My First Week Back In Minnesota

Happy Friday!  I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas & was able to spend time with loved ones!  For those of you that are back at work, the weekend is almost here again!  I'm over here living that teacher life & not really knowing what day it is ever so here is a recap of what I've been up to since I got back to MN a week ago.  I'm still on break for another week & a half.  #TeacherPerks  Linking up with Amanda!

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Friday morning & I got a later than planned start, but we were still back home by 3 pm.  I woke up, laid in bed for awhile tired as all get out because I had gotten less than 5 hours of sleep, then did some yoga, packed to car, grabbed a muffin & coffee, went back for Nash, & about 7 am we were on the road again Minnesota bound.  Nash was not having it.  While he still slept a lot, he got extra whiny towards the end of Iowa & most of Minnesota.

Once back in Minnesota we just lounged around with my family, ate one of my old favorites that I hadn't had in years (Southwest Casserole), & went to bed early.

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On Saturday morning I met up with my best friend from high school (Kristie) and my best friend from elementary/middle school (Taylor), who I hadn't seen in YEARS, so that we could get our nails done & get lunch.  It was so nice to catch up with both of them, especially the friend I hadn't seen in years.  It was also nice to finally get a manicure & pedicure since my nails were looking really ratchet.

That night we decorated the Christmas tree, where the annual battle of which baby picture gets to be displayed higher continued, & Nash napped with his new duck toy courtesy of my friend Kristie.

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Sunday was filled with baking cookies & driving around to see Christmas lights.  We made chocolate pixies, peanut butter blossoms, reindeer sugar cookies, mint brownie bites, & snickerdoodles.

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As always, Christmas Eve was spent with my dad's side of the family.  This year it was at my aunt's house & all but 2 cousins were able to make it.  I got to meet one of my cousin's youngest child for the first time, she's 1.5 now, & we were almost instant friends.  The cousins played Cards Against Humanity, which I won because I am obviously the funniest one.  My brother came in second.  #Winning  That morning I *finally* wrapped my presents.  Nothing like waiting until the last minute to get stuff done!

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Christmas morning was just my parents, my brother, & me.  Well and Nash of course.  Nash-o got some treats, although not from me.  I failed & didn't buy him a Christmas present.  However he got a Black Friday present & gets stuff from me all the time.  Plus, I got him to Minnesota safely.  I got a new coffee maker, a couple of gift cards, heavier weights, collapsible strainers, an Ancestry DNA kit, a Waylon Jennings vinyl, & an Instant Pot.

Christmas Day was then spent with my mom's family as always.  We used to alternate houses for it to be held at, but my mom's side of the family has gotten so big that as of last year we started renting out a place to hold it at.  This year we had an Olive Garden/Italian theme as far as food went.  Lots of soups, salads, pastas, & breads.  There was also a super cute hot chocolate bar.  Because our family is so big, and spread out, we no longer draw names or do a white elephant gift exchange.  Instead we now play games for prizes.  This year one of my aunts did up different Minute To Win It games for people to compete at.

I was so exhausted when we got home that I ate a little bit of supper, watched a show on TV, & then called it a night.

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My brother & I had planned on getting tattoos the day after Christmas but sadly we weren't able to get an appointment.  So instead I spent the day doing nothing.  Well, Nash & I did take advantage of the nice weather & went for a walk.  I did also manage to get a couple days of yoga in since I hadn't worked out on Christmas.  Other than that the day was spent on the couch, in my yoga pants, creating a blog plan for 2019.  Changes will be coming to the blog!

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Thursday was another chill, not do much of anything, day.  It snowed pretty much the entire day so it was a great day to stay in & do nothing.  I got an Ancestry DNA kit for Christmas so I spit in the tube & it's ready to be sent out.  By March/April I should find out more about my ancestry.  Next up, a DNA test for Nash!  I got a few blog posts scheduled for 2019 as well.

Tying The Knottski

This weekend was a complete whirlwind.  I took today off so that I could recover.  I do have to go coach a softball game tonight but no work before then.

I hope you all had a great weekend & that your week is off to a great start!  Linking up with Biana.

I took Friday off, hung out with Nash in the morning, dropped him off at Posh Paw Resort at 9, & then headed to the airport.  Before Nash I flew a decent amount, at least 3 times a year.  However, since getting him I have flown once and it was right after I got him.  Because he had a 9 am drop off time and I had a noon boarding time, I decided to take advantage of this & got a bloody mary and some nachos at Pappasito's at the airport.

Once I landed in Minnesota is when the real whirlwind began.  My parents picked me up from the airport, left me one of their vehicles, & I drove up to Two Harbors to meet my friends at the Grand Superior Lodge.  We spent the night drinking, hanging out, & enjoying the hot tub before calling it a night so we could be ready for the big day to follow.

Saturday was Melissa & Sara's big day.  Rather than give you the minute by minute run down, I'll let the pictures at the end do the talking.

I woke up at 5 am on Sunday, got dressed, drove 2 hours to my parents' house, had them drive me the remaining hour to the airport, and then headed back to Dallas-Fort Worth.  I picked up Mr. Nash from the resort and then we spent the entire day recovering by laying around, watching Netflix, and ordering Lazy Dog through Door Dash.

And now the best part, the pictures.

The North Star State

I had seen Kathy do a post on ignorant things people ask about Canada & Kristen do one about Australia.  I thought this was a fun idea & wanted to see what some Minnesota stereotypes were that I could debunk.

If I can relate to over half of that video I'm a walking talking stereotype??

1. People in Minnesota don't use the word casserole

This is a fact.  There is one thing & one thing only that I call casserole & that's green bean casserole.  And to be honest I don't know why that gets to be called a casserole because literally everything else that the rest of the country would call a casserole we call hot dish.

Tator Tot Hot Dish
**If you've never had it, just trust me, you'll love it**

2. We talk like the cast of Fargo

I'm going 50/50 on this one.  I'd like to think that most of the time I don't have that thick of an accent but I definitely have friends that do.  I also apparently say "bag" weird...I guess it sounds like I say "beg."  I do say you betcha.  I do say dontcha know.  I do say oh geez.  I do say oofda.  I do elongate my o's.

3. We say "eh" a lot

Ok this one is false.  I only say it when I'm being sassy/sarcastic to someone who isn't from MN & they like to think we do.  It's usually followed by my own stereotype of "I'm not from Canada!"

4. It's cold all year round.

Also not true.  It's just cold most of the year haha.  As a general rule it doesn't really start getting cold until around November & it starts warming up again around March/April.  So it's only cold half the year.  June-August can be hot as balls though.  And it's humid as all get out because 10,000 lakes.

5. We all love hockey

Well I do.  I don't/won't ever like the Dallas Stars simply because they were the Minnesota North Stars before.  Hockey is also the only sport that gets me so upset that I cry on a regular basis over playoff games.  Of course not ALL of us do but in my mind most of us do.  But we are the state of hockey after all y'all.  For crying out loud the below was an actual ad campaign in Minnesota... "He brought hockey back!"

6. We all love Prince

Well I mean I'll belt out Purple Rain...and I love pointing out that he's from Minnesota...and more than once I've said "Let's go find his house."  But I don't think I actually love Prince.  I couldn't even tell you another Prince song off the top of my head.

7. "Our governor can beat up your governor"

I hang my head in shame that that was ever a phrase uttered out of the mouths of people in Minnesota...especially after the whole Chris Kyle trial...

8. We all love hunting & fishing

Again, I'm sure not everyone does.  Okay I know not everyone does.  I however do.  In fact, I'm rather upset that I don't get to go this year because of basketball season.

9. Minnesota nice

So I was going to say this is a lie & I think it's more small town nice.  However, that would be a lie.  People in Minnesota are nice.  It's just how we do.  More often than not when I tell people I'm from Minnesota, right after they say "eh" "dontcha know" or "you betcha," if they've been there they tell me how nice the people are.

10. Long goodbyes

Holy mother of God yes.  To the point where as a child, when we'd be at family things & my mom would say it's time to go, we knew we didn't actually have to stop playing with our cousins.  It wasn't really time to go until there was outside movement to the car.  Even at that point people are still saying goodbye as your walking out the door & sometimes even standing outside to wave as you're driving off.  I think this is why I like to ghost escape...because I know if I start saying goodbye I'll be there forever.

Perhaps I was the wrong person from Minnesota to do this post.  Or perhaps we're really just that transparent.  Or maybe no one really ever thinks about Minnesota & therefore they don't really have anything ignorant to say about it.  The only things people really ever say to me is "eh" "dontcha know" & "you betcha."  And since I do say 2 out of 3...they're kinda right...

25 Things

Do any of you remember the "25 Things" craze that hit Facebook about 2 years ago?  You know where you made a list of 25 things about yourself that others may or may not already know about you.  Well I'm bringing it back.  Only this time, in honor of my moving, I'm going to do the 25 Things I'm Going To Miss About MN & 25 Things I'm Excited For In TX.  But first, here is an awesome video about "25 Things" that kills me everytime.

 25 Things I'm Going To Miss About MN

1. Mora (My Hometown)
2. "Dropping" fresh baked cookies on the floor at work so we could sample them

3. Hot cop eye candy at work

4. My fellow Social Studies majors

5. My family

6. My friends

7. My dog

8. Driving "the loop"

9. Living in a small town

10. Not having to pay tolls

11. Having an income

12. Having next to no bills

13. The fact that there are next to no bugs out right now

14. The scenery

15. Farms everywhere

16. Having my own room/closet

17. Knowing where everything is

18. No sales tax on clothes

19. Family Get Togethers

20. Having a real bed

21. MCs/Bowes (bars)

22. A certain couple of boys

23. Holiday (my job)

24. Discounted gasoline

25. St. Cloud (my college town)



 25 Things I'm Excited For In TX

 

1. Road Trip

2. Making new friends

3. Warm weather

4. Living an hour from The Gulf

5. Finally getting to meet a friend I've known for forever

6. Cowboys

7. Houston

8. Dallas

9. San Antonio

10. Student Teaching

11. Getting use & abuse "y'all"

12. Real country bars

13. Gym in my apartment

14. Houston Rodeo & Livestock Show

15. "The Real World: Houston" as my friends like to call it

16. Southern accents

17. An apartment with 2 pools

18. Getting to live somewhere new

19. Getting to experience life in a major city

20. Southern Charm

21. "Yes ma'am"

22. Having roommates

23. Waffle House

24. Being done with school at the end of the day & not still having to go to work after

25. Learning to be independent.