Last night was the St Paul show of the NKOTB reunion tour. Yes, I paid a fair amount to go see them (I never got to as a kid). Yes, I bough the way over priced t-shirt (again, never as a kid). Yes, I screamed over and over and over and was very excited by seeing them live, in person, performing for "the best crowd so far."
Yeah, I have been to enough concerts that I know almost every crowd is the best crowd. But, I couldn't help but be very entertained by my favorite band from my childhood. 15 years has done all of them well. They didn't do as much dancing as was done in their late 80-early 90s shows (so I am told). I believe this was a good thing. They did some boy-band choreography which was great, but they were actually able to focus more on singing. Jordan did use his falsetto in many of the places he did back in the day. There were a few places where he missed and you could see he was frustrated, but he really did well.
I could post lots and lots of ramblings about the evening, most of which would go unappreciated. So instead I will just leave it at it was a wonderful evening seeing them live (finally) and I had a blast with my cousins. I am glad they came to MN and would consider seeing them again.
For anyone that might be curious, here is the set list as posted by Star Tribune.
Single / My Favorite Girl / You Got It (The Right Stuff) / Didn’t I (Blow Your Mind This Time) / Valentine Girl / Please Don’t Go Girl / Grown Man / Games / If You Go Away / 2 in the Morning (kicked off three-song set on the small rotating stage) / Dirty Dancing / Tonight / Twisted / Baby, I Believe in You / Give It to You / Stay the Same / Cover Girl / I’ll Be Loving You / Click, Click, Click / Summertime
ENCORE: Step by Step / Hangin’ Tough
Donnie sang Games while Danny did some break dancing. Give it to You was a solo by Jordan and Stay the Same was a solo by Joe. Cover Girl was a solo by Donnie. I liked it, but not the silhouette of naked dancing girls on the screen in the back ground. With 98% of the audience being women, I kind of thought that was a bit much.
the "small rotating stage" made reference to in the set list was in front of the sound/light set up and actually pretty much right in front of where we sat. It was great!
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Monday, October 20, 2008
We've been Culverized!
A couple weeks ago Culver's opened in the Grove. Nick has never eaten at one. Saturday I remedied that. I took him to eat there and told him he could have anything he wanted. We agreed on each getting a burger combo thing. I got the butter burger with cheese. Nick got the Culver's Deluxe. It was difficult to choose as they have a huge menu. Not just lots of choices, but the menu board is ginormous! We also decided to try the chili cheese fries and the cheese curds. (Might as well go all out.) I was very excited to see the have diet dew in the fountain.
Our food arrived in what seemed like a reasonable time for how busy they were. Although the fries were regular fries. We mentioned this to the 12 year old buy that was serving us. He shrugged his shoulders and pointed to the receipt and said, "it says fries." I was like, but I ordered chili cheese fries. Blank stare. Nick asked if we could the chili cheese fries. 12 year old scurried of to find out. He returned promptly to say we could. We could even keep the regular fries. Several moments later we had chili cheese fries.
Appropriately armed with deep fried goodness we dug in. It has been quite some time since I have eaten a butter burger. It was good. The chili cheese fries were ok, but the chili tasted like it came from a can and just wasn't that good. The fries are pretty good though. Crinkle fries are vastly underrated in my opinion. The Cheese Curds were not quite like Fair curds, but they were very good.
After the fried food assault, we went back for the custard. We got a concrete mixer each. I of course went for the chocolate with Twix and marshmallow. It was very good. Nick got the vanilla with cookie dough and marshmallow. Tasty, but not enough chocolate for me.
Now that we have eaten there, we can reasonably enter the debate....will Culver's put DQ out of business?
DQ is closed nov-march, Culver's is open year round (and new). DQ is a bit harder to get to and navigate around, though both of them require prior knowledge of how to get there. The Custard is far superior to DQ's Soft serve (at least I think so.) Culver's is across the street from DQ. Our DQ is the walk up kind and has very limited food offerings - only hot dogs, where Culver's has the ginormous menu with everything from burgers to chicken diners. DQ does have the walk up window factor where large groups can easily sit around outside waiting for their after baseball treat in the summer.
There may be a place for both fine establishments, but can the Grove support them both?? Time will tell.
Our food arrived in what seemed like a reasonable time for how busy they were. Although the fries were regular fries. We mentioned this to the 12 year old buy that was serving us. He shrugged his shoulders and pointed to the receipt and said, "it says fries." I was like, but I ordered chili cheese fries. Blank stare. Nick asked if we could the chili cheese fries. 12 year old scurried of to find out. He returned promptly to say we could. We could even keep the regular fries. Several moments later we had chili cheese fries.
Appropriately armed with deep fried goodness we dug in. It has been quite some time since I have eaten a butter burger. It was good. The chili cheese fries were ok, but the chili tasted like it came from a can and just wasn't that good. The fries are pretty good though. Crinkle fries are vastly underrated in my opinion. The Cheese Curds were not quite like Fair curds, but they were very good.
After the fried food assault, we went back for the custard. We got a concrete mixer each. I of course went for the chocolate with Twix and marshmallow. It was very good. Nick got the vanilla with cookie dough and marshmallow. Tasty, but not enough chocolate for me.
Now that we have eaten there, we can reasonably enter the debate....will Culver's put DQ out of business?
DQ is closed nov-march, Culver's is open year round (and new). DQ is a bit harder to get to and navigate around, though both of them require prior knowledge of how to get there. The Custard is far superior to DQ's Soft serve (at least I think so.) Culver's is across the street from DQ. Our DQ is the walk up kind and has very limited food offerings - only hot dogs, where Culver's has the ginormous menu with everything from burgers to chicken diners. DQ does have the walk up window factor where large groups can easily sit around outside waiting for their after baseball treat in the summer.
There may be a place for both fine establishments, but can the Grove support them both?? Time will tell.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Because he ROCKS!
Nick is the U of M School of Pharmacy Student of the Month. yup...because he rocks!
I haven't found out yet if that means we get the bumper sticker or not...but it is cool anyway.
I haven't found out yet if that means we get the bumper sticker or not...but it is cool anyway.
Monday, October 6, 2008
The passing of my Grandma
My Grandma, Darlene Roepke, passed away yesterday, Sunday Oct 5th, ending her 15 month battle with ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease). The last 15 months were not easy for her or the family. I take comfort in knowing she is now with Jesus and doesn't struggle with every day tasks like talking, swallowing and breathing.
My grandmother has always been a "strong" German woman. Yes, I am sure some of my stubbornness was a direct result of her. She held this trait until the very end. I picture in my mind Jesus holding her hand saying "Come along now, it is time to go." and her replying "NO! I am not ready yet." Then the scene proceeds with Jesus and a host of angels pulling and struggling to get her to come along, and her still not being ready just yet. She didn't want to miss out on anything after all. And just because someone else said so (even if it is Jesus) why would she be rushed to do something?
One of my very fond memories of my Grandma is cooking with her. When I was a kid Grandma and Grandpa would pick me up from home and I would go spend the weekend at their house. I would ride on the "hump" in the middle of the bench seat in front.
I would spend the weekend with them. I would get up when I heard Grandpa and Grandma up and already hard at work. I would start the day with a hot dog for breakfast, the good too. Nothing like starting your day with a weeks worth of sodium. I would work for hours with my grandma mixing big batches of tuna salad and homemade bread dough. We would mix the tuna in a bowl so big I think I was mixing up to my elbows. She taught me how add seasonings, taste it and decide what else would need to be added. We would make something for supper for when my parents picked me up. We would make cinnamon rolls and buns from our fresh dough.
Then I would get tired of cooking and go outside and chase the chickens and play with the dogs and cats. Sometimes I would get to go throw the food waste to the pigs.
Is it any wonder two of my favorite things to this day are animals and cooking.
Below is her obituary:
My grandmother has always been a "strong" German woman. Yes, I am sure some of my stubbornness was a direct result of her. She held this trait until the very end. I picture in my mind Jesus holding her hand saying "Come along now, it is time to go." and her replying "NO! I am not ready yet." Then the scene proceeds with Jesus and a host of angels pulling and struggling to get her to come along, and her still not being ready just yet. She didn't want to miss out on anything after all. And just because someone else said so (even if it is Jesus) why would she be rushed to do something?
One of my very fond memories of my Grandma is cooking with her. When I was a kid Grandma and Grandpa would pick me up from home and I would go spend the weekend at their house. I would ride on the "hump" in the middle of the bench seat in front.
I would spend the weekend with them. I would get up when I heard Grandpa and Grandma up and already hard at work. I would start the day with a hot dog for breakfast, the good too. Nothing like starting your day with a weeks worth of sodium. I would work for hours with my grandma mixing big batches of tuna salad and homemade bread dough. We would mix the tuna in a bowl so big I think I was mixing up to my elbows. She taught me how add seasonings, taste it and decide what else would need to be added. We would make something for supper for when my parents picked me up. We would make cinnamon rolls and buns from our fresh dough.
Then I would get tired of cooking and go outside and chase the chickens and play with the dogs and cats. Sometimes I would get to go throw the food waste to the pigs.
Is it any wonder two of my favorite things to this day are animals and cooking.
Below is her obituary:
Darlene Lois Roepke nee Will, 74, of New Germany,
Darlene was born July 20, 1934, to Wilmer and Olga (Harthun) Will, the oldest of seven children. She was born and raised in rural Young America,
Darlene was preceded in death by her son, Steven; parents; father and mother-in-law Emil and Hilda Roepke; brothers, Eugene and Arlen; and sisters, Arlyce Larson and Mary Ann Kes.
She is survived by her husband of 57 years, Alden, of Waconia; daughters and sons-in-law, Tom and Scheryl Moonen, of Waconia, Mark and Sheila Heuer, of Lake Crystal, and James and Shelley Borka of New Germany; and son Scott, of New Germany. Those who mourn her death include grandchildren, Joshua Moonen, of St. Boni, Alesha and Nicholas Schutz, of Cottage Grove, Amy Heuer, of Lake Forest, Illinois, Jayson Heuer of Las Vegas, Nevada, Heidi Heuer of Valparaiso, Indiana, and John and Jacob Borka of New Germany; sisters and brothers-in-law, Gordon and Millicent Miller, of New Germany, and Curtis and Lanette Thaemert, of Mayer; sisters-in-law Marcia Schiferli, of Excelsior, and Joan Will, of Chaska; brothers-in-law, David Larson, of Maple Plain, and Aronld Kes, of Baxter; brothers-in-law and wives, Donald and Mabel Roepke of Waseca, and Darrell and Sandi Roepke of New Germany; and many nieces, nephews, friends, and neighbors.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Fantasy Football team
Yup, I have signed up for a fantasy football league. Our church has a league, but it is for men. A family at church decided to start a general league. I figured, it was free, it is pretty much fully controlled by Yahoo and sounded fun. I signed up. My team is Killer Tofu. I have never done a fantasy league. It has been pretty fun. Yahoo did the draft for us. I have a team of a few names I recognize and then a guy named Chad Ocho Cinco. Yeah, he is number 85. He legally changed his last name.
After only Thursday night of play, I have 5 points from my New York Giant Defense. They were the only ones that played.
Should be fun!
After only Thursday night of play, I have 5 points from my New York Giant Defense. They were the only ones that played.
Should be fun!
Friday, August 29, 2008
Acronyms
Most people are aware of the prevalence of acronyms in the medical world. This week it was reaffirmed in my mind. On Tuesday I helped the orthopedic surgeon do a TPO. We weren't sure if was going to be an TPO or an FHO. Then on Thursday I helped with a TTA and we were going to do a TPLO, but that surgery got canceled.
One may ask, "do you know what all those letters stand for?" as a matter of fact I do, I can even tell you what is it for and what those words mean. A TPO is a triple pelvic osteotomy. (That is 3 incisions in the pelvic bones - the pelvis can be repositioned to correct a bad ball/socket joint.) An FHO is a femoral head ostectomy. (Removing the head of the femur - this is used when dogs have really bad hips that cannot be corrected any other way.) TPLO and TTA are both surgeries to repair the ACL (anterior cruciate ligament). TPLO is Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy. (Cutting a specific part of the tibial plateau and repositioning it). A TTA is Tibial Tuberosity Advancement (the tuberosity of the tibia is moved forward).
I got to scrub in for both of the surgeries that we did do. If we had done the TPLO I also would have gotten to operate the power drill. Power tools in surgery are fun. Some of you may be thinking, does that mean she is going to go to school to be a surgeon? NO! It would be another 10 years of my life in school. I just don't think that sounds like the least bit of fun.
One may ask, "do you know what all those letters stand for?" as a matter of fact I do, I can even tell you what is it for and what those words mean. A TPO is a triple pelvic osteotomy. (That is 3 incisions in the pelvic bones - the pelvis can be repositioned to correct a bad ball/socket joint.) An FHO is a femoral head ostectomy. (Removing the head of the femur - this is used when dogs have really bad hips that cannot be corrected any other way.) TPLO and TTA are both surgeries to repair the ACL (anterior cruciate ligament). TPLO is Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy. (Cutting a specific part of the tibial plateau and repositioning it). A TTA is Tibial Tuberosity Advancement (the tuberosity of the tibia is moved forward).
I got to scrub in for both of the surgeries that we did do. If we had done the TPLO I also would have gotten to operate the power drill. Power tools in surgery are fun. Some of you may be thinking, does that mean she is going to go to school to be a surgeon? NO! It would be another 10 years of my life in school. I just don't think that sounds like the least bit of fun.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Are you related to Ozzie?
This is a question I thought I had left behind when I left Waconia. Apparently not.
Our dog, Chester, has had some small heath issues over the last year. I decided with the help of the vet that Chester should have an ultrasound. When we had one scheduled at our office, I called the Ultrasound Vet and asked if she had time to fit Chester in too. She did.
Today was the day. Chester didn't get to eat breakfast, which did not make him happy. We were scheduled for 11:30. We got there early and shaved his abdomen. The Ultrasound doctor got there and looked over his chart. (She brings her ultrasound machine with and travels to clinics all over the metro area.) As she was looking things over and entering Chester's information into the machine she asked me "Do you know Ozzie Moonen in Waconia?" "Of course, he is my Uncle." was my response. Small world! Ok makes sense that I know him, he is my uncle, how do YOU know him? Keep in mind, Woodbury is almost an hour from Waconia, and Ozzie hasn't had a dog in quite some time, let alone a dog requiring an ultrasound.
Turns out Dr Rowe grew up in Waconia and went to school with "Ozzie's Step-daughter." Crazy small world! We talked about the ins and outs of growing up in Waconia. How it has changed and how it is weird going back. She mentioned her parents owned FloralView back in the day. It was quite a surprise to find out she grew up in Waconia. Of course, that being the case, it totally makes sense she knows Ozzie. Everyone knows Ozzie. It should have been a give away when she pronounced Waconia right.
After talking to my mom about it, it turns out my mom knew the family, and actually worked for them at Floral View back in the day.
Its a small world after all...its a small, small world.
The word on Chester is he likely has some form of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). This IBD is what has been causing him to loose protein (PLE). He may have the beginnings of Cushing's Disease. The "nice" thing about these two diseases together, Cushing's makes them produce more steroid. IBD is treated with steroids. It is like he is treating himself. Kind of. We will try some special food and see if that helps him out.
Our dog, Chester, has had some small heath issues over the last year. I decided with the help of the vet that Chester should have an ultrasound. When we had one scheduled at our office, I called the Ultrasound Vet and asked if she had time to fit Chester in too. She did.
Today was the day. Chester didn't get to eat breakfast, which did not make him happy. We were scheduled for 11:30. We got there early and shaved his abdomen. The Ultrasound doctor got there and looked over his chart. (She brings her ultrasound machine with and travels to clinics all over the metro area.) As she was looking things over and entering Chester's information into the machine she asked me "Do you know Ozzie Moonen in Waconia?" "Of course, he is my Uncle." was my response. Small world! Ok makes sense that I know him, he is my uncle, how do YOU know him? Keep in mind, Woodbury is almost an hour from Waconia, and Ozzie hasn't had a dog in quite some time, let alone a dog requiring an ultrasound.
Turns out Dr Rowe grew up in Waconia and went to school with "Ozzie's Step-daughter." Crazy small world! We talked about the ins and outs of growing up in Waconia. How it has changed and how it is weird going back. She mentioned her parents owned FloralView back in the day. It was quite a surprise to find out she grew up in Waconia. Of course, that being the case, it totally makes sense she knows Ozzie. Everyone knows Ozzie. It should have been a give away when she pronounced Waconia right.
After talking to my mom about it, it turns out my mom knew the family, and actually worked for them at Floral View back in the day.
Its a small world after all...its a small, small world.
The word on Chester is he likely has some form of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). This IBD is what has been causing him to loose protein (PLE). He may have the beginnings of Cushing's Disease. The "nice" thing about these two diseases together, Cushing's makes them produce more steroid. IBD is treated with steroids. It is like he is treating himself. Kind of. We will try some special food and see if that helps him out.
Monday, August 11, 2008
As promised....
Here is a picture of Micah with her new baby sister Taryn. We haven't seen Micah in about 3 weeks and she already looks so different! We will be flying to Utah on Aug 30 to see her and meet Taryn.
Here is a picture of Taryn. In this picture she looks a bit like her cousin Aaron, but I think it is in that same way that she looks like a week old baby with her mouth and eyes open.
Here is a picture of Taryn. In this picture she looks a bit like her cousin Aaron, but I think it is in that same way that she looks like a week old baby with her mouth and eyes open.
I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse.
Nick is now "the Godfather." Maybe that makes me a "fairy Godmother?" Anyway, Nick and I spent a short weekend in Texas to celebrate the Baptism of our nephew Aaron.
We got to the airport at about 5:40 for our 7:05 flight to Dallas. We got a little delayed mostly because it was a small plane. Oh, and the computer system used to scan boarding passes was down. SO the guy read them off to a gal and she manually checked everyone in. AND many people had to get tags to gate check their luggage or children's crap because it was a little plane.
We actually arrived early. Crazy how that can happen. We got to see family, meet April's family and spend some quality time with Aaron. Saturday was busy with family arriving and getting last minute things ready. We ate lunch as Cici's Pizza. I took a nap. I was exhausted. We ate dinner with Nathan and April (brother and sister-in-law), Rollie and Sue (Nick's parents) April's parents, April's Grandparents and her aunt. It was fun.
Sunday was the Baptism during the late service. Rollie was honored to Baptize his Grandson. He has baptized all 4 of his children, and so far all of his Grandchildren. He also did the sermon. I really enjoy listening to him preach. Following the service was an open house with food of course. When the excitement died down, Nick did an amazing job of cleaning up. He jumped right in and picked things up. He then went for a nap. I stayed up with April and her aunt and talked while everyone else went for naps and Rollie and Sue left for home. This was my first time to really bond with Aaron. I held him for quite some time while he slept. We were then invited with April's family to the Cheesecake factory for dinner. It was very tasty. We were excited and grateful to be included with the family.
Monday morning I was able to have some time with Aaron. I fed him about 7:30 and then he and I hung out while mom and dad got a little bit of sleep. He was very good. He slept for quite a while and then got fussy while we were watching a little blip of the Olympics. From there it was off to the Airport.
On our trip back we again had a small plane. I am amazed at the luggage people consider to be carry on. I guess with charging for checked bags now, that is going to be how it is. I was very proud of my self for not over packing. Yay me! My small carry on was perfect and it wasn't even stuffed! The male flight attendant that spoke very fast and seemed to skip some words did tell us we were flying in a plane that was less than 2 weeks old. "What that means is try to be courteous and keep things clean and keep shoe prints off the walls." Ummm...ok, I will work on not stepping on the walls.
Anyway, that is most of the excitement of our weekend. Above is one of the many pictures of the weekend, but one of the few of the 3 of us.
Monday, August 4, 2008
It's a girl!
Our Niece Micah is a big sister! Taryn Elizabeth Schutz was born on Sunday, August 2 at 7:22 pm (their time). She is 8# 4oz, 21".
Micah and her family moved to Utah in July. We will be traveling to Utah at the end of August for Taryn's Baptism. We look forward to meeting her and seeing the rest of the family.
I was trying to upload a picture, but blogger gave me an "internal error" message.
Micah and her family moved to Utah in July. We will be traveling to Utah at the end of August for Taryn's Baptism. We look forward to meeting her and seeing the rest of the family.
I was trying to upload a picture, but blogger gave me an "internal error" message.
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