A new tradition

Last night Guster played the State Theater in Mpls. I, being the great Guster fan I am, had no idea they were even going to be in town. I found out on Wed. that Nick had a friend with tickets to sell. Of course I wanted to go!

This was my first Guster show sans "Asia Minor" (the two gals that I did my Gustering with back in the day). This was also the first concert that Nick and I went to together, and Nicks first time seeing Guster. I was a little sad about not seeing them with Courtney, but super excited about introducing Nick to the Guster experience.

The opening bad was Good Old War. They were decent. I have no idea what their lyrics were, but the music was catchy. They did have pretty awesome 3-part harmonies.

Guster did not disappoint. They played a fair amount of their older stuff, including their "updated" Airport song. Its updated because it has more of a disco feel. It was different, but still good.

I was a little concerned before it started. Joe, who had be come a favorite of mine, had left Guster in October. Who is gonna play banjo now? Well, they had found Luke. I was very cautious about Luke. I wasn't sure if I could/should like Luke. I really liked Joe. I miss Joe. Luke was pretty awesome. He rocked the harmonica as Joe had. He has some pretty serious instrument skillzzzz.

For the second time of the 16 I have seen them, they did a true encore. Of course Ryan talked about the "last song of the regular set, before the encore." He decided to an anti-encore. Adam wanted it to be silence rather than booing, so that's what was decided. They left the stage, the crowd grew quiet and Guster returned to the stage. They proceeded to do 4 more songs. They left the stage. The lights came up and the roadies were starting to take things down. The fans wanted more. Guster obliged. We got the awesome unplugged version of Jesus on the Radio. Luke totally owned the banjo. I have much love for Luke. I still miss Joe, but I will accept Luke.

So, the show was awesome and Nick and I loved it. We did realize there was an abundance of Chadbags there. (Let me know if you need a definition of the term) The group of 40-somethings in front of us was rather obnoxious. There were 4 couples. They were chadbags. They were disruptive and annoying. One of them kept doing air guitar moves. Now, I love Guster, but Guster is not really an air guitar type band. The other kept yelling "It's THAT song!" and proceeded to "rock out" head banging-esque to most of their songs. The gal he was with apparently knows one way to dance. That is how she danced to every song. She did the 40 year old white chick at a club, crossed with jazzercise moves. She danced like this to EVERY song. Um, i don't recall Guster being played at the clubs, and there are a few more laid back, slower numbers. This dancing just isn't ok with me.

Aside from the Chadbags, the crowed was about what I expected. The "North Face" jacket demographic and the belt-less demographic. Most of the fans were a tad older than the last few times I saw them. Makes sense though, Guster has aged a few years, so has the fan base.

When seeing Guster with Asia Minor, going to Perkins was always the traditional way to end the evening. Nick and I did not. Apparently as Guster has aged (according to Ryan, a bunch of old guys making music) so have I.

Looking forward to their next MN show.

It's a boy!

Meet our new kitty. He doesn't have a name yet. He was one of those infamous "free cats." We got him from one of the rescue organizations MSB Shakopee works with. They, like many shelters, have more cats than they know what to do with. Many of you know I've been waiting for the right orange kitty to need my home. Well, he is it! He is such a laid back cat! His personality is a stark contrast to Emmitt. A significant difference is new kitty loves to be cuddled and petted and have his belly rubbed, any time! If you try to touch Emmitt when he doesn't want attention, he will bite. Anyway, feel free to throw out some name suggestions. We are trying to find a name that suits him. He is a big kitty, but very laid back, likes attention and is even a little needy sometimes. He is tolerant of most things. He doesn't pay much attention to Emmitt and his attitude. He is a good kitty.

It's been how long?

Dear blog reader,

I'm sorry I have fallen off the face of the earth in the last 3 months. Let's see, in that time we prepped and sold our home in Cottage Grove and moved to Waconia. Nick finished classroom studies and has started rotations. I finished a crazy quarter and have started the next one. We took a little time off to visit New Ulm, MN and the Schell Brewery where we sampled a few beers and found some we like. We also saw Herman the German. Good times. This past week my dad's oldest brother passed away very unexpectedly. It made me very glad we are living so close to family.

The end of the quater

Winter quarter is finally over! Graduation was tonight. I have all of my final grades entered. I am ready for a week off. Of course, that week off only means I wont be at school three days next week. I plan to be there 1 or 2 days getting next quarter ready. I am teaching 5 courses and taking a class. Yeah, a little scary. Of the 5, I have taught 2 of them before. There are two sections of the same course, and the last one, I'll wing it!

So with my next few days off I will be doing some Relay work. We still have lots to do. Let me know if you can help. Don't forget to visit my website and make your tax deductible donation. Click here.

I will also be working on cleaning the house. With this past quarter being as hectic as it was, the house is in disarray. I don't like it. I plan to remedy this.

So, if you left messages or sent emails that I never responded to, I am sorry, and please try again. :D

I'm off to bed. First on the To-do list: Sleep in.

Week 7

This week is week 7 of our quarter. This quarter I am teaching 5 classes. Last quarter I taught 3. I really am enjoying teaching. Currently we are just 2 weeks away from the AVMA (our accrediting body) coming for a site visit to review our accreditation. This means that we are very busy trying to make sure "all the I's are dotted and T's are crossed." This also means the stress level has kicked up a whole lot more notches. I was a little bit stressed just with classes and getting lessons planned and papers graded. This has added a whole new level.

Last weekend we drove to Michigan to meet our newest Niece, Abel. We had the honor of attending and celebrating her baptism with much of the family. We got to see Nick's brother and family from Texas, including our nephew, Nick's parents, Nick's sister (Bel's mom) and family and her in-laws. The Grunklee family is a great family.

The trip was great, but a lot of driving in a few short days. We left Friday am, drove 11 1/2 hours to make it to Bay City around 8pm local time. We left Sunday and drove to Valpo Indiana where my cousin, Heidi lives. Amy, Heidi's sister, was also there. It was fun to have dinner and visit with them and catch some of the olympics. Monday morning we headed out and arrived home about 4pm. It was a fast trip with lots of driving, but the weather was good and we got to see a lot of family. :D
Here is a picture of me and Bel.

WA Frost

Tonight Nick and I celebrated the fourth anniversary of our engagement. To date this is the one anniversary/holiday that we consistently celebrate on the date. As is the tradition we went to WA Frost for dinner. The Moonen Christmas was today as well, so we skipped some of that eating and ducked out for dinner, then returned. Due to the cold, I didn't even suggest we visit Rice Park, which is where Nick actually proposed. It was a fantastic dinner as usual.

Nick had the Pork Belly. Basically that is a cut of pork from the same area as bacon, so it is a fairly fatty piece of meat. He liked it. I had the Venison. It was awesome! It was med-rare and I could cut it with a butter knife. Yummy! We also had the 3 cheese platter, which is tradition. We always let our server pick the three (and yes we like Blue cheese) and have never been disappointed.

I love that they have some "mini desserts." Basically they have desserts that take about 4 bites. Perfect to get the creme brulee with out having to eat a huge dessert.

Pictures to follow

My attempt at cooking Korean food

Having gone out for Korean food last month, I was kind of excited to have it again. That opportunity presented itself when I had about a pound of round steak left. This isn't regular round steak. It is home grown from my aunt and uncle. So with a pound of if left, I didn't want to waste it on something not tasty. So I decided to try Bulgogi. This is a Korean dish that is basically marinated and then quickly stir fried beef. I just so happened to most everything I needed. So I attempted. It turned out pretty well. I think I will make it again in the future, though I will likely try to slice the beef thinner. I would also like to try a cast iron frying pan. But that's another post for another day.

Dinner and the theater

On Saturday Nick and I had the pleasure of having dinner with our friends Paul and Kim. They took us to Hoban Korean Restaurant in Eagan. It was very good. We had man doo, bulgogi, kimchee bokum, shrimp tempura and dolsot bibimbob. Everything was wonderful! This place is also pretty cool because it is next to a karaoke place. There are 3 or 4 separate rooms that are equipped for small groups to make fools of themselves in front of a small group rather than a bar full of people, I guess. Maybe some day....

After stuffing ourselves (at least Nick and I did) with awesome food we headed to New Life Academy in Woodbury to enjoy their production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Some friends from church were in it, so we wanted to support them. I ordered tickets online in advance as the recommendation of these friends. Good thing I did as it was a sold out show. It was really good! Our friend Steve played the oldest brother, Ruben. He sang the lead in "one more angel in heaven" and was very good. He had us convinced he was angry about Joseph and his coat.

It was a great night and we were glad to share it with Paul and Kim.

Dear Fellow Commuters on 494,

I would like to take this opportunity to remind you of a few driving particulars that will make things a little more enjoyable for all of us.

First off I just want to state, for the record, that I can not go faster than the car in front of me. This is impossible. Perhaps you could think about this in more personal terms. Does ride up on me make you go faster? No. Try as I may, I am limited by the speed of the car in front of me. Perhaps you could try to leave 3 minutes earlier, so you wouldn't feel so pressed to make up those little seconds by trying to inch the rest of us faster?

I would also like to remind you of a pretty important rule that goes along with that. Two things can not occupy the same space at the same time. Now, this is a simplification of it, but this really is a rule of physics. If my car is right there, your car can not be. This is an important rule!

Blinkers are helpful in letting the rest of us know your intentions. If I know you are trying to switch lanes, I can avoid doing so as well. Remember, we can not both occupy the same space at the same time.

This next tip applies to most Minnesotans: when merging, as tempting as it is to slow down, don't. When you merge, it goes so much better if you get up to the speed the other groups are going. Also, kindly let people in as they attempt to merge. If you are exiting as I am entering, do you NEED to be in front of me to prove something? You are leaving, allowing the subtle slowdown to allow others in as they merge acts as a nice buffer don't you think. If you speed up to cruise in front of them, only to have to slow down to avoid rear-ending the car in front of you, almost causing the car you "beat" to rear-end you....remember, two cars can not occupy the same space at the same time.

Lastly, flashing lights on the shoulder do not mean you need to slam on your breaks and proceed at 20 mph. You will not get pulled over if someone is already pulled over. Chances are, at 20 mph you still will not get enough of a glimpse to discern if it is someone you know or why they are pulled over. It's 494, always assume they were speeding and move on.

Please consider these friendly reminders as we commute together this week.

Thanks!

Happy Birthday Daddy

My dad turned 60 on Saturday. After all the getting old jokes were told I realized, again, that my parents can't possibly be the age their birthdays give them. In my mind there is no way my parents should be getting senior discounts, no AARP, and why is my dad golfing in the Senior division? (which he has a few trophies in) For whatever reason, in my mind my parents stopped aging right around my moving out of the house. That was about 10 years ago. Perhaps it has as much to do with them not acting like they are aging. They certainly don't act like "old people."

Whatever the calendar says your age is, Happy Birthday Dad.