A little something to get you in the holiday spirit

Looks like winter is here

Seriously?

I was at the grocery store yesterday and I stopped to look at a carton of Soy Nog (egg nog made with soy instead of milk). Just to check it out... Anyway, as I was reading the nutritional information I noticed a bold statement on the side of the carton: Not for use as infant formula.
Would someone actually be at the store thinking "Hmmm....should I get baby Susie the Enfamil or the Soy Nog? Such a hard choice."
Seriously?

Courtesy of my OLDest brother

Just in case any of you missed this in the Fargo Forum today, here is my brothers take on his life as a senior citizen.

I am not now, nor have I ever been, a senior citizen

Yes, my brother is a published writer. Scary, I know.

I may start wearing more purple

Guess where I was Saturday night? This picture is your hint...
I was at Paisley Park, a mere 1 mile from my house, enjoying a very intimate concert put on by none other than Prince! I can't tell you for sure how many people were there, my guess would be a couple hundred. It was amazing!!! He put on a great show and entertained our socks off for 3 hours! Below is the article about the performance from the Star Tribune website.


By JON BREAM, Star Tribune

Prince, I guess we hardly knew you.

After 30-some years in the spotlight, the hometown hero showed his faithful something new Saturday night at Paisley Park in Chanhassen: It was his smoothest (read most efficiently run) show there ever -- and one funky and fulfilling performance.

The gig advertised for 11 p.m. actually started at 11:10, unheard of at Paisley, where shows typically have started whenever Prince feels like it (read 1 a.m. at the earliest). For the first time, he even offered a free shuttle-bus service so people could leave their vehicles (and Paisley-verboten cell phones) at a newish nearby park-and-ride and take a plush bus for a eight-minute drive to Prince's complex. How slick was that?
Late-night shows were commonplace at Paisley in the late 1990s but Prince had not done any announced shows there since 2004, after his Musicology Tour concerts at Xcel Energy Center. Those soirees cost $50 whereas Saturday's gig (which was announced late Friday afternoon) was $31.21 for fan-club members and $40 for others. Paisley visitors were asked to donate items for food shelves and gently used coats. (Many articles of clothing still had store tags on them, and people literally donated coats off their backs, Paisley spokeswoman Kathy Adams reported.)
Many of the people at Paisley on Saturday seemed to be first-timers for the late-night Purple experience.
"I'd pay triple what I paid," said Kelly Wallace, 19, a wide-eyed New York University student who popped for $490 for her short-notice trip to Minnesota. "I've never been to Paisley Park -- it was now or never."
Prince played 10 minutes short of three hours without changing his outfit. That's a first. Moreover, there weren't any of those mysterious breaks where Paisley-goers were left wondering if he'd return again in an hour and perform until dawn. The Purple One made a couple exits before encores; he said his final good night at 2 a.m.

Prince showed more versatility and musicality in his first hour onstage than Michael Jackson did in his entire career. He started with a bunch of tunes from this year's "Lotusflow3r" collection and then paraded through his hits, especially from the 1980s. In fact, there wasn't one tune from the '90s and only "Feel 4 U" from the '70s.
With his horn-less band, Prince has never sounded funkier at Paisley. He was talkative and humorous, loose and spontaneous, calling out songs and arrangements as well as an occasional "so-low" for himself on guitar. To witness that kind of organic musicmaking always feels special -- especially when it's a well-drilled, first-rate band like Prince's -- even if you have to put up with the bandleader frequently telling the sound guy how to adjust the mix.
Prince saluted the Time, the Doobie Brothers and the Jackson 5 in song and verbally acknowledged his debt ("I wouldn't be who I am without...") to James Brown, the Jacksons, Chaka Khan, Rufus, Stevie Wonder, Sly Stone, Joni Mitchell and Tower of Power. His pal Larry Graham sat in on bass for a series of Sly & the Family Stone tunes, and backup singer Shelby J, a powerhouse from the southern soul/gospel school, stepped out front on a couple of selections, most notably "The Arms of an Angel."
But this show was about Prince, his love of funk and his guitar prowess. He even offered a little "country western" guitar passage, as he playfully put it, and one of his more passionate versions of "Purple Rain" to close the evening. He danced only briefly, during "Kiss," but handpicked some fans to come onstage and dance, a longstanding Paisley tradition at any hour.

What's the fuss all about?

Look at this little beauty. This is the new SweeTango apple that was just released from from the U of M. They have been talking about this apple like crazy lately. They say it may overtake the Honey Crisp as their most popular apple. I'm not sure about that, I haven't done a blind taste test yet...but I will!
Speaking of apples, check out this glorious apple. This is hanging from my Honey Crisp tree.
I love this tree.

Look at what pretty apples she produces. She needs a name. Any suggestions??

Not to be left out is my nice little Zestar tree. Next year will be your year to shine my little friend.

1st Day of Preschool

Mr. Nolan started preschool on Friday. He was an excited little boy to get back to his class, friends and teachers.

Here he is standing in his cubby. Good thing it's his last year, it doesn't look like he fit another year.

Progress...

Remember this? No? Well I do. 2 years ago we planted 23 Arborvitae trees along the back of our yard. They were seedlings and so cute. It turns out over the past 2 years those little trees have grown. Check them out now! Nice job little trees!

Next Project...

Since Aidyn's room is all done, it was time to finish up another little project we've been working on. This is the fence that separates our yard from our neighbors. I decided that is could use a little jazzing up with some vines and flowers.
About a month ago we rented a sod cutter (which weighs 300 pounds...not kidding). We took out about 2 feet of sod along the fence line.

Just look at how slick that sod is cut and rolls up. Awesome!

I planted several Boston Ivy plants along the fence that will eventually grow and cover the entire fence with lush green foliage in the summer and vibrant red leaves in the fall.

I also planted a few Asiatic Lilies (which the rabbits have destroyed - but we'll cover that later). Then I ordered a boat load of perennials to plant along the rest of the fence line.

Last week the plants arrived and it was time to get to work. I filled in the area with garden soil. On a side note, I am now a firm believer that Miracle-Gro garden soil makes a HUGE difference in your plants. I planted 2 areas with perennials last year...one with Miracle-Gro, one with top soil. I can honestly tell you that there is a major difference in how the flowers flourished this year. So Miracle-Gro, if you're reading this, nicely done. Also, if you're looking for a paid spokesperson please feel free to contact me. I can clear some time in my schedule for you.

Anyhoo...I got all the garden soil worked in and got my flowers planted. I planted everything under the sun in every color imaginable. I'm hoping it will look fabulous next year!

Then I put down newspapers to keep the weeds out and covered it all in mulch. Not just any mulch, but my favorite mulch (yes, I have a favorite mulch!). Cocoa bean shell mulch. Oh man, this stuff is fantastic! When you dump it all over the place it makes your yard smell like brownies. I am not kidding. I love going outside and sniffing the chocolaty air. Weird but wonderful.

So here is the finished project. Good luck little plants. May the sun shine down on you, may the rain provide you nourishment and may my live trap catch all those damn rabbits that like to eat you.

1st Grade...Here we come!!!

We had a very excited 1st grader in our house this morning. She was up by 7:20 (the bus doesn't come until 9:03!) and in the bathroom for a 1/2 hour getting ready for her 1st day!
She was beside herself with excitement!

Here she is getting on the bus with the big kids.

I can't believe she is already in first grade. Where did the time go?

Wow, that went quick.........Love you Aidyn!!!

Pimp My Room: 1st Grader Edition

Aidyn has been asking about redecorating her room over the summer. Since I love a good project and love to paint and decorate...well, she got her wish!
Here she is in her 'old' room. I guess it's not horrible, but it's not really decorated, per se. It was kind of a mishmash of furniture and "inventory".

Not a very cohesive design...

So the giant old 80's style dresser got a fresh coat (or 5) of white paint.

The drawers got pretty new handles that Aidyn picked out.
Here's how I jazzed up the mirrors. I made them into memory boards so she had a place to put her pictures and postcards.

And here is the finished product...

Aidyn picked out the paint color and bedding. She has pretty darn good taste!

The finished dresser! Not too shabby!

The reading corner and desk area.

Here is the big reveal to Aidyn. It was a total HGTV moment. She had her eyes closed and when she opened them she said "Is this my room?!?!" And started to cry.

She cried for about 5 minutes. She kept saying "I love it! It's so pretty! I love it!"

And finally...that sweet smile!

That adorable smiling face made all the work (and sore muscles and trip to the chiropractor) worth it. She couldn't be any happier and is thrilled with her new room. Which makes her mommy thrilled too!

Lemonade Stand: Round 2

Our neighbors across the street had a huge garage sale one day and Aidyn thought it would be the perfect time to set up the lemonade stand again. Well, she was right. She made a killing. College is becoming a reality one cup at a time.

Wisconsin, here we come!

We headed to WI earlier this summer to visit our awesome friends Ryan & Danette. We get to see them once a year so we really look forward to our visit. The kids (big and little) had so much fun playing with each other.
Sawyer, Riley, Sydney, Aidyn & Nolan

The kids enjoyed s'mores. "Um Nolan? Are you going to eat ALL of that?"

3 beautiful girls...

Jeff & Ryan with their lovely ladies.

Apparently in WI, when you plant like 1 raspberry bush, it turns into 20. They have more raspberries than you can shake a stick at! Well the kids thought picking raspberries was a fabulous activity.

Notice the similar expression on Sawyer & Nolan's faces? The boys ate more than they picked, but hey that's part of the fun of picking! We toured a gorgeous brewery near their home. Here is our attempt at a family picture.

Thank you so much Ryan, Danette & kiddos. We had a great time (as we always do)! Even the pinochle wasn't too bad. (I can't believe I just said that.)