Crap!

So much for 30 in 30...I swore I posted yesterday, but apparently I didn't (could have been all the vino I downed at the Hanggi/Borek cabin) so trying to make up for it.

Maybe it was that I was distracted by the gorgeous weather at the Lake. What a great day of lounging and chilling....I did have a disappointing Rachel Ray moment last night as I received an awesome recipe for a pork tenderloin (V - from the Fab 5 gave to me) and in making my own rub I used a wee bit too much kosher salt and alas the tenderloin not as great as I had hoped. Major BUMMER! I guess I can cross signing up for Top Chef as one of my "To Do's" this year.

Looks like another fantastic day in the making....I'll let you know tomorrow, till then...

A Divide in The House...

...as I was getting ready this morning Jack was lying in our bed, watching the news with Brian...then it happened, I was summoned by the Mr to come over as Jack had something to share with me...

Brian: Jack who are you going to vote for?

Jack: (in the sweetest little 2 year old voice) Barack Obama

Oh mercy! My baby has declared his choice for the Presidential election. Thank goodness Grandma Lon wasn't there she might have fell over....no worries Grandma he isn't sporting a button yet.

...of course later on as we were in line at "Donalds" (aka McDonalds), we asked Jack again who he was voting for and this time his answer was "Chinese"...go figure, maybe too much exposure to the Olympics.

Long Time, No Post...

...no real reason just busy and like that is anything new. So I am challenging myself to a little "blogger contest", 30 posts in 30 days...can I do it, maybe not...but worth trying. I mean I do have so much dribble to spew forth on society. So let us begin with today's nonsense.

I meant to post some pictures from our "Gadient Weekend" at Gram's house. It was a BLAST! Now we were missing quite a few Gadient's (i.e. Rob/Dana/Phoebe/Simone, Ben/Tiff, Dave/Karen) for various reasons (softball, wedding, work, and thousands of miles away). However the remaining members of the clan did make it up and the weather was perfect, the cocktails delicious, and the food, well lets just say Grandma NEVER cooks a bad meal. So we spent the weekend pretty much just hanging on the boat, being terrorized on "Mable" (by Mr Fabulous & Grandma I might add) and drinking until Catherine made it known to the world that yes she is "A Swimmer".

This might just be one of my favorite moments of the weekend. Let me enlighten you, Catherine, Mark's wife (the youngest bro of the brood), appears to be the quiet, reserved, and sweet wife/sil/person in the family....BUT give her a vodka-lemonade and a few hours in the sun and BOOM goes the dynamite! Apparently her swimming capabilities are up to par with Michael Phelps (or at least that's what she tells us), she was freakin' hilarious and needless to say I already new this, but funny none the less. To be completely honest we all were a little "festive" by the end of the day, but it is so fun to see her in this light as her image is still one of sweetness, whereas I have made it known that I am "The Vino Mommy" and didn't get that name without having a few stellar moments of my own. So without further adieu here are some magical moments from the weekend.

Chick's dig me...

Party on the Mable...
Ummm....yeah....they are about to get tossed from the Mabester, poor inebriated souls...
"You know how you thought you people were funny this weekend...well I am done with you."
Any questions as to why we call Brian "The Hoff".....didn't think so.

My Ass Hurts...

...I could really use one of these.

Why, you ask? Well the uber ambitious Mommy in me (this should always be a red flag)...decided to take the munchkins on a bike ride. Yep, me and my out of shape self pulled a trailer with approximately 70 pounds worth of munchies up and down the hills of "Farm Town". Oh....dear.......god....my ass hurts! So much for the ultra comfort seat I purchased, I prefer my other pain in the ass bike seat over that. I wonder if Erik's Bike Shop will take an impression of my bum and make me a pillow top seat.....a girl can dream right?

I feel like this....

I am so damn tired...no sleep last night after a long, horrific day of travel the day before...I hate that I can't sleep when I travel. Argh!

I will be wandering over to CVS today to find me some sleep inducing meds so that I will be refreshed to take off on a 6 AM flight tomorrow. HA!

BTW...check out Catherine's blog....she is a swimmer and boy do I have pictures to prove it. LOL

I have arrived...

...and tired beyond belief. Didn't get to the hotel until after 1AM, twelve hours of sitting in airports or flying has....completely........drained.........me.

To boot someone decided to pass out as we were landing in Indy, thanks lady for making me wait for the paramedics to take your butt off the plane. Sorry I have lost all sense of kindness at this point, I just want to sleep.

I hope the flight back on Thursday is a little less uneventful.....

Part 2 "Hot-lanta"...

...yep Atlanta is still "Hot-lanta" it's been about a year since I have been here and it is still hot, even inside. I know, I am wimp, I am from the MN and I don't like to be hot. I am sitting in "Paschals La Carrousel" (a pretty fancy name for a chicken joint, BUT they do serve liquor, BONUS) in the Atlanta airport and the following are some musings from my travel thus far today...

Sitting in First Class rocks, ALWAYS! Thank you Miss Flight attendant for the short bread cookies and wine, made the painful delay much better.

Atlanta is a VERY busy airport, there are people everywhere, all the time.

People who sing while serving food=annoying (I know I like to sing at work, but I at least I acknowledge that I suck, this guy thinks he is freakin Marvin Gaye).

Overly blond hair on 20 somethings is not attractive at ALL...even if you are a size zero (seriously go eat a sandwich).

The chicken dinner I ate not bad, but still sucked....should I get Ben & Jerry's ice cream...oi I did already have the cookies....but....want....ice......cream!

Why do people take "doggy bags" for their leftovers at the airport...do they really think that their food will stay good while they travel to their next destination....ICK!

As annoyed as I am about my travel plans today, I will not turn into the "Super Dink" who is standing next to me at the ticket counter...Sir that behavior will not get you anywhere...guess what it didn't....tee hee.

I still have 2 more hours before my flight and I want to sleep now....bonus I am in First Class again, maybe there will be vino.

Lets hope I make it....

I HATE traveling....

...I am currently sitting in said Airport in the MN, waiting for my delayed flight, knowing that I will be missing my connection in Atlanta and that I will have to wait 3 hours once I get there for my next flight....which will not get my into Indy until after midnight.

That is of course if I get there....I believe the agent said something like this...

Agent: You won't make your connection

Me: That sucks. When is the next flight out?

Agent: Much later, I think it is booked.

Me: I need to get to Indianapolis tonight.

Agent: Ok, I will book you on that flight. Would tomorrow work?

Me: Depends, when would I depart/arrive?

Agent: You would not arrive until 6PM tomorrow.

Me: I hate Air Tran, I need a drink.

To be continued...

11:02 Baby...

...I am writing this post a few days behind, because well I have been busy, but I had hoped to post this on Tuesday as that was the Mr and I's 8 year Anniversary! The title of this post may perplex you and well it should since it has no meaning to anyone else but Brian and I...and frankly I like it that way.

Our wedding day...(wow we look young)

The night of our 8th Anniversary...

My thoughts on our 8 year mark (in case you are wondering we have been "together" 13 years) is what we have seen, done, experienced in these past years. I know I am shifting into uncharted territory on my blog aka sappy post, but I thought what the hell, the Mr is pretty wonderful and I like to shake things up.

Brian and I have seen each other "grow up" persay, I mean we did start dating at 16 & 17 and since we are now both 30, it is safe to say that we both have changed. We have done and seen so much together and of course most has been good, but that is not to say we haven't had our fair share of downs as well. Through it all the one constant has been each other and for me, although I'd love to say that Brian is not perfect, he is pretty damn close. Oh sure there are things that annoy me about him (never cleans a toilet, clips his nails over the bath tub...but who's keeping track) and lord knows I am not perfect (I beg to differ though) but honestly there is no single person I would rather have next to me on this wild ride of life...than him. He has always been my pillar, the one I have laughed with until I cried or cried until I laughed...my very best friend.


So babe, I say the first 8 years were a blast, but something tells me the rest are going to be even better. Happy Anniversary - 11:02

Speedos and Fashion Victims...

...watching Michael Phelps set another world record and thinking "man, not only is that guy ripped, but he can pull off a speedo like its everybody's business," if you know what I mean.

Brian sitting next to me is bewildered at my ability to turn an Olympic sport into some kind of fantasy....but apparently he is willing to roll with it as he just grabbed his keys to make a run to Dick's Sporting Goods.

On that note, back to reality, Jack fell victim to a fashion crisis tonight. Have I not explained the rule of stripes to him yet? (and yes he is rolling old school with the yellow plastic California Raisens lunch box...it was Brians)

Other than that I really have nothing major to post, some random rants come to mind like I forgot to pay that stupid "parking ticket" (more than 12 inches from the curb) and now I get to add $5 to the damn cost AND to boot as I was driving home I noticed a chip in my windshield, the windshield I just replaced 2 months ago. Argh!!!!!

Before I sign off as I hear Brian returning from the store, a couple more pics of the uber cutie pie from this weekend...

Auntie Jen, I said no more pictures!

Tantrums, Fat Lips, & BBQ...

...how'd you like that for a title?? It was a busy weekend at the Gadient household starting with Jack doing his best impression of a toddler going through his "terrible two's". Hmmm, makes me wonder what's in store for the rest of his second year. I love him to pieces but, but whoa talk about needing some vino this weekend...

Three peas in a pod...

Stacy and the princess came for a few days, hard to believe how much Miss Alison has changed the last few weeks. Still a little peanut, but the cutest chubbiest little cheeks, that are quite edible. We hung out on Friday night attempting to eat dinner before 10 PM while trying to get a 4 1/2 year old, 2 year old, and 10 week old down for bed. Did I say I wanted 3 kids? I lied.

So sweet...

Saturday we had my work picnic in Canada, it was really in Marine on the St Croix, but I am sure Canada was only a block away. Spent the first 30 minutes calming Jack down (angry from being woke up from his nap) and waiting to be asked to leave as the crying sort of kills the mood. But alas he stopped (for at least 5 minutes). Then after some grazing of the buffet and a little booze cruise it was off to Tiff's 30th Birthday Party...

Having a grand time eating and drinking at Tiff's party (after calming Jack down again, because he fell asleep on the way over and once again, evil parent=me woke him up) and then it happens. Stacy is doing her best to distract Ross as he is pleading for the hundredth time for me to get his swimsuit, was goofing around with him and then....his lip, met her knee. Boom, blood, crying, both of them. Ross crying because his tooth put a nice gouge in his lap, Stacy because she feels terrible. Ross is fine and just wants to go swimming, I have a shoulder covered in blood while telling Stacy it was an accident, no big deal. I think the blood stained shirt threw her off, making it difficult for her to believe me. But it really was an accident and those darn short people are pretty resilient.
Sunday proved to be a much quieter day of hanging out and then a little BBQ with my folks, Grandma, and my cousin Jennifer. Dinner was delicious and I have a picture to prove it. Yummy!

"I won't smile. Why, because I am 2."
A Mr Fabulous in the making...Mmmm, chicken, corn on the cob, vino...

Before and After.....

The landscaping project is complete and despite the fact that we may have to survive on Ramen and use hand towels for diapers for the rest of the month, we are VERY happy with the end result! Big round of applause for Outdoor Concepts as they were very flexible with us (we changed the scope of the project more than a few times to say the least) and they were quick! Check it out...

Before...

After...

Love it!!!!!

Bueller, Bueller...Where are U?

...I am here, I promise! Life has been crazy, hectic, insane...pretty much a usual week for me right?

Well lets start from the beginning, last week I left for Duluth with the munchkins to attend the MMGMA Conference. I worked during the day, while Jaime (my super SIL) and Jo (my super MIL) watched the monkeys. It was great because we stayed at a motel/hotel that had an outdoor pool and mega water park inside. So while I slaved away at work...no laughing...the boys swam, played, and were uber loved by their Auntie and Grandma.

On Friday, Jaime and Jo left for home and the boys and I snoozed in our hotel room until my Parents, Brian, my Grandma, and my cousins, Jennifer, Johnny, and Tori arrived at the hotel for the weekend. It was really perfect timing for me to be in Duluth with the kiddos as we had already planned over 6 months ago to be up there for the Tall Ships Festival. Watching the ships arrive on Thursday and sail in together while cannons were going off was cool as all hell, but the lines to see the damn things....not so cool...and when I say lines, I mean 5-6 hours in line to go on board and see them. Hmmmm, let me think 2 year old, 5 hours, yeah no thanks. So needless to say the Mister, the Big Boy, Mr Fabulous (aka my Dad), and Johnny left early Sunday morning to stand in line and it still took over 2 hours. Yuck!

Here are a few pics from the weekend...

Ross wearing his new official UMD sweatshirt in support of Auntie J's soon to be Alma mater...

Mr Jack...or Mr Mischievous....

Ross & Tori (or Towi as Jack likes to call her...aka our beautiful God Daughter)

Sipping a refreshing beverage by the pool...

So here we are Wednesday night and feels like forever since last weekend since I have been training since Monday at work and we are "knee deep" in our landscaping project...the crew should be done by Friday and I will post before and after pictures so you can see the transformation.

To be honest we may have to eat Ramen for the next few years to pay for the new retaining wall and landscaping...but I do have to say it looks pretty damn good! At least I can enjoy a little vino while admiring its beauty...even if my vino is made by some farm named Boones...