On our way home from lunch today, Wanda suddenly turned and loudly exclaimed "Oh my goodness....It's a chicken!!"
Sure enough I turned to the left and saw a chicken. This was in the middle of the cities...not something you see everyday. On top of this the chicken was actually crossing the road...so the question I ask each of you...my faithful readers...is why was this chicken crossing the road?
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Grilling Success
Wanda is not a huge fan of grilled food...usually because it is burnt. Today, I found some burgers and steaks in the freezer and thought I would experiment for lunch. First off you should know that I have never made a steak before on the grill.
I preheated the gas grill on high for about 10 minutes. I then turned it town to medium and put the 2 frozen hamburgers and 1 frozen steak on the grill. About 15 minutes later I flipped the hamburgers and the steak. 10-15 minutes later the burgers were ready and they were not burnt at all! Wanda thought it was perfect. I left the steak on the grill for a while longer as I didn't think it was quite ready. I left it on for another 15-20 minutes actually...checking it's temperature on occasion. Finally I took it off and figured I would try it and see if it was any good.
I cut into it and saw that it was just right and that it was quite easy to cut (always a good sign). It smelled wonderful and tasted even better. Even Wanda enjoyed the steak and she doesn't typically like steaks! Not bad for my first steak! Guess I am going to have to make more of these!
FYI - The brand of steak was a "No Name" steak. The burgers were the Rancher's Preferred Black Angus Beef Patties. They are thick and juicy. You can buy them with or without onions in them. They are by far the best frozen burger I have ever boughten.
I preheated the gas grill on high for about 10 minutes. I then turned it town to medium and put the 2 frozen hamburgers and 1 frozen steak on the grill. About 15 minutes later I flipped the hamburgers and the steak. 10-15 minutes later the burgers were ready and they were not burnt at all! Wanda thought it was perfect. I left the steak on the grill for a while longer as I didn't think it was quite ready. I left it on for another 15-20 minutes actually...checking it's temperature on occasion. Finally I took it off and figured I would try it and see if it was any good.
I cut into it and saw that it was just right and that it was quite easy to cut (always a good sign). It smelled wonderful and tasted even better. Even Wanda enjoyed the steak and she doesn't typically like steaks! Not bad for my first steak! Guess I am going to have to make more of these!
FYI - The brand of steak was a "No Name" steak. The burgers were the Rancher's Preferred Black Angus Beef Patties. They are thick and juicy. You can buy them with or without onions in them. They are by far the best frozen burger I have ever boughten.
Internet Speed
For the last few months I have known that our internet speed was not the greatest. I knew this due to online gaming over the xbox. However, it was not as noticable over the internet on the computer (unless downloading large amounts of data which I do not normaly do).
Today I decided to call ComCast and see what they could do. They started out by having me do some speed tests (http://www.speakeasy.net/speedtest). My download speed was around 1000KB and my upload was around 200kb (connecting to Chicago, IL). This was not good as that is quite slow compared to what I should be at. After diagnosing the router, modem, etc, we scheduled a technician to come out on Wednesday and he encouraged me to return my modem to Comcast and get a new one and see if that fixes the issue. I followed the recommendation.
After I got the modem setup I got the proper speed (10x faster than what I was getting): 10000+ kbps download and 1000+ kbps upload. My first try actually gave me 25K kbps download which was because of the Comcast burst that they have. Either way, I am much happier with my interent speed for the computer as well as for the 360. What is your guys speed at?
Today I decided to call ComCast and see what they could do. They started out by having me do some speed tests (http://www.speakeasy.net/speedtest). My download speed was around 1000KB and my upload was around 200kb (connecting to Chicago, IL). This was not good as that is quite slow compared to what I should be at. After diagnosing the router, modem, etc, we scheduled a technician to come out on Wednesday and he encouraged me to return my modem to Comcast and get a new one and see if that fixes the issue. I followed the recommendation.
After I got the modem setup I got the proper speed (10x faster than what I was getting): 10000+ kbps download and 1000+ kbps upload. My first try actually gave me 25K kbps download which was because of the Comcast burst that they have. Either way, I am much happier with my interent speed for the computer as well as for the 360. What is your guys speed at?
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Overheard on the Tram
I heard this while on the Tram today
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The PA system announces: "Please allow persons with disabilities and seniors to sit in the designated seats."
The young girl next to me turns to her mom and says: "Mom, are you a senior?"
The mom quickly answers: "No. I already graduated."
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Good answer! Those of you with young children should remember this response!
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The PA system announces: "Please allow persons with disabilities and seniors to sit in the designated seats."
The young girl next to me turns to her mom and says: "Mom, are you a senior?"
The mom quickly answers: "No. I already graduated."
----------------
Good answer! Those of you with young children should remember this response!
Saturday, August 23, 2008
My first NFL game
My Uncle, Randy, and 2 of his sons, Josh and Johnny came down to the cities for the Vikings game tonight. They had an extra ticket so I decided to join them since it was a pretty decent price. Here's how the evening went.
I met them at the hotel at 5:30 and we left to grab a quick bite to eat before the game. We then proceeded to the 28th street parking area to get on the tram. I had never ridden the tram before so that was new as well. I inserted my $20 bill only to get the ticket and 17 $1 coins back...that I got to carry around the rest of the evening. 45 minutes later we were at the Dome.
We got to our seats just a few minutes after the game started. The game wasn't too exciting but it was fun to see 62,000 fans in attendance as opposed to the normal Twins numbers. We ended up losing the game with 4 seconds left on the clock, but it was still fun.
We then left the Dome and got back into a very crowded Tram. The majority of the people on the tram were headed to either the 28th street exit or the MOA exit (the last two in the stretch). We were approaching the 3rd to last stop (Humphry terminal) when we started hearing a lot of not so good sounding noises coming from the train. About a minute later we were stopped inside a tunnel. We then slowly made our way up to the exit and we thought everything was ok. 10 minutes later we were still sitting/standing at the terminal with the doors open and they finally told us to exit the train and get on the next train that was coming on the other side. So everyone quickly exits the Tram to go to the other side. The next Tram appears about 2 minutes later...packed to the brim with Vikings fans. Thus, noone got on the train. After about 10 minutes out there, we finally were told to get back on the original Tram. Once everyone was in, we continued to our destination without any issues. Not really a good first Tram experience, but we made it there safe and sound so that is good.
It was a great evening and I enjoyed seeing my uncle and my cousins....even though the Vikings did lose.
I met them at the hotel at 5:30 and we left to grab a quick bite to eat before the game. We then proceeded to the 28th street parking area to get on the tram. I had never ridden the tram before so that was new as well. I inserted my $20 bill only to get the ticket and 17 $1 coins back...that I got to carry around the rest of the evening. 45 minutes later we were at the Dome.
We got to our seats just a few minutes after the game started. The game wasn't too exciting but it was fun to see 62,000 fans in attendance as opposed to the normal Twins numbers. We ended up losing the game with 4 seconds left on the clock, but it was still fun.
We then left the Dome and got back into a very crowded Tram. The majority of the people on the tram were headed to either the 28th street exit or the MOA exit (the last two in the stretch). We were approaching the 3rd to last stop (Humphry terminal) when we started hearing a lot of not so good sounding noises coming from the train. About a minute later we were stopped inside a tunnel. We then slowly made our way up to the exit and we thought everything was ok. 10 minutes later we were still sitting/standing at the terminal with the doors open and they finally told us to exit the train and get on the next train that was coming on the other side. So everyone quickly exits the Tram to go to the other side. The next Tram appears about 2 minutes later...packed to the brim with Vikings fans. Thus, noone got on the train. After about 10 minutes out there, we finally were told to get back on the original Tram. Once everyone was in, we continued to our destination without any issues. Not really a good first Tram experience, but we made it there safe and sound so that is good.
It was a great evening and I enjoyed seeing my uncle and my cousins....even though the Vikings did lose.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
That's My King
I saw this video at church a long time ago and I really liked it. I found it online today and thought I would let you all enjoy it as well. Do you know Him?
Little House on the Prairie
Yesterday, Wanda and I celebrated our 9th anniversary by going to "Little House on the Prairie" at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis.We got there a little early and decided to look around. We went up on their "Endless Walkway" (I think that is what it is called). It is the long piece sticking out from the main part of the building. You get a great look over the river from there and you can see the new 35W bridge. We then proceeded to the 9th floor (the tallest part of the building) where they have another view over the river.
We then moved on in to the theater for the main show. I am not a huge musical fan, but I did have a lot of fun. It brought me even more joy seeing the huge smile on Wanda's face throughout the show. We really did have a great time together and they did a really good job in the production. My favorite part of the show, for personal reasons that most of you will understand (note that I may not have the exact language they used, but it is close):
Almanzo: How would you feel about an engagement ring?Sounds like something that happened 9 years ago during the rehearsal of our wedding! I Love You Wanda! Thanks for a great evening.
Laura: Depends on who is asking
Almanzo: I am asking
Laura: Then it depends on the ring
Almanzo: (reaching into his pocket)
Laura: But if we are going to...If we get...
Almanzo: Married?
Laura: Yes. If we get married, I...don't want to have to say "Obey"
Twins Game
My work gave me 2 tickets to the Twins vs Yankees game on Monday night. These are the tickets 19 rows up right above the Twins Dougout. Wanda and I decided to skip cell group and attend the game. It was a fun game and the Twins won 4-0. Perkins pitched a shutout game which was pretty cool too. The win put them in first place over the Chicago White Sox.
Unfortunately they lost last night in the 12th inning putting them back in second place...but the battle continues today.
BTW - So far every game that I have gone to this year, the Twins have won. We will see if this continues on Saturday when we go to the game with my parents.
Unfortunately they lost last night in the 12th inning putting them back in second place...but the battle continues today.
BTW - So far every game that I have gone to this year, the Twins have won. We will see if this continues on Saturday when we go to the game with my parents.
Monday, August 11, 2008
A Great Weekend
This last weekend was our Annual Xpedition Camping trip. This year the people who organized it just so happened to choose the place we went to 3 years ago, Interstate State Park. This time we had a total of 20 people attend and it was a great trip.
I got a pretty bad cut on the bottom of my foot while walking in the water, but Dan and Lindsey performed some minor cleaning. The utensils we had on hand were a Popsicle stick (the kind that you find in an emergency kit...it was used to dig in the cut and clean out the dirt since we had no hydrogen peroxide), a few alcohol pads, anti-biotic creme, a gauze bandage, and some duct tape. Dan and Lindsey did a great job fixing up my foot and cleaning it (thanks again). It was a bit sore the rest of the weekend, but it in no way ruined my weekend or prevented me from going on a hike the next morning. The picture to the right is the end result right after the cleaning.
I took a lot of photos (about 105 of them are posted on the Xpedition website). I will add some to my photo feed on the website a bit later. A lot of the scenic ones turned out great. Here are a few to sample.
Beautiful Sunrise:
Steam rising off the river
Matt fishing on the river early in the morning
Overlook from the Sandstone Bluffs Trail
The awesome friends that went on the trip with us (minus the Normans who didn't go on that hike)
After I got home on Sunday, Wanda and I were going to venture to Target to get some items to clean my foot with. We stepped out of the house and both assumed the other had house keys. Needless to say, we were locked out of our house. An hour later, the lock smith had drilled a hole through our door knob and we were able to get into our house again. We then resumed to Target and made an extra stop at Menards for a new door knob. Not exactly what I had planned, but at least we didn't have to break a window. We finished off the evening watching some of the olympics before crashing for bed a bit earlier than normal.
I got a pretty bad cut on the bottom of my foot while walking in the water, but Dan and Lindsey performed some minor cleaning. The utensils we had on hand were a Popsicle stick (the kind that you find in an emergency kit...it was used to dig in the cut and clean out the dirt since we had no hydrogen peroxide), a few alcohol pads, anti-biotic creme, a gauze bandage, and some duct tape. Dan and Lindsey did a great job fixing up my foot and cleaning it (thanks again). It was a bit sore the rest of the weekend, but it in no way ruined my weekend or prevented me from going on a hike the next morning. The picture to the right is the end result right after the cleaning.I took a lot of photos (about 105 of them are posted on the Xpedition website). I will add some to my photo feed on the website a bit later. A lot of the scenic ones turned out great. Here are a few to sample.
Beautiful Sunrise:
Steam rising off the river
Matt fishing on the river early in the morning
Overlook from the Sandstone Bluffs Trail
The awesome friends that went on the trip with us (minus the Normans who didn't go on that hike)
After I got home on Sunday, Wanda and I were going to venture to Target to get some items to clean my foot with. We stepped out of the house and both assumed the other had house keys. Needless to say, we were locked out of our house. An hour later, the lock smith had drilled a hole through our door knob and we were able to get into our house again. We then resumed to Target and made an extra stop at Menards for a new door knob. Not exactly what I had planned, but at least we didn't have to break a window. We finished off the evening watching some of the olympics before crashing for bed a bit earlier than normal.
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