MN State Fair

So, Saturday morning I was up at 4:30 a.m. OMG I never am up at that time! It was so dark! And, although I had set my coffee pot the night before to have the coffee already brewed, there was only about an inch of hot coffee in the pot. Hmmm. Investigation revealed that there wasn't any water still in the tank, nor were the grounds wet. Aha! I never filled the tank with water the night before! What was in the pot was Friday's leftover coffee! Apparently, I am not ever meant to be up at that time of day.

Why was I up, anyway? Yesterday was the annual outing to the MN State Fair! This year was a bit different -- my mom was coming with! So I needed to be out the door by 5:30 to pick her up in EC and be to Chris' mom's (Ger) by 9. I left my house at 5:20!

It was kind of gloomy and rainy all morning until we got to Hudson. Then the sun came out a bit. It was still a little cloudy, but it looked like it would be a great day for the fair. We made it to Ger's by 8:30. Fantastic! Chris pulled in right behind us and after a quick potty break, the five of us (Chris' nephew, Nicholas, came too) were off! The bus stop for free rides to the fair is about 3 blocks from Ger's house, so it works out perfectly!

Once we got to the fair, the first stop was the Dairy booth. Nothing like a big shake early in the morning to set the tone for the day! I had strawberry-rhubarb this year -- a brand new flavor. Then we watched one of the princesses have her head carved in butter. Oh, to be a princess for the MN State Fair! I was disappointed that the milk booth seemed to have disappeared. That's where I buy a stress cow for my classroom pass each year. No cow for me.

Then we headed to the animal barns. No surprise, Jan was on the hunt for llamas. We didn't find any. But we did see lots of cows (some were HUGE!) and sheep and goats and pigs (saw the largest boar in MN -- 1,300 lbs!) and horses. The first horses we saw were Belgians -- almost as big as Clydesdales! Their hooves were kind of odd, too, and they had funky ribbons in their manes and their tails pulled up into floral arrangements. I'm not sure they were cool with that...

Next on the food agenda was beer (it was almost 11 a.m. by this point) and Pronto Pups. Unsurprisingly, they go very well together! We went through Heritage Square, and then we ate Big Fat Bacon (1/4 - 1/3 lb. of bacon on a stick, deep fried, of course) and mini-donuts.

Off to the grandstand! Lots of stuff to look at, but it's almost the same every year. Then we age funnel cake. Chris & Nicholas had powdered sugar, and Ger, Jan & I split one with powdered sugar, chocolate, and vanilla cream (like a Boston Creme Pie). Nummy!

Then we watched the parade (they have one every day). Tons of bands! Freedom, WI (boo) and Cashton bands were there, even! No candy, though. Next we headed through the Eco building. Jan got lots of info about wind power. We had some coffee at the Swedish Lutheran booth. The sun was hiding, and coffee hit the spot.

The Art Building was next. Some people just throw crap on a canvas and apparently it's art. Who knew? Then we hit the Education building, and stopped at the CSB/SJU booth, of course. Got a new pen. :)

Finally it was time for cheese curds. They are so fantastic! Hand dipped and golden brown... even though I just ate them yesterday, I'm drooling thinking of them. We were going to get a deep fried Snickers, too, but the line was too long!

We hit the Horticulture building (gladiolas were the featured flower) and we all registered to win a rain barrel. Apparently these are all the rage, and if I win, I'm giving mine to Jan. Then we headed for the International Bazaar and more beer while we looked at all the shops.

What a day! Lots of laughs, good food, and fun times. Jan and I got back to EC about 8:45, and I was in bed by 9:15. Tired! But a great way to have fun before heading back to school.

Almost ready for school... kind of!

Three days of inservice left me wiped out. How in the world will I mange a full week with kids? Good think we don't have a full week for the first three weeks of school! :) Next week is Tues. - Fri. (can't start school til Sept.1), the following week is Tues. - Fri. (no school Labor Day), and the third week we have early release on Friday (Vernon County Fair!). It's good to ease into things.

I think I am almost ready for school to start (well, except for the whole getting up in the mornings). I have all my classes set to go, except for Civics. And I would be ready for that, too, if I hadn't decided last week to totally revamp it! I'll still use some of what I used to do, though, so it won't be too difficult.

Tonight is the first football game of the year. Last season, we tied for conference champs. I'm not too sure if that's possible again this year, but I'm ready for it! I'll be selling tickets for tonight's game. If it's a blow-out, I'll head to EC tonight, if not, I'll be on my way by 5:30 a.m. tomorrow morning! Jan and I are going to the MN State Fair tomorrow with Chris and her mom and nephew. We need to be to Ger's by 9:00 a.m. I am looking forward to eating my weight in deep fried food on a stick!

Last week of summer...

Wow. Inservice starts tomorrow. I spent all day at school today, anyway. I'm tired. And, it's almost 10 p.m. and I have to go to bed! Good lord it's hard to get back in the swing of things.

Especially after last week! I had a good conference at the Chippewa Valley Museum from Monday thru Wednesday, and then spent Wednesday night through Saturday morning with Ang in Bloomer. My liver still hurts! But, damn, did we have fun. We made significant progress on this year's version of "Knitting with Hotties," and I'll try and get the finished edition on the blog. Not that we were objectifying men, or anything.

Then Saturday afternoon was Bobbers Golf Outing. Super fun! The weather finally cooperated and we had a gorgeous day for golf. Although I didn't win (dang it, Donna! One stroke!!), I still got an award for longest drive on the 14th hole, and cutest outfit. Tee hee!

Dinner at the Holec's was fantastic, as usual, and the bonfire rocked! I was glad April could make it and be in charge of the poker stick.

Overall, it was a great last week of summer. I miss it already.

Last few days of freedom

No one has asked me to register them to vote yet. I'm a bit depressed about it. :)

Only one more real week of freedom before it's back to the grind. I am so glad that I have a job with summer vacation! I know I complain when it gets to be fall and it's time to go back, but really, what the heck would I do if I had to work ALL THE TIME?

I'm busy this last week, too. I have a meeting at school this afternoon about a new class I'm teaching this fall, I'm going to BRF tomorrow for a great day at Lillian's and a Sons of Norway meeting, then on Monday I head to EC for 3 days at the Chippewa Valley Museum for a conference, and then I'm going with Ang to her folk's camper. Finally, next Saturday I have Bobber's Golf Outing. Monday I have another meeting at school (union stuff, this time), and then inservice starts! Shut up!

I made a calender the other day so I could get all my crap organized, and I realized that I'm pretty much booked through October! Nothing like going from an awesome, relaxing summer to full-on activity!

Too much time on my hands

Isn't the internet amazing? I was wandering around it this morning, and checking out the Mike & Mike site (while watching the show, too). Found this! Super funny. The only photos they have are of guys, so that's why my arm is a bit manly...

Deputized

I am such a nerd. It's ok. I know it. I even revel in it. So that's one of the reasons I am excited to announce that I am now a...

Special Registration Deputy!

What the heck is that? Well, it means that I am officially deputized by the state of Wisconsin to register voters! I went to a 2-hour training on Friday afternoon, along with Patty, our school secretary. We had to go through the forms, read the pertinent statutes, and take a real-live oath with our hands raised and everything! I have a commission that lasts until December 31, 2010.

So, if any of you live in WI and haven't registered to vote, I can help! Or if you move and need to update your register, I can do that, too!

Really, what it will be used for most is getting high school students registered to vote so they don't have to do it the day of the election. But I am totally not limited to that! I love being geeky!

Mishmash of junk

How is it August already? Happy birthday #5 -- nice of you to catch up to the rest of us. Boy it sure was fun on Saturday night in EC with #1, 4 & 5. I'm pretty sure I've never had that much fun at the 400 Club! :) Everyone had fun, no one puked (at the bar, at least), and we all got some railroad souvenirs. Ha ha ha!

I'd been in BRF earlier to attend the premiere of Lillian's new movie: "Dancing with Miss White." A bit too much dancing for me (made the movie LONG), but Lil's parts were great, and the clips at the end were perfect! Plus it was fun to see some relatives for dinner before the movie.

I went to school yesterday to get some stuff ready for the newsletter and take care of my supply order. It really isn't bad being there when there aren't any kids there! :) It's hard to believe that school starts in three weeks! Only inservice -- "real" school starts ONE MONTH FROM TODAY! Good lord. How do people with other jobs do it? I'd go absolutely crazy without summers off.