Shall I revive the blog? Maybe. Here we are on the Tulsa Trolley headed to Brookside. Scooby was our driver.
This picture isn't from today, but Patrick and I got all dressed up for the conference on Thursday. New Orleans tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!
I bought a new pot for my plant yesterday. This is the second plant that I've grown from my large, mother of a plant.
Yesterday was the conference in Owatonna and I think it lived up to last year's experience. White glasses, "Redrum", Circle of Death, a microphone, the Bible, wounds, and a margarita in bed. What a good time. This picture is during happy hour. We moved all of our tables together - can you tell what Darin thinks they look like?
Yesterday we had our first cookout of the season! It's been a long, hard winter, but I think it may finally be close to being over. Patrick and I grilled tuna steaks (well, actually Lagle grilled them for us). Patrick and I also went on a really long walk yesterday and played on some swings in a park. It's great to be able to wear sandals again! (I hope I'm not jinxing myself by saying all of this)
Last night we had a party at the Second Year House to celebrate more thesis proposals. We played two of my favorite games - cirlce of death and flip cup. This made for an excellent night. The night also ended in Legion karaoke which also added to its excellence.
PS The weather is beautiful today!!!!!!
Yesterday was a happy St. Patrick's Day. Bekah, Karl, and Max are visiting us so we all went to St. Peter for the St. Patrick's Day parade. First, we stopped into Patrick's pub and got a window seat where we could drink green beer and watch the parade. They also had free Irish stew! We all took shifts going outside to watch the parade (which consisted of local business owners throwing candy at you) so that we wouldn't lose our prime location. Around 7, we went back to Mankato and went to the Legion. We drank some more and took a picture with Mike, the bartender, as you can see. Next we Pub500 where we met up with my classmates. We sang and danced and of course, drank some more. We ended the night at Buffalo Wild Wings. Patrick order two dozen wings for some reason and Max had a rough time in the bathroom. Everyone is still asleep even though our night ended pretty early (around 1am). I guess this is indicative of a good St. Patty's Day.
I've been feeling sick these past couple of days (thanks, Ryan). Patrick's in New York this weekend so I've been trying to be productive before Bekah, Karl, and Max visit us next week. I finally got around to buying a new bathroom rug. Ryan left us some money to replace all of the bathroom accessories that he destroyed. :)
Ryan is up visiting for a few days. Last night we went to the Legion for karaoke and to celebrate Mike's (the bartender) birthday. Ryan and I sang "Garden Party" and "Enter Sandman" together. Then he explosively vomited all over my bathroom and carpet.
We went over to Catherine's (my coworker) tonight and played Boxers or Briefs which is like an extra fun version of Apples to Apples. "I wish my mommy would have named me Ralphy."
Yesterday my dog-brother, Crash, graduated from puppy school. He won the "leave it" contest. What a good dog! (We leave for Chicago at 6am and Kelly is coming to visit in April!!!)
This is a picture of my poster for the IOOB conference this weekend in Chicago. We are all driving there on Thursday and staying until Sunday. I plan on eating a deep dish Chicago-style pizza!
Patrick, Natalie, Steve, Mike, Josh, Craig, and I went to Bock Fest in New Ulm, Minnesota today at the Schell Brewery. Everyone was parking at the Target nearby and then walking to Bock Fest. While we were in the parking lot we realized that everyone was buying large containers to hold their beers in (you buy them four at a time). We had nothing of the sort so we all bought buckets. We got many a compliment on our buckets. Here is a picture of some guys bonging a beer out of a deer head. How many times in your life can you say THAT?
I have defended!! Now I am going to the Legion!!!
Natalie proposed her thesis too!
I finally got my book for Training class yesterday. I ordered it the first day of school from Amazon.com and it took over a MONTH to get! Isn't that ridiculous? My thesis defense is tomorrow. Wish me luck!
This is going to be a long week. I can't wait until I graduate. Hector and Fluffy have such an easy life.
It's electric! We ended Valentine's Day at the American Legion. We sang, we drank, we did the Electric Slide. Bill taught me how to do the Electric Slide a year ago in the back room of the Legion. It's so fun!
I made Patrick pancakes with peanut butter, strawberry syrup, whipped cream, and raspberries for V-Day. See?
I knitted Kaylen a scarf and sent it to her along with a Valentine's Day card. My mom said she got it today when she came over to visit for the weekend. She supposedly said, "I really love Ashley now!" whenever she saw there was a valentine with the scarf. Here she is with her medium to bright pink scarf. Isn't she adorable?
I made tomato basil pasta tonight for dinner. It was very tasty. I've been watching HGtv shows too much (like House Hunters, Property Virgins, etc.). Now I am obsessed with kitchens and masters bathrooms. And home gyms.
I sent my completed thesis out to my committee members tonight and I also set an official date to defend! Ahhhhhhhhh - so exciting!
Today was a pretty good day. I worked in the office for a few hours and then went running with my coworker, Catherine, on the track. We ran into Beka while we were running, so we all ran four miles together. It was great! Then I came home and made a casserole from Shereen's casserole cookbook. Since then I've been at my desk (as you can see) working on a training project. It's midnight though so I'm done with work now! Patrick should be home soon.
Hector has got to be the most lovey cat ever created. He is always purring and happy. I honestly never see him acting bitchy or angry or anything. He is trying to date Fluffy, but she's hot and cold with him. I think it must frustrate him, but you would never know. This is a picture of Hector getting his love on with Patrick's ear.
So I got a hair cut today. Look how adventurous I am now!
Last night we all went to Tammy's (my coworker) 30th birthday party. We ate, we drank, we danced, we raced goldfish, and we scared a chicken into shitting. All of the ingredients of a good party! Now onward to the Superbowl Party.
Tonight we all went to Wine Styles for a Bells beer tasting. I really didn't like any of the beers at all, so I just ate the cheese. I ended up buying this bottle of wine though. It's supposed to taste like pineapple. Then we all went to dinner at Friday's because it was Friday - hardy har har. After dinner, Natalie, Ann, and I went to the cheap movies and saw Role Models. It was actually really funny. I especially hated that stupid king!
We finally found the missing roll of quarters. It was under the couch along with many other missing things including 10 pieces of Dove chocolate. One day the Dove chocolate disappeared from the coffee table. I asked Patrick if he ate it all and he said he didn't, but then he started to doubt himself. Anyway, we found a lot of things, but we didn't find my other wooden knitting needle. So I'm using my metal knitting needles to make a new green scarf. I really need to learn how to knit something besides scarves. Anyone want to teach me?
Last night we all went out to the new bar, Rounders, to celebrate Ann Beacom's thesis defense! Can you believe that? Second week of school and she's already done with her thesis. Usually people don't finish until April or May if they're lucky. It was a fun night though. I called a Palmer cab around midnight and then the cabbie went and ate wings with us at Buffalo Wild Wings.
This is what Patrick said our conversation was last night while I was falling asleep:
(me) TV guides and men are the same.
(Patrick) How?
Hmmm?
How are TV guides and men the same?
Channels.
Channels?
Yeah! You know about channels.
(5 minutes later)
(Patrick) How are TV guides and men the same?
(me) I don't know what you're talking about.
A few weeks ago when Patrick's parents were visiting we were all watching the first season of The Wire. Patrick and I were actually re-watching it with them because we are obsessed and are on the last season. Anyway, in the show there is a gangster named Wee-bay. I kept going on about how Wee-bay had the coolest name and if I were a gangster I would use Wee-bay as a street name.
So today I come home and see this pretty flowery package addressed to Wee-bay Johnson laying on the table. I started laughing really hard, so I opened it and it was this red sweater that says "SHE WHO MUST BE OBEYED."
Aren't the Suaves awesome?
So I accidentally ordered some cookie dough from a boy scout four months ago. I thought that he forgot about my order because it had been so long and I was really happy about it because I didn't really want it anyway. He caught me off guard - that's the only reason I bought it! But anyway, I got home from MPPAW yesterday and Patrick said my boy scout had delivered cookie dough for me and my co-worker. And I was like "My co-worker?" "Yeah, Susie Simmons?" And I told him I didn't know anyone by that name. So apparently we got my unwanted cookie dough and Susie Simmon's cookie dough. And I don't know why he assumed that Susie Simmons was my co-worker instead of someone else. Well, maybe it's because I don't have any other friends in Mankato that he doesn't know. Yeah, that's probably it. Maybe we should wait to eat Susie Simmons cookie dough unless the boy scout comes back. What do you think?
Tonight I gave a little speech at the MPPAW (Minnesota Professionals for Psychology at Work) meeting. Afterward, a band played and we all danced for a long time. I got really sweaty in my dress clothes which was gross. Then an old couple started swing dancing. I will post a picture of this tomorrow. I am too tired to do so now.
This is how I spent most of my day today - watching really horrible TV.
Last night Patrick and I went over to Darin and Steve's place to play cards (AKA drinking games). This is a picture of everyone doing...something.
Also, today I wanted to do laundry and so I went to look for the roll of quarters that Patrick had got a few days ago. And they were gone! We think the cats did something with them. They rolled them away and hid them in some small place we can't get to. Honestly though, I went hunting with a flashlight and still couldn't find them. Any ideas? (I think it was Inez).
All I can say right now is: "I can't get my GEE's no matter what!!"
Marquita, Catherine, and I (girls I work with) went to the Eagle Lake Legion on Friday night to play bingo. This is a picture of one of the women we sat next to. We called ourselves Team Fun and we had a team chant - which was basically yelling "Team Fun!" and toasting our beer glasses. It was a really great night though and this is my favorite quote of the night.
I took this picture of Mankato on my way to work this morning. It was another cold one, but I've managed to stay inside most of the day. I'm going over to Natalie's (my classmate) house in a bit so we can work on our theses.
Tonight I drove out to Eagle Lake for Wednesday Night at the Eagle's Nest. I got there a little late, but apparently there is a huge "Duke" burger that feeds four to six people. Three or four of the guys ordered it and said they wanted to puke they were so full. As I was driving home, the bank said the temperature was -14 without windchill. I think it's about -35 with windchill. Everyone hopes that school/work will be canceled, but so far it isn't. I'm so sick of snow and winter! I'm tired of stomping my feet every time I walk into a building. .JPG)
The first picture is of me at the Eagle's Nest. I had no idea that Mike took it. The second is of a pretty church that was across the street from the Eagle's Nest. It's a crappy picture. I wanted to get out of the car and take a proper picture, but, well, you know about the weather and all.
I've been working on my data analysis for my thesis all day long while Patrick played Fallout 3 on PS3. It is a pretty fun game, but my only suggestion is to GET SOME BETTER MUSIC! It's okay at first, but after a few hours of listening to it it gets old. .JPG)
I went outside a little bit ago to get some fresh air. I took some pictures too. It had started to snow again, so I didn't stay out too long (also because it is below zero). These are pictures of the back of our apartment building and the alley behind the apartment building. I think they actually look very pretty and peaceful.
This is without the windchill. I am very very afraid.
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This is a picture of me "explaining" my poster to Andy at the conference.
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This is a picture from the 95th floor of the Hancock Building. We went just before sunset and had martinis. It was a beautiful view..JPG)
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2. This is Josh after he hit the gas instead of the brake. This is Dan's Suburban after Josh hit the gas instead of the brake..jpg)
3. This is Ann being confused after Dan's Suburban got stuck in a ditch after trying to rescue Scott's SUV from a ditch. Both vehicles were towed by a neighbor. (This is after Darin was pulled out of a ditch).
Not to mention, Marquita fell on her face during broom ball and went to the ER with a concussion.
It was the Garda Belts vs. Dagger Dolls and then the Rockits vs. Atomic Bomb Shells. We all went for the Garda Belts and the Rockits. Both of our teams won! I still don't know if it's fake or not. It didn't look fake to me, but who knows. We went to the after party at O'Gara's pub afterward, but didn't stay too long..JPG)
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The first picture is of me at the Eagle's Nest. I had no idea that Mike took it. The second is of a pretty church that was across the street from the Eagle's Nest. It's a crappy picture. I wanted to get out of the car and take a proper picture, but, well, you know about the weather and all.
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I went outside a little bit ago to get some fresh air. I took some pictures too. It had started to snow again, so I didn't stay out too long (also because it is below zero). These are pictures of the back of our apartment building and the alley behind the apartment building. I think they actually look very pretty and peaceful.
