Minnesota winters...

This is how I am spending my Christmas vacation in Minnesota!!This is what it looks like outside currently

Damn it's cold out!

I woke the other morning to find this. I miss Arizona winters!

First Snow

First thing is am

I have to say that growing up in Minnesota has jaded my idea of what a big snowfall is. Our phone rang at 5:15 this morning-no school. We have no kids but my husband doesn't have to go to work! UNFAIR! We got about 3 1/2 inches of snow last night. That's pretty much a minor snowfall in MN. I took pics first thing this am(about 6ish) and on my way to work. I do appreciate a garage!!! What I don't understand is that at 8am they had not plowed the roads yet.My drive to work this am

Roads at lunch

Dresden

Yesterday I ventured out to Dresden, home of Longaberger Baskets to get Italian Charms for my nieces. They have tour buses that go to this place so crafty shops. They have cute stores and it's so quaint. Some of the old houses are so beautiful. But on my way out of town I see this, and a sheriff down the street and I was a little confused. Anyone else?

'Kipper

Skipper

'kipper as he calls himself. This we call is his professor picture. I am obsessed with him. He is hilarious! He called me "my bitch" the other night. Which by the way, my husband taught him to say. Here are a few other pics of birdie-boy from tonight.

Friend of a Friends blog

Ok, the blog post from Melba! Is awesome. I keep looking at it and passing it on to others I know. Even my birdie likes watching it. If you can see, there is a bird in the cage behind him.

High School Football

In this part of the country especially. Last night we went to the high school state semi finals playoff game with my father-in-law at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton. Can you imagine being a high school football player and getting to play in Fawcett Stadium? How cool would that be? Even when it's thirty five degrees outside and raining ALL night? Steubenville (Big Red) and Youngstown Cardinal Mooney played last night. Mooney kicked Steubenville's ass!! It was almost disheartening to watch. I felt bad for Big Red being beat up but in the end, they did get some points in the board so it wasn't a complete shut out. The best part of the game was the fact that my Father-in-Law in his working days was on the on Ohio High School Athletic Assn. as a board member. This means we got to sit inside the warm and dry press box with food that Mrs. Brooks makes! Life is good!! Press story from the woman who sat next to us who was a reporter from the Herald Star. This give a MUCH better picture than my ramblings above. The best part of the whole thing, I WAS IN THE CITY!!!

Off to the City!!

This week I was off on Wednesday (meaning this bird girl had to work Saturday) so I made my flight to Columbus. My previous home...sigh. I miss my Columbus. I never in a MILLION years thought I would miss Columbus. But living in "West Vegas" is anything but exciting.Ohio State House

My clients think that I am crazy for driving 1 1/2 hours to get my hair done. But my worry is that I will come out looking like this if I get my hair done here. I am sure that there are great people who do hair but when a salon is called Curl up and Dye, or Tease Cut and Curl, it makes me a little nervous.

When I arrived in Columbus I went with my old work buddies to lunch. Apparently since I left they have started Spaghetti Wednesdays. Every week a group of 4-20 goes to the Spaghetti Warehouse for lunch. They have ordering down to a fine art, to keep the waiter/waitress from messing up the order. I was prepped for ordering, spaghetti w/meat sauce, salad with either ranch or italian, and my beverage. No variations, no exceptions. If you do, NO LUNCH FOR YOU! It was so nice to see everyone and tell them my stories of life in Amish Country. Some times they think I am being dramatic, but really, I am not! As my husband's friend says, I'm "prissy."

Birds

Our house is all about the birds, obviously. Today my bird was doing his usual hanging upside down on his play stand. He's crazy.

My other bird love is the cardinals that frequent my feeder in my front yard. Last year we had eight pairs. I have already counted almost that much at the beginning of the winter. Hopefully they will all bring their friends!!

Flannel

Today I went in to the little grocery store in the town I work in. The first thing I see is a woman wearing a flannel shirt jacket. Then I see a guy w/a camouflage hat & matching bib overalls. I was waiting to see a dead deer strapped to the top of a 1983 Dodge Omni. While I am laughing inside because the city girl in me knows that it's a real fashion faux-paux to wear the previously mentioned items. The thing is, the people who live here think it's completely NORMAL!!! I miss the city. I stand out in my black suit and heels when I want through the store. Don't get me wrong, these people are the ones who give me a paycheck, but it's DAMN FUNNY to see that crap that people wear out. Don't they have someone at home who will tell them that they really shouldn't wear it out, SERIOUSLY!!

Rogue Rooster

Ok, so the picture is a little fabricated to say the least but it pretty much looks as ridiculous in person as my picture. Anyway...so I'm driving up I77 my dentist in New Philly yesterday and I see a rooster roaming in the median of the freeway just south of Stone Creek. This is the 2nd time I have seen the rooster in the median and my boss saw him all last week. Apparently the food must be pretty good there and he must run fast because he's been there for at least a month, if not more. Definitely something you don't see everyday.

I LOVE the city!!

This is the BEST pizza I have ever had!





Ahh the city. Variety. The subway is great and you get to see some interesting people to say the least. I could live there in a heartbeat (NYC-not the subway). Who could not love this? You can be in Times Square with the Naked Cowboy and in 15 minutes be somewhere quiet and quaint.

Fall

I love the fall in the midwest. The colors are amazing. This is the tree across the street from our house. Isn't it beautiful with the green tree next to the yellow?

West Lafayette

So when you drive in to West Lafayette this is what you see...Once knows as the Porcelian Enameling Center of the world. All I think of is toilets...humm

Priorities

There are a few priorities in a woman's life. Friends, drinks, purses, & fun times!

Piggly Wiggly

For those of us NOT from the south seeing a Piggly Wiggly makes you wonder what the hell is that? To me it is the funniest thing ever. Maybe that's why the tourist in my bought a t-shirt that says Piggly Wiggly w/a picture of a pig on it. NERD? Maybe. Let's just say I was easily entertained on our vacation.

http://www.pigglywiggly.com/cgi-bin/customize?merchandise.html

Southern BBQ

This morning we hopped in the car and started our pilgrimage to the beach!!! Hilton Head or bust! Anyway, so along the way we stopped at Popeye's for chicken. Damn that was good. Once we arrived in Greenwood, SC tonight we met some of my husbandd's friends from when we lived down here and went to some AWESOME southern BBQ!! I tried briqsuit & hushpuppies. The kicker was the home made banana pudding with nilla wafers on the bottom and sides and home made whip cream on top. To die for!!

Akron

For the past two days I have been in a training room in Akron...sigh. Akron itself is depressing and the picture shows it all. Maybe I only think it's depressing because I sat in the same room for six weeks with this view studying for my 6.

Homecoming

Well, I definitely know that I am in a small town now. This is a picture of the parade that went by our house tonight. Notice all the tractors!! Homecoming is when everyone is supposed to "come home" for the weekend in the summer. Sort of like an all school class reunion. They have this betting game that I will get a picture of tomorrow. You put your bet on the counter of the number you think that the mouse will run down in to. It's sort of like a roulette wheel but instead of a ball they use a mouse. Last year at the end of the festival, the let the mouse go. So where did they get the one for this year?

Midwest summer traditions

Well, summer is officially here. Hot, muggy, and strawberry picking! Many people, myself not being one of them, go out to such establishments such as the one below to pick strawberries and/or raspberries. Most of it is used to make the best jam that is loaded with about 50% sugar. I just get it from my mother in law, who makes some FINE jam!!!

PBF Farms in West Lafayette

Should you be in need of fresh, I mean fresh, ground beef you would take yourself to the Village Market. For $2.39/lb you can get beef with no filler, freshly ground!! It truly is the best hamburger that you will ever have. They also have great cheese from Amish country, as well as all the things that you run out of during the week like bread, milk, pop, and eggs. The only bad part is that you can not get beer in our township. You have to go to Coshocton or Newcomerstown town to get groceries/beer...bummer

Skipperrrrrrrrrrrr

Grocery Store & Drive-thru

Well, the finest/only grocery store in town. It is the size of a Walgreen's. There are very few things that are low fat, fat free, or reduced fat. But you have the convenience of getting what you need close by. The other thing is drive-thru. I never knew what it was until I moved to Ohio. You drive through this "garage" which is actually a convenience store. Just drive in, order your large can of beer for the road, and they actually put it in a paper bag!!! Ha ha ha!! I do need to say that I am always the driver for the person w/the beer in the bag!!

The town I work in...

Fabulous downtown Newcomerstown...need I say more?

I also took a few pics of houses that people actually live in. For real.

This guy has amazing flowers in his yard!! Sorry about the glare

Triplex

Where is the front??

The Chilly Willy Dairy Bar

The "Video" Store

NYC Part 2

On the way to NYC...
Well, after the drama of getting on the subway, my friends and I get off at Canal St (Chinatown). There is a little Chinese woman (not pictured above) there w/a piece of paper w/pictures of purses on it and she is saying, Prada, Gucci, etc. We nod our head and off she goes. That little woman can walk faster than I can. Down the street, around the corner, to some locked warehouse door. She opens the door, and says, you go w/my husband. We walked up 4 flights of stairs and through another locked door into what looked like a Chinese sewing sweat shop, in to a closet in the back. My friends are a little freaked but what the hell, fake purses!! We leave there and walk back through Chinatown and my friends can not get out of there fast enough. I am not sure what they were expecting but, that's what it is.

So we hurry out of there and head to the Grayline bus stop. A double-decker bus that tours around the city. A GREAT deal and you see a lot. They would not get off the bus again until we were back in Times Square...sigh.The Empire State Building

We missed all the culture. But who could not appreciate the Naked Cowboy??

Saturday in the park, I think it was just after 4th of July



Central Park

Amish traffic

First of all, my father took this picture. You are not supposed to take pictures of the Amish because they believe it "steals their soul." When you head north of here about 10 minutes you start running in to buggies. I was intrigued with it for the first year I lived here but now I am used to it.

The other wonderful thing about living near Amish country is that there is GREAT meat, cheese, and bakeries so close. It truly is the best cheese I have had.

NYC

Ahhh, the big city. Gotta love it! How could you not? Access to a variety of stores, restaurants, theaters, bars, etc. Need I say more?