Would you like to buy some... Chicken eggs?!

I didn't blog for almost a month, and now you're getting two in one weekend. You can close your mouths now :P

So yesterday, we drove to Mankato for Matt's swim meet. Ashleigh and Megan came to our house around 11 and then my parents picked the four of us up from here. We decided that it would be really fun to play Smarty Party in the car. Especially because Beth just got the expansion pack so we finally had some new cards to play with (we've been through the whole original deck). Here were some of my favorite categories and answers that were given.

Most popular ways to prepare an egg:
"Chicken Egg?" - Megan

Countries in Africa that start with G, H, I, J, K, or L:
"Peru?" - Ashleigh

Catholic Pope's names:
"Benedict?" - Ashleigh (correct!)
"Arnold?" - Megan

MLB, NBA, or NFL team nicknames that are birds:
"Magpies?" - Ashleigh

Cuts of steak:
"Cow butt?" - Beth (it wasn't her real answer, we were just brainstorming :P)

We had to stop in Waseca for Dad to go to the bathroom. We stopped at this little gas station and they only had an outside bathroom. He took the key, and then came back in. He broke the key in the lock. Haha! So then we piled back into the car and he tried to drive away before Beth was in. And then, to top it all off, he almost hit another car while we were trying to get out of the parking lot.

When we got to Mankato, we were trying to move things around in the car so Ashleigh and Megan could get out of the back. I accidentally knocked the Smarty Party cards over and barely caught them before some fell into the snow. They got a little mixed up and Beth nearly killed me. We kept giving her crap about it and she said, "That's not funny. It's traumatizing!"

We made it to the meet and Emmalee met us there. The meet was super close. It came down to the last relay. If MSU had won the relay, they would have won the meet by 1 point. But we didn't let that happen! We won the last relay and walked away with the win. Matt had a good meet, too. It was nice for all of us to be there. But we were rather loud and obnoxious while he swam :P

After the meet, we ate at Johnny B's Bar and Beef. We assumed it would be a burger place. But no... They only had like 4 menu items. Roast Beef, Chicken, Ham, and then some appetizers. It was interesting.

On the drive home, it started snowing. We got passed by a semi and then Dad couldn't see anything. By the time we could see again, we had accidentally taken an exit. Haha! We would have known that we were on the exit if any of us had been looking at the GPS (which Beth and I named Emma Emma). Oh well.

And my last two memories... First, Ashleigh kept messing with Beth's hair. Beth was hitting her and she said, "Stop touching my hair! Do you know how long it takes me to get it to look like this!" Which was funny because she rolled out of bed after Ashleigh and Megan got to our house. Haha!

When we drove through Dodge Center, I said "Merry Christmas" because it was on a building. Ashleigh's response was, "Julie New Year." I looked at her all confused and said, "Who's Julie New Year?" "I don't know, who's Mary Christmas?!" Seriously, I was crying because I was laughing so hard. It took me forever to pull myself together.

Anyway, it was a fun day. Go Huskies!

I'm obsessed with ballroom dance!

Oh dear. It's been almost a whole month since I blogged last. Clearly my life is insane! I could catch everyone up on my life, but what would be the fun in that? Haha. Instead, I am going to blog about the FANTASTIC night that I had last night!

So after my West Coast Swing lesson last Monday, I was really excited to get out and go dancing. I decided that I should go Friday. I didn't have anything else planned, and there were several people I'd been trying to plan times to go with, so here was my big chance :) And I am SO glad I did!

We got there at 7:30 and it was a Rumba lesson. I attempted to teach Kelly how to do it, but I am a bad teacher! I bit the bullet and learned the guys part so I could lead that one. Laura and Shane came, and I tried to teach them. Some guy, who clearly knew how to teach the guy's part better, came over and helped too.

The dance started, and Kaela and Jared came. Soo exciting to see Kaela again! I did some Rumba with Kelly, some East Coast Swing with Laura, some East Coast swing with a guy named Ed, some East Coast Swing with Mike, some Rumba with Jacob (who at least came and danced a few songs with me so we could show off our moves!), some East Coast Swing with Jared, and some Rumba Josh. Then, Jared taught me how to Merengue... Thanks to Kaela for requesting a Merengue song! I guess it pays to have connections ;).

Pretty sure one of my favorite moments was when Shane came over and told me I had to come see his and Laura's dance. It was the cutest thing ever! They choreographed this whole little routine. Definitely some Rumba in it, but other stuff too. I loved it! I hope they come back the next time we go :)

The crowd started dwindling and it ended up being just me and Kelly left. We tried to decide if we should stay or go. There was a Salsa song on, so I decided to see what I remembered. I showed Kelly the basic, the ladies underarm turn, and the cross-body lead. We practiced over in the table area and then hoped for another Salsa to come on. The next song they played was our song... "Save the Last Dance for Me." We went out and Salsa-ed to it. It was so great! Then we did a Rumba and then Kelly learned to Waltz with some guy.

While Kelly was Waltzing, Fred came over and asked me if I had known Jared and Kaela before. Haha. Yeah. I explained how I knew Kaela. It was entertaining. We finally left about 11:40, I think.

It was definitely one of the most fun nights I've had dancing. We're going to go to Latin Night on December 21st. So you should all come!!! It's amazing!

That's all I've got for you. I'll have pictures up soon. And I will try to blog again before January :P

You are not in front of Amy's house! I'm in front of Amy's house!

This was an amazing weekend. I got to spend time with so many friends. It was so great. So here's the rundown. I think this one will get long again. My apologies!

FRIDAY

I got up early on Friday and was at school by 7:15. I worked in my room all morning. Janet and I probably did more talking than working, but it was really good. I went over to the Carlson house and picked up Laura for our movie. We saw "American Gangster." It was really good. A little long, but good.

After I dropped her off at home, I ran home to finish packing. Then I was on the road. I actually had a dent in my finger from texting the whole time I was driving to Crown. Haha! I got to Laura's dorm around 7, but we didn't stay long. We hopped back in my car and drove to Nate's apartment in Hutchinson.

I got the tour and then we just sat and talked in the living room. My favorite was the fact that Nate and I were writing on each other's Facebook walls while we sat there. I got to meet Nate's roommate too. He's a funny kid. At like 9:30, we headed over to Applebee's for dinner. After a wonderful dinner, and an even more amazing change to talk, they were closing. I think it was midnight. But our night could not end there...

A random Wal-Mart trip would do just the trick! Nate and Laura wanted to show me the pink Christmas tree. But it was no longer there :( But since we were in the Christmas section, we stopped to play all the video games they had set up. First, Nate and I played Scene-It on XBox 360. If they had that game for PS2 or Wii, I would totally buy it. It was fun!

Then, I played Mario Galaxy on Wii. I didn't like it very much. And finally, I played Rock Band, I think. I was TERRIBLE! I was laughing so hard because Nate and Laura were making fun of me. I thought I was going to pee my pants. Seriously. I wish they had had a camera, because I bet I looked hilarious.

Our final stop in Wal-Mart was the crane game. Nate went first and won a purple elephant. Laura went next, but didn't win. Then I went next and won another purple elephant. Well that just would not do. We kept feeding quarters into the machine until Laura finally won a pink leopard. We went back to Nate's and then Laura and I drove back to Crown. I pretty much fell asleep right away.

Saturday

I got up and drove to St. Cloud for Matt's meet. It was nice because he had a long break in between his relay and his 200 fly. It was nice to sit and talk to him. I was texting Laura most of the afternoon. At one point, I must have looked really funny because I was standing there crying. Hopefully no on noticed. I would just like to say thank you to Laura for being so sweet. I love you so much!
I saw Matt swim his 50 breast on the relay, the 200 fly, and the 200 I.M. I didn't get to stay for the 100 fly because it was going to be too late. I left so I could make it to Nicollet for Amy's play.

I called Janet and one point while I was driving. When I was on the phone with her, I missed a turn. Haha, whoops. I noticed it after only a few miles, then I was good the rest of the way.

Sarah, Jill, Emmalee, and I sat in the front row. Kelsey, Laura, Whitney, and Heather sat behind us. Amy was so cute! I loved smiling at her and making her smile back. Oh, good times!

After the play, we went with the cast to Buffalo Wild Wings in Mankato. It was a fun night. It was hard to say goodbye, like always. As I drove home, I talked to Emmalee and then Sarah to keep me awake. I also learned the fine art of texting and talking at the same time. Haha.

So seriously, thanks to everyone who I got to see this weekend. I had a wonderful time! And thanks to everyone who either talked to me or texted me to help me stay awake. I love you all very, very much!

What's a shank?

Well, I pretty much suck at blogging ever since I started teaching. Oh goodness. Life is just crazy busy. But, due to some crazy fun times that transpired tonight, I thought it was time to whip out the old typing fingers :P

So there I was... the Council meeting had ended and I was chilling in the parking lot with a lot of cool folks. It was cold. But we had fun standing in the parking lot and talking. Then... the real fun began!

Funny Moment #1: Julianna was walking toward Aaron, Kelsey, Sarah, and I. Aaron yelled, "JJ! Behind the tree!" She ran back and hid behind the tree. Priceless!

After freezing for a while, Aaron, Sarah, Julianna, and I (The Fab 4) decided we should go back into the church and be warm. We tried the door, but it was locked. So, we went around to the pastor's door, which was open. Although, I'm pretty sure it wasn't suppose to be. Julianna's already fitting right in on Council. Helping us break into churches is always a plus!

We knew that Gary, Ben, and Bob were still up stairs having a closed-door meeting. We thought we might be able to scare them when the left. We stood by the stair talking and having a real-life poke war. Oh, good times were had by all.

So then, we started hearing something by the door. It was a tad creepy. I saw a penny fall from somewhere. We started trying to figure out where it was coming from. We could tell it wasn't dropping from above, so we were quite confused. Someone then had the genius idea that it was just the radiator.

Not so, it kept happening. We figured it was coming from downstairs and they were throwing pennies up at us. Aaron laid down on the stairs and tried to peek down. No good. He got up, another penny came flying at him, and he ran to "catch" whoever was down there.

I'm pretty sure there was screaming, and then some almost peeing our pants. Seriously, freaking hilarious.

So, if you haven't figured it out by now. It was Ben, Bob, and Gary. They got us good. I will totally give them mad props for that one. I had the crap scared out of me by Death and friends. Good job, guys. Good job.

Funny Moment #2: We were recounting the events of the evening and the conversation between Julianna and Aaron about made me die.

Julianna: "And you were down there, Mister..."
Aaron: "Rambo? MacGyver?"
Julianna: "Clint Eastwood."

And finally...

Funny Moment #3: We made Bob drive her car over by us so we could see the lovely artwork. The "whale eye" on the sunroof was priceless. I hope she never washes it off :P

The Fab 4 were the last ones in the parking lot tonight. Oh man, it was fun! I can't wait till next month :D

T.E.C. #69 - Catch a Fire!

Wow, wow, wow... I do not even know where to start with this one. T.E.C. #69 was completely and utterly amazing.

I wasn't so sure how I felt about being an ATL again, but once again... God's way is ALWAYS better than my way. I had the best table EVER! Yay for the Frolicking Flamingos Breakfast Club of T.E.C. 69. Whoo God! I love them all so much and I miss them already... Like crazy :(

I also had an incredible time with the friends that God has blessed me with. The friends who have been through so much with me. And new friends that He allowed me to grow closer with. It was just all around an unfathomably amazing weekend!

I could blog about a million different things from this weekend. But instead, here's my Top 10. Drum roll please...

10 - The Talent Share

I always laugh a lot at the Talent Share, but this one was one of my favorites. I loved the Wheat skit/musical, our Frolicking Lesson was a lot of fun, Sister Act was a blast, both the youth and adult leadership skits were hilarious, and Joey's dance was AMAZING! All of the acts were great, I loved it all! If I didn't mention it by name, I'm sorry!

9 - The ATLs

The Adults that I got to work with this weekend were amazing. It was so much fun to talk and spend time with each and every one of them. I loved being serious and having great talks with them and lifting each other up in prayer. And I also loved being crazy with these amazing, amazing people. Sister Act was a blast!

8 - The Conference Room

The Conference Room was incredible! Aaron and Hannah were absolutely the perfect leaders for this weekend. I was so thankful to be there with both of them. It was amazing to get even closer to Aaron and to really get to know Hannah for the first time. Sarah and Bill rocked! I always love working with Sarah. And the Music Team was so awesome, I can't even tell you! Getting to work so closely with all of them was a HUGE blessing. It really was the PERFECT Conference Room!

7 - Sharyn

I have spent almost 2 years really wanting to work with Sharyn. I have always had a feeling that she and I would get along really well. Not only did I get to work with her this weekend, but I got to know her at a level I never expected. She and I are so much alike, it's incredible. And I feel like getting to know her at this weekend, was totally God's perfect timing. She made me cry a lot this weekend because she loves me that much. I could not ask for a better mentor and friend than her. Oh wow, she's just amazing and I love her very much!

6 - Nighttime Devos

This was one of my favorite parts of the weekend. Ever since T.E.C. 61, when Sarah and I work together, we do a devo every night. At least one of the nights, the devo is always so perfect, we just know it's God. This weekend, we actually had two nights where that happened. On Saturday night, Sarah, Hannah, and I all took the devo into the Music Girls room to share it with them too. It was an incredible opportunity to spend with God and with each other. Yay God!

5 - Friends

Oh goodness, I'm scared to name all of the amazing friends I worked with this weekend because there are SO many of them, so I won't. But they should know who they are! I always feel so blessed to work with such amazing friends. Oh wow. I just can't even tell you how much it has meant to me. And I feel truly blessed that I got to grow so much in some newish friendships. There are people I have known for a little while now, but really got to spend time with this weekend. What a true blessing it was!

And just one thing... Kelsey, I love you! It was so amazing to spend so much time with you this weekend and talk about how things were going. We have got to get together sometime. I'm thinking a slumber party is definitely in order!

4 - Prayer

Prayer works. Oh my wow! I have never felt so uplifted in prayer. Ever. It was totally incredible. We prayed all weekend about my job interview today. I felt so confident and so at peace. I think I was really able to relax and be myself. Even if I don't get the job, I know I gave it my best effort and that it will all work out.

I also had a table that was really open with prayer. It was so amazing. And I know it showed how comfortable we were with each other. From the very first night. It was super cool!

3 - Sunday

I was dreading Sunday all weekend long. I was in tears on Saturday night because I didn't want to say good-bye to my table. But Sunday did not disappoint me. The hours and hours I got to spend just with my new family (AKA The Frolicking Flamingos) was such a blessing. Affirmations were incredible. I was very emotional all day long, but I know it's just because of how much love God filled me with!

2 - The Frolicking Flamingos

I've already said it, but I'll say it again. I had the best table. I know that God brought us all together at this TEC for a reason. The time we spent together was so God-filled. Our theme for the weekend was not our copyrighted, copyrighted group hugs. But rather, the unfathomable love of Christ. Every minute that I spent with them was a blessing and I know that God had our whole weekend planned out. I miss you guys so much already! I can't wait for our Greece trip ;) Now somebody just needs to get on the winning the lottery thing. Haha!

1 - Catching a Fire!

I have been a Christian for a while now, but this weekend sparked a new fire in me. It was amazing to stand with my whole table and say, "Yes God. Here I am. I'm recommitting my life to you." Oh wow, what a weekend!

Back to the Bubble

It's gonna be a long one... You're being warned :P

Well, I pretty much just had an amazing weekend. I left on Thursday right after school, I booked it out of town! I drove and drove and drove, but finally made it up to Moorhead and met Lucy at the bonfire. Pretty sure it took her a minute to even connect that I was standing right in front of her. Haha! After the bonfire, we went back and talked in Lucy's dorm room for a few hours. Man, time flies when you haven't talked in person in 6 weeks :)

I slept at Breanna's and it was really nice to see her. Friday afternoon, I headed back over to campus and met Lucy at her dorm. It was drizzling outside so we sat and talked some more. We did end up going on a campus tour and she showed me all of the cool, new stuff. Next up, I went with her to choir. It was really fun to listen to them, they're amazing!

I talked to Megan for a while and then went and sat in my car doing some lesson plans. After Lucy was done with bells, I went back to her room and watched her do her hair. Then we decided to play some cards. It was incredibly entertaining because we really butchered some games. Go Fish was pretty sweet and I thoroughly enjoyed our attempt at Old Maid. Ha! There is definitely no one on earth that I'd rather do that with than her.

I spent that night at Jenny and Chris's house. Chris made us the best dinner. Oh man, so good! It was Chicken Parmesgana and it was amazing! Anna, Josh, and Gage got there and we all sat and visited before bed.

I woke up Saturday and went back over to campus. I met up with Megan and then she and I went to meet Kayla and Brian. The four of us watched the parade together. The parade was a tad boring, but it always is. I still had a really good time. After that, Lucy and Megan and I went to lunch at the new DS. Holy moly, they have so many more choices than we did. JEALOUS!

From there, Lucy and I went to the football game. Go Cobbers! I ran into one of my favorite ed profs ever, so that was super fun! We left after the half-time show and on the way back, ran into my friend, Andrea. It was super exciting to run into people all over the place :)

At this point, Miss Lucy needed a nap. I went to the bookstore and bought some new Cobber gear. Then, I went to Target to get a picture developed. And then I headed back over to Chris and Jenny's to change. After a short time of sitting and doing nothing, I went back to campus for the Homecoming concert. I won't go into detail, but it was LOOONG! I did love the song that the hand bell choir did with the band and, of course, I loved the choir.

I made Lucy walk me to my car so I could talk to her for a few minutes, and then I drove over to Fargo to meet Kayla and Brian at Outback. Yeah, I was only 45 minutes late. Whoops! We had dinner and then went to the Holiday Inn to play some Black Jack. It was a fun night.

On Sunday, I got up and went to All-Campus Worship with Lucy. We talked in the Hoyum lobby for a few minutes, she gave me one final pep talk, and then it was time to head to the pool. I was so nervous to swim in the Alumni meet, but I actually had a blast! I swam the 100 Sidestroke, the 100 Partner Race (which I actually only had to swim a 50 for), and the 200 Dog Paddle Relay (again, I only had to swim a 50). Our team, the NACs (Narcoleptic Albino Chipmunks) beat the Bus Drivers. It was so much fun to see all of the Alumni and meet the new swimmers.

Lucy kindly let me check my e-mail quick and then I went to kill some time. I decided to get my hair cut, naturally :P She cut off two inches, and gave me bangs. I think I like it though.

My final stop of the night, more time with Lucy. We talked with Bart for a few minutes in her dorm room and then went to Bennigan's for dinner. After dinner, we played more cards (the right way!) and then the drama began. I had some stomach trouble, but made it through. We finished off our night by going to Sunday Night at East. I'm really glad that I stayed to have the time with Lucy on Sunday night.

I left Moorhead around 10:15 and talked to Sarah for the whole three hours I was in the car. I decided I couldn't make it home, so I stayed at Sarah's house. I am so thankful that I have such amazing friends who have such great places for me to stay ;)

That pretty much covers it. I had a fantastic weekend and now I wish I was back in Moorhead. I can't wait to go back next month :P

Twins Wrap-Up

The baseball season ended last week for the Twins and I am finally getting around to blogging about it... So here you go:

9/29 Score: 4-6 (Oh well)
Boyfriend of the Day: Joe Mauer

He was 3 for 4 with 1 run and 2 RBIs.

9/30 Score: 3-2 (At least we won our last game!)
Boyfriend of the Day: Torii Hunter

As much as I hate doing this... He was 1 for 3 with 1 run and 1 RBI.

Here are the Season Totals for B.O.D.s:
1 - Justin Morneau (18)
2 - Michael Cuddyer (16)
3 - Jason Bartlett (13)
4 - Nick Punto (12)
5 - Jason Kubel (11)
6 - Torii Hunter (8)
7 - Joe Mauer (7)
8 - Scott Baker (5)
T9 - Alexi Casilla, Johan Santana, & Jason Tyner (3)

And we'll stop there...

The Corgi is not for sale

I am clearly too busy for my own good if I haven't blogged in a whole week. Haha! School was good this week. I can't think of anything out of the ordinary that happened. The kids are getting better at Centers every day and I just love spending time with them. Beth came to school on Friday and we painted ducks. It was a ton of fun and I think Beth really liked the little ones :)

The highlights of my week were going to watch Laura play volleyball on Monday night. Go Mayo! I'm going to go to Northfield to watch her play this Monday. I'm pretty much excited about it.

I got my first pay check on Friday. That was uber exciting :)

Ooh, and also on Friday... The K-Team went out to the Macaroni Grill for lunch. We always go out to lunch on Fridays, but yesterday was Laurie's birthday, so we went somewhere extra special. Oh, good times!

Fall TV kicked off this week. Heroes, Grey's, CSI, Ugly Betty, and Private Practice did not disappoint!

We also spent a lot of time this week setting up for our garage sale, which was this morning. We got rid of all of the big stuff, including a washer, dryer, two TVs, and some VCRs and DVD players. We made just under $300, so Beth and I are pumped to go shopping later! Haha :D

Countdown to the Best Weekend Ever: 5 days!

And now for some Twins updates... I would totally give up on this, but I feel like I need a complete tally at the end of the season :) So here goes...

Monday's Score: 2-0 (Yay!)
Boyfriend of the Day: Carlos Silva

He pitched 7 1/3 shut out innings. Impressive...

Tuesday's Score: 0-8 (Yikes!)
Boyfriend of the Day: Michael Cuddyer

Cuddles was 2 for 2 with 2 walks. He was trying to help us out!

Wednesday's Score: 4-9 (Ouch!)
Boyfriend of the Day: Justin Morneau

The Fiance was 2 for 3 with an RBI and a run.

Thursday's Score: 5-4 (Yay!)
Boyfriend of the Day: Jason Bartlett

Jason Pear was 3 for 5 with 2 runs.

Friday's Score: 2-5 (No bueno...)
Boyfriend of the Day: Jason Kubel

Kubel Khan seemed to be the only one who could really hit off their pitcher...

Only two more games of the season folks. I know some of you are relieved :)