cream

In saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Saute onion until transparent. Stir in garlic, salt and cumin. Stir in flour until well combined. Slowly stir in broth. Add chiles and stir well. Reduce heat to simmer; cook, uncovered, about 15 minutes. (Sauce can be prepared to this point, cooled and refrigerated 24 hours in advance.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place as many tortillas on 2 cookie sheets as will fit in a single layer. Brush lightly on both sides with vegetable oil. Bake 3 minutes to arm and soften tortillas before rolling. Stack on a place and cover with foil to keep warm while filling. Repeat until all tortillas are warmed.

Now for the chicken........ I used 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts. I seasoned the breasts liberally with Grub Rub (you can get this at most Academy stores) and pepper. If you can't find Grub Rub, season them however you like them best. Cook in a frying pan over medium heat with the enough Olive Oil to cover the bottom of the frying pan, for approximately 10 minutes on each side, or until completely cooked, but not dried out.

Combine chicken and 1/2 cup of the green chile sauce. To fill tortillas, place 2 tablespoons of chicken mixture and 2 tablespoons cheese across the center of each tortilla. Roll up and place seam-side-down in a 13 x 9 inch baking dish. Pour remaining sauce over rolled enchiladas; then pour whipping cream evenly over entire mixture and top with grated Monterrey Jack cheese. Bake, uncovered in preheated 350 degree F. oven for 20 minutes. BON APPETITE!!! :)

Let me know if you try it and how liked it!

Blessings,
Sandi

Scary Day in Texas

I can't tell you how excited I was to stagger out of bed this morning at 6:20 am (about an hour late) so I could drive (actually be chauffered) to work 50 miles from home............NOT! My husband and I both start our day in downtown Houston every freakin' morning. This morning started out like any other except for the part where he announced half way to Houston, while we're in the middle of the HOV Lane on I-10, rather calmly, that he felt like he was going to pass out............at first I thought he was kidding. So me being the idiot that I am said..............*are you serious*? When I looked at him he was blinking very fast and blowing air out of his mouth in short puff's. He say's.....*I'm serious and I have a burning sensation throughout my entire torso*........I say PULL OVER........He says.....wait until we get to a place where I can pull over.......I said PULL OVER (cause now I'm envisioning playing bumper cars in the HOV lane at 65 mph -- plus if I have to call 911, how the hell are they going to get to us......am I going to have to meet an ambulance somewhere......where?.....). FINALLY, we came to a place in the HOV lane where we actually could pull over without causing a MAJOR traffic jam. Quickly, he and I traded places. I got behind the wheel and started driving. I took him to the nearest Emergency Room which happened to be probably 5 miles away. He had the same feeling 3-4 more times with the burning sensation going all the way to his feet. When we got there, they took him immediately into Triage (where he had another episode) and ran an EKG, CAT scan, chest x-ray and blood work...........all of which came back normal........THANK YOU SWEET JESUS! They have no idea why this happened to him. We went to see our family doctor this afternoon and she had no idea why this happened either. But she didn't rule out a possible panic attack..........YIKES. Scared the crapola out both of us.

Kiss your loved ones before you go to bed tonight and tell them that you love them!!! Never assume that they know that................

Blessings!

Becoming observant!

I pass by my Blue Knight's bike in the garage every day and I just noticed (trying to be more observant these days) that the brake on his bike is made by Shimano.

What the heck?

I happen to know that they make fishing rod and reels for Pete's sake!

How diverse of them???



Jennifer

I am so non-observant

Reader's Digest version on how this all came about. Judie comes into the office today
thinking her daughter has lost her mind. Her daughter told her last night, did you know there is
an indicator on a car that tells you "WHICH SIDE" of the car the "gas tank is on"? Judie not meaning
ANY harm to her daughter laughs at her, nodding her head, thinking okay honey whatever
you say. Dismisses the whole event and continues on with her life that evening.

Judie climbs in her own car this morning and there it is, like writing on the wall.

Judie arrives @ work and informs me of such newly found information of which I crave!!!
She tells me the whole story and my mind is turning thinking back to all the vehicles I've
owned and I've owned a lot of em' & the current one that I drive and I've NEVER noticed
such handy information?? So, I immediately go out to my own vehicle and *gasp* there it
is.....the words & symbol imprinted so eloquently on the gauge from Ford,
I almost passed out.

Not that I needed to know which side of my car had the gas tank filler-upper thingy
is after owning said vehicle for over 4 years, it's just I NEVER NOTICED
THE WORDS IMPRINTED ON THERE!!! Do you realize I've looked at that gas gauge
a minimum of 4 years x 365 days = 1460 times. That's once a day glancing at the
damn thing. Let's go twice a day 2,920 times and I'm a SLOW driver so I'm sure I've glanced
down several other times during a drive. I NEVER noticed such a thing?? UGH!!

Well, going forward in life I will be seeking out said gauge on every car I get into. Handy
information for when you borrow a friend's car, rent a car, or even steal a car to know which
side of the car you should pull up at the pump?? That last one about stealing the car..I'm
kidding. I don't steal EVER!! Okay, maybe permanently borrowed a paper clip.

Anyway, I kinda feel like an idiot never noticing !!! See a picture of my gauge below!

Looks to me by that gauge I need to get fuel in the morning.





Jennifer watches everyone reading this going out to their car to see if they have such an indicator :)

Stand Tall Dragons!!!

Stand tall little dragons being towed to safety! Stand tall!!!
You'll make it to your next destination in time, I just know it!!!!




Arent' they the cutest things?

Jennifer

Get 'em!!

Marley.........intruder? .......cat? ......raccoon in the dumpster?
hmmmmm

They're following me???

I come into work today and thar she is. Or is it thar he is?
I think skid steer's are following me??? Going to have nightmares?
Ugh...........




Jennifer

~ With Three Cats In The Yard ~

Great song by Crosby, Stills Nash & Young. "Our House"

~ Three cats in the yard ~

"Our house is a very, very fine house, with two cats in the yard
life used to be so hard............now everything is easy 'cause of you!!"

Oops, nevermind.....it's two cats in the yard?

Well, here's my three cat's. They have fishing poles darn it!
That has to count for something?





Jennifer

Severe Storm "Passed" Through MN Sept 16, 2006

Silly silly Sandi. Now THIS is a severe storm. An F2 tornado that hit my neighborhood
9-16-06. I am in no way diminishing the devastating destruction you experienced today, nor
your fear and worries. This tornado hit my place. Blew out my master bedroom window,
ripped siding, roofing & vents off and demolished most of the houses across the street from me
and then continued down the road half a mile and got my boss's house. My boss's wife and I can laugh about it today after reading your post. Another one of life's experiences.

This is my boss's house that got hit. Their main garage is no where to be found!









This WAS their other garage on the side of their property.
My boss lost many many classic cars.
The entire building was taken off the foundation. You can see
where the SKID STEER (I have no idea who the manufacturer
of that model is or who's it is) sits and that's where the garage started!
Minnesota sure does have a lot of skid steers! Maybe I need to
buy one? Keep up with the "Jone's"? Maybe I can plug in next to
Bob Cat dude? Hmmm, what would I use it for? Do I know how to
operate one? Why yes I do! Bill, my girlfriend's husband taught me
while clearing trees from their property after this storm! OH DUH!!!! That
must be Deb and Bill's skid steer seeing as they live right next door to my boss ?
I will have to look into this skid steer owning phenomenon!!!






The cars being towed out from under the fallen garage.





S & J's house & garage have been re-built. Let's pray for a quiet tornado season!!

Jennifer

Severe Storms Move Through Texas!!!

I promised I'd let you know how it went when the storms moved through my neck of the woods. For two days we've been warned about this storm that would move through the area today. We were warned of high winds, hail, torrential downpours and tornado's. I even got my mattress and moved it to the bathroom.....scary stuff! And thank God for weather people, huh? What would happen if there were no warnings! What if we didn't know what was coming? Here is a picture of my backyard just as it was starting to rain lightly; before the storm got here..............

and here is the deadly aftermath..............

Boy howdy!!! That was a close call!!!!

*snicker* *snort*

Blessings!

A Boy Named Sioux

Yep, that's right -- his name is Sioux and he is my 19 month old kitty (aka nitty). My husband named him and I named his sister, Sioux-Z. Pretty clever, eh? Sioux and Sioux-Z are full brother and sister as well as litter mates. They are indoor/outdoor models, but if I know the weather is going to be bad (like today, for instance), they're indoor nitties. Sioux is a big boy and weighs in at a full 16 pounds, and in the other corner, his sister, weighs in at a full 8 pounds. BIG difference. Amazing isn't it? Amazingly enough though, she is the hunter and he is the lazy fat cat. But he's a very cool lazy fat cat. You can pick Sioux up by grabbing him just in front of his hind legs and hoist him upside down and then swing him through the air, or you can use him as a dust mop, wiping the floor with him (this doesn't work very well on carpeted floors, though -- tends to leave rug burns and I don't do things to my nitties that I don't think they enjoy too).

I had to open the windows in the house this weekend because the air conditioning units pooped out on us. Plus, after the 3 minutes of winter we had here in Texas, it was nice to air out the place. Sioux perched himself in our bedroom window after hearing the insistent chirping of a bird who apparently was also happy that the 3 minutes of winter was over. Here is a picture of Sioux gazing out our bedroom window looking for said bird (that blue thing you see is a goat cart -- FOR REAL!!!). What you can't see is him drooling.....

After awhile he lost interest and went back to being his normal self (lazy fat cat).

Sioux Rocks!!!

We're expecting some severe weather in an hour or so and I thought it might be fun to take pictures of the weather in action. So.................check back later.

Blessings!

KQ's Arctic Plunge on Long Lake, Isanti MN

Well I attended this event yesterday on my girlfriend's lake. Was handy because we didn't have far to go with the snowmobiles. We watched the idiots jump in the lake and you know, none of them even seemed the slightlest bit cold when they got out? Maybe it was just me that was cold? Was a beautiful day until around 4:00pm started to get COLD AS HECK!!!!

Diane and I getting the sleds off their trailer.

Cutting of the Ice

Brave Souls Preparing to Jump In . In the background, can you see

how thick those ice blocks are that they removed??

The Tooth Fairy made it out alive thank goodness!

We need the Tooth Fairy around!! Very Important Person!

Diane's son Ashton was a tad bored with the whole thing! Keeping warm

under my feet. Yes, that's a little boy down in there.

This is Diane. We have been friends for over 30 years!

Di & I. One of those self-portraits where ya hold your own camera out there

with your arm extended and hope for the best?

We attempt it again! I love black n white photos!

Ashton took this one of us. Good job buddy! Just enjoying a Bloody Mary at the resort!

The end of a great day!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank's Diane.