Once in a Lifetime of Love

Okay, so the title of this post may be a little ridiculous, but whatever, it has multiple meanings! First, it's a Keith Urban song, 'nuff said! Second, how often does the average American get to meet a "celebrity" with whom their in love with, or just really admire and would like to be "close personal friends" with? Well, as the title of the post alludes, ONCE!!!! Which leads to the story of this fateful Tuesday, August 11th, Craig and I went to Vikings Training Camp in Mankato.

I should preface this whole story with the only reason I wanted to go to training camp was to get up close and personal with my FAVORITE Viking, Defensive End, number 69, Jared Allen!!! It was the defensive line who was doing autographs the day we went, but because Jared is SUCH a big deal when you entered the field that day you received a scratch off ticket. If yours said Jared Allen you could get his autograph if not bummer you'll have to settle for a member of the Williams' Wall.

But I ABSOLUTELY knew if I went to training camp I would get to meet Jared Allen. Needless to say after I got a couple pictures of him and his buddies leaving the locker room and like most red blooded women cat called after him when he waived, we made our way to the front entrance where I faced my destiny, the scratch off ticket.

After I received mine I made Craig dig his keys out so I could scratch it off. All I saw was "You Win" and I about hyperventilated! But Craig's also said "You Win" so I knew something had to be up so I kept scratching and found that it said "You Win Jared Allen" and my reply was "WHAT?! Do I get to take him home with me?!?!?!" :) But alas, not today.... However, I was one of the 150 "Golden" ticket holders.

So I turned my ticket in for a wristband and found out you had to provide something for him to sign, and as tempting has having him sign my body would have been, I opted to purchase a photo (as seen to the right!!!). At 10:30 all the lucky wristband recipients gathered and I found myself amid a sea of young boy

s and father's green with envy that their son and this random woman was going to meet arguably one of the best defensive line men in the NFL. The line moved rather quickly so when I was in the group of 20 to go in all the kids took off running, which I wasn't about to do, so they got up there and just laid their items in front of Jared and watched him sign without an exchange of words.

That was not going to happen with me. I was determined to get him to look up from the table and at least acknowledge my presence. So I slowly laid my picture down, to which it seemed he was checkin' himself out in it, maybe he hasn't see this one yet. I proceed with saying "Hi, how's it going?" Which gets him to look up with a slight look of surprise that 1. Someone was actually talking to him and 2. I was a woman, as opposed to a 12 year old boy. He replied with "oh good, how are you?" I say I'm doing well and I notice that the top of mullet he's sporting is all curly from the killer bandanna he wears so I say "are you enjoying this hot weather?" (cuz it was like 90 out that day and humid!) and he says "oh, ya know I kinda like this, I'm from Arizona where it's always really hot so I'm just used to it." At this point he's already signed my photo and the kid behind me was getting anxiously close so I say to Jared "well thanks it was nice to meet you" and he says "have a good one." Then I was on my way, to gloat and decide how frame it and where once it's framed to hang it and down the road how to explain to my husband why there's an autographed photo of Jared Allen next to our bed.... unless of course Jared and I end up tying the knot!

Newbies

New Music

- Free Energy

- Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros

- Daughtry

Recent Reads

- Julie & Julia (4 Stars)

- The Virgin Suicides(3.5 Stars)

Must See

- Mad Men Season 2

- Jared Allen's Crib Clip

- Julie & Julia (only for Meryl Streep and Stanley Tucci!!!!)

- Maggie- My mom's new 12 week old bichon puppy

Paolo Nutini

Drunk, stoned or simply European.... it's really quite hard to say which was the cause of Paolo Nutini's odd behavior at the beginning of his recent show at the MN Zoo Amphitheatre. Whatever it may have been didn't seem to affect the tone of his voice or the fact he had women twice his age swooning near and far. Along, with his 6 man band Nutini produced a smoky sound reminiscent of old jazz complete with horns and a harmonic! Simply stated a fun concert leaving you wanting more and excited for the release of his new album and possible return to Minnesota.

Listen to Paolo Nutuini

My pictures/ video from the show

Beer Dip

My contribution for game night is a bottle of Vouvray and Beer Dip. Should be one hell of a night, provided I'm on the winning team!

Beer Dip

Yields: 3 1/2 cups

2 packages of cream cheese, softened

1/3 cup beer

1 envelope ranch dressing mix

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Bag of Pretzels

In a large bowl beat together cream cheese, beer and ranch dressing mix until smooth. Mix in cheddar cheese. Serve with pretzels.

My suggestion to make this an even more festive appetizer is to put the dip in a glass beer mug to serve.

Oooey Gooey Chocolate Butter Cake

I love looking for recipes on www.foodnetwork.com! I stumbled onto this delicious dessert a couple months ago and just decided to try making it. It was very good, but what else would you expect from something with 2 sticks of butter?

Oooey Gooey Chocolate Butter Cake

Cake Layer

1 stick of butter, melted

1 package of chocolate cake mix

1 egg

Filling Layer

1 package of cream cheese, softened

2 eggs

4 tablespoons cocoa powder

16 oz powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup chopped nuts (optional, I don't like nuts in baked goods so I don't use them)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9X13 pan.

In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, 1 egg and 1 stick melted butter, and stir until well blended. Pat mixture into prepared pan and set aside.

In a stand mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add 2 eggs, and the cocoa powder. Lower the speed of the mixer, and add the powdered sugar. Continue beating until ingredients are well mixed. Slowly add the 1 stick melted butter, and the vanilla, continuing to beat mixture until smooth. Stir in nuts with a rubber spatula.

Spread filling over cake mixture in pan. Bake 40 to 50 minutes. Be careful not to over-bake the cake; the center should still be a little gooey when finished baking. Let cake partially cool on a wire rack before cutting into pieces.

I sprinkled powdered sugar over mine before severing with vanilla ice cream and it was a big hit!

Creamy Veggie Pasta Toss

Here's what we had for dinner. A great dish full of fresh veggies! The original recipe yields 12 servings, which is a lot, so I only make half of it, but I'll give you the original.

Creamy Veggie Pasta Toss

Yield: 12 servings

12 oz uncooked bow tie pasta

2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms

2 cups fresh asparagus (about 1/2 pound)

2 medium sweet onions, finely chopped

2 medium carrots, sliced

2 medium zucchini, halved and sliced

1 medium sweet yellow pepper, julienned

1/3 cup butter, cubed

2/3 cup chicken broth

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup prepared ranch dip

1/ 2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/ 2 cup minced fresh parsley

2 tablespoons mined fresh basil

1/2 teaspoon salt

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute vegetables in butter for 5 minutes. Stir in broth, cook for 3 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender.

In a small bowl, combine the sour cream, dip Parmesan cheese, parsley, basil and salt, stir into skillet and heat through. Drain pasta; add to the skillet and toss to coat.

You Craisin' Cookies

A new family favorite cookie recipe. I'm calling them You Craisin' Cookies, apposed to oatmeal cranberry white chocolate chunk cookies, that just doesn't roll of the tongue.

You Craisin' Cookies

Makes: 2 1/2 dozen cookies

2/3 cup butter softened

2/3 cup brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

6 oz craisins

2/3 cup white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375. Using a mixer, beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add eggs, mixing well. Combine oats, flour, baking soda and salt in a separate mixing bowl. Add to butter mixture in several additions, mixing well after each addition. Stir in craisins and white chocolate chips. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes.

Neil's Still Got IT!!!

The Boston 4th of July tradition for many families is to camp out early in the morning, some as early as 2 AM to get a wristband. A wristband allows you access to sit around in the Esplanade in front of the Hatch Shell waiting all day for the performance of the Boston Pops and which ever special entertainment they come up with. Lucky for me this year the special guest was one of my all time FAVORITE pop singers of all time, Neil Diamond! Plus, aside from waiting in line for about 2 hours to get a wrist band we didn't come back until about an hour before the show and wiggled our way to great seats by a family from Philly!

One of the best singers, songwriters, performers and all around get musician Neil Diamond did not disappoint me over the 4th of July celebration in Boston. Yes, of course he did Sweet Caroline which has become a sort of anthem for the Red Sox's and by default the local fans. But Neil also delighted the crowd with Cracklin' Rosie, Forever in Blue Jeans and America. I have video of Forever in Blue Jeans, Sweet Caroline and America in my photo album if you care to view. **Note: the quality isn't the best since we didn't have the stamina to wait around all day to have close spots and I was too excited to hold the camera still for a great video, if anything I suggest just listening to it! Happy listening!

Independence Day

Happy 4th of July!

Things I've learned so far while in Boston:

1. There are only 4 ingredients in good beer. Hops, yeast, water and a grain and it's best to serve beer a little warmer so you can enjoy the flavor. I learned this on the Samuel Adams brewery tour where I got a free glass and three free samples of beer. Even though I'm not a fan of beer it was a good way to spend an hour!

2. J.P. Licks makes one hell of a brownie sundae! Two choices of ice cream (homemade of course) I picked coffee Oreo which was fantastic, two choices of toppings and then hot fudge and whipped cream. 

3. Bostionas are either hardcore about Neil Diamond or celebrating the 4th of July in large groups in public places. This was made evident when we showed up at 8:30 am to get wristband to for the free show tonight and people had clearly been waiting since dawn or before. It was also apparent when you see people hauling in tents, coolers and bags full of groceries! C-R-A-Z-Y!!!

4. Scrambled eggs and half a raisin bagel can be the best breakfast you've ever had if you've been truckin' it around the city for hours on an empty stomach to find your brunch destination is closed for the holiday.

5. These shoes AINT made for walking.... well so far I think my shoes have been a fine choice it's just my darn flat feet that are slowing me down. 

That's that, so far. We still have the rest of July 4th to celebrate! And whatever may come after that! 

GazpacHO NO....

Over the weekend I decided to attempt Gazpacho, a cold Spanish tomato based raw vegetable soup. I had a wonderful version made by Natalie Dee when I was last in D.C. so I got her recipe and tried to duplicate it. But alas.... my version was far and away lacking a layer of flavor. I have a few theories about that but first the recipe:

Jaleo's Gazpacho, serves 6-8
1 Cucumber (peeled, seeded, chopped)

1 Green bell pepper (seeded, diced)

3lb ripe Plum Tomatoes (diced)
2 cloves Garlic

1/4c sherry vinegar

1/2c Oloroso sherry

3/4c EVOO

Puree all ingredients with 2c of water until well blended. Strain into a pitcher and refrigerate 30 minutes. Garnish: thick bread croutons, evoo, diced cucumber, diced green and red bell pepper, sea salt.

So here are my theories for why it didn't turn out quite right:

1. Per Natalie's suggestion I didn't not strain the Gazpacho. I don't think this really had anything to do with the flavor. And would skip the straining in future attempts.

2. Target doesn't sell Sherry vinegar so I had to use red wine vinegar.....

3. I drank all my sherry so I used chicken stock instead of Oloroso sherry....

4. My blender wasn't big enough to fit the whole batch at once so I did two small batches.... probably not really a big deal either, but upon seeing the large quantity of this recipe I would only make half next time, unless feeding a large group.

Overall I had a good experience with this endeavor. I pawned a great deal of it off on my parents and their friends, who were baffled by the idea of cold soup, but all were pleased and complimentary when asked how it tasted. This is coming from a group with basic pallets, but I'll take what I can get!

NEW MUSIC!

Here are a few of my new favorite artists. I've been listening to them on REPEAT for days. Check 'em out you're bound to like one of them!

Coconut Records

Jason Schwartzman's one man band project. Yes, Jason's most know for writing the song California, made famous to the masses as the theme song on The OC, but departed his band, Phantom Planet, after only one record to follow his dream of being an actor. Not to hard of a goal to accomplish when you have Nicholas Cage as a cousin and many other famous relatives. Needless to say Jason became an actor and has recently gotten back to making music. Both Nighttiming and the current Davy albums by Coconut Records has a throw back to the great pop stars of the 1960's. Fun hooks, and quirky lyrics make it sooooo easy for me to say I HEART Jason Schwartzman!!!!

Nik Freitas

I was recently "introduced" to him when I saw Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band. He is a member of the Mystic Valley Band playing guitar and backing vocals. However, he did sing a song on his own and Conor mentioned Nik just released his own album. So I checked it out the next day and have been listening to it non-stop! It's fun to listen to around the house when you're cooking or doing random projects.

Randy Houser

When I first heard this guy I thought "wow this doesn't seem like the kind of song Brooks and Dunn would sing..." Turns out it wasn't Brooks and Dunn it was Randy Houser. I'm not sure how old Randy is but he has a deep soulful voice with some Southern Bluesy Rock tendencies, which I LOVE! His debut album as a singer is great for summer. My favorite song is Lie, the lyrics are clever and I hate to admit it but a pretty accurate assessment.

Rice Krispie Dessert

Since it was so darn HOT and HUMID earlier this week I decided to "revive" an old classic dessert my Grandma Barthel would make when I was a kid. It's so simple and yet so tasty. Easily one of the best dessert for a sultry summer day.

3 cups of Rice Krispies

1/2 cup Butter

1 cup Coconut

1/2 cup chopped Walnuts

1 cup Brown Sugar

1 gallon softened Vanilla Ice Cream

Strawberries

Melt butter and then mix together all ingredients except ice cream. Grease a 9X13 pan and then spread half the mixture in the bottom of the pan. Then spoon the ice cream onto the rice krispie layer. You may need to use your fingers to spread the ice cream into a semi-even layer. Then sprinkle the remaining rice krispie layer over the ice cream. Cover and freeze for at least 2 hours before serving. Use fresh strawberries to top the dessert. Hot fudge, butterscotch or carmel work nicely too.

Song of the Week

Song: Before You Were Young
Album: Ode to J. Smith
Band: Travis

Having just seen these fellas live for the first time, more to come on that, I felt it only appropriate to tout a song from their latest release, Ode to J. Smith, as my commemorative first song of the week. Selecting one proved to be a more challenging feat than I anticipated. I surely have my favorite songs and remembering the live performance only enhances each song's appeal...

However, I did select one that being Before You Were Young. I am especially drawn to the sincerity in Fran's delivery and the unusually soft, melodic lyrics. I am always a fan of the piano and this song does not disappoint, as well as kickin' it up a notch with the use of a gong! Below is my favorite verse of the song,

"but i've only got two hands
and i'll never learn to dance
i'll never get a second chance
whatever
i'll take the breath away from your sighs
and wipe the tears away from your eyes
and hope the fire never dies
inside you"

Happy listening to a song I ALWAYS hit repeat on!

3 Concerts in 1 week!

Friday, April 10th thru Friday, April 17 proved to be a week on one unbelievable concert after another. The saving grace to attending so many shows so close together was they were all in different venues and of different genes of music.

So much like Julie Andrews states in the Sound of Music, let's start at the very beginning.... well that could be a little time consuming and sticky, so let me re-phrase, let's start at the very beginning of the week. Which was the end of the work week, Friday, April 10th. Concert number one, Brandi Carlile.

Driving to Mankato to see Brandi Carlile at the Altell Center at first didn't seem to be like the best thing I should be doing on Good Friday night, but when I found out we had FRONT row seats I was especially pumped! So we piled into Court's pimp ride and cruised on down to Mankato. I should note the following story Court shared on the way which played a pivotal role in our evening's events.

To sum up the story she was annoyed with some ladies from her intramural volleyball game and tried to text F***** B****** describing them to her friend. However, the text ended up saying F****** Chubbies. Which become our "code" word all night in reference to the random annoying ladies we came across at the concert. Skip ahead a few hours to us sitting FRONT row patiently waiting for the opener to come on stage, snapping a few pictures of each other and generally chatting about how excited we were. Not to mention we were right in front of the speakers, even though it was an acoustic show, Court still requested the "security" guard fetch her some earplugs. Which he was quite obliged to do. ("Security" is in quotes because these people were more like ushers you'd find at the Guthrie than security guards! They weren't stopping anyone from doing anything!)

ANYWHO.... as we're sitting.... waiting... wishing.. hoping... and praying... (wait that's not a Brandi song...) two young drunk ladies decide it's too far to walk to the end of the row so they decide to hurdle the folding chairs set up on the floor to get to their seat. Due the the enclosed space and their blood alcohol content levels, they lost their balance and fall onto J and Court, who both take blows to the head from one chick's purse. The drunkards compose themselves... as much as can be expected and just move along. No bother to apologize or anything. HOW RUDE! Don't worry karma sure bit them in the ass! I should note J and Court suffered only minor trauma and thankfully no bruising!

But those Chubbies got what was coming to them, since they had stolen seats in the second row grandma "security" guard came and attempted to kicked them out during the opener's set. Grandma wasn't effective so an angry fan took matters into her own hands and verbally assaulted them enough until they finally left. Needless to say that was more memorable than the opening dude, who had three names and a fiddle player, which I quite appreciated the later!

Alright, onto the main event, what you've all been waiting for, Brandi, Brandi, Brandi.... yes I think there was some chanting! Who'd have thought in Mankato.... I will also quickly note the wide range of ages, me and company our mid 20's.... to our right we had mom, dad and young teens and our left we had grandma and grandpa, just fans, not those posing as "security".

Brandi and company came out and played a great variety of songs from both the first and second albums, a few Beatle's cover songs, the classic Johnny Cash hoedown medley, and much anticipated selections from her forthcoming album, tentatively released for the fall. Since we were lucky enough to be in the front row the highlight of the evening was when Brandi, Tim and Phil came center stage and did a song completely UNPLUGGED! No mic, no amps, nothing just their voices and guitars and it was unfreakin' real! I've seen less than a handful of artists attempt that. And never in an arena venue!

Okay onto the story involving Court and her precious ear plugs, completely unnecessary in my opinion but she benefited so good for her! As you're already aware we were in the FRONT row and I was sitting almost directly in front of Josh, the cellist, yes she has a C-H-E-L-L-O player, isn't that AWESOME! Anywho, so I was watching him through out the concert, we made eye contact and smiled on more than one occurrence during the set, ya know just what's expected if you're that close! At one point in the concert I noticed he has a huge smirk on his face and I wonder why.... so I look to my right, away from the stage, toward J and Court. To find Court pulling her ear plugs out of her bra and jamming them into her ears. Not usually a big deal but when the onstage C-H-E-L-L-O player is watching all the more hilarious! Even funnier come to find out Court had no idea he was even paying attention!!!

After playing for an hour and a half Brandi ends the show but of course comes back and does Hallelujah for an encore and I got a video of it. She does one of the best covers of that song! If you've never heard her version I'll send you the link! She then followed up with some the best news we heard all night.... she was going to do two things, one of which she had never done before. We were all on the edge of our seats dying to hear them, well actually I think we were standing, but just as excited. First she announced she would come sign autographs after the show. Sweet I was totally gonna buy a poster and have her sign it so I could add it to my office wall. Second she announced she and boys were gonna be packin' up the equipment and moving it down the road a mile or so to the Coffee Hag to play another set for FREE for whoever wanted to go!

Talk about stuck between a rock and a hard place. Do you get in line to meet Brandi or do you gamble on getting into the "after party show"? Well I'll give you one guess as to what we did.... we threw caution to the wind and hauled ass to the car to get to the coffee hag as fast as possible! I imagine that's what it feels like to be on the Amazing Race! We were lucky enough to get to the Coffee Hag relatively quickly and ended up being numbers 79, 80 and 81 out of the 130 people being let in. The only downfall to this set up was we had to wait on the street until the equipment was set up. But we had arrived and committed to waiting so we huddled together for warmth, being a lovely April night it was still quite brisk. IRREGARDLESS we were there for another show and after being served coffee and by my request cookies on the street and waiting about an hour the moment of truth arrived. They let us into to this hole in the wall coffee shop.

The guys filed in with their instruments, yes even Josh and the C-H-E-L-L-O, with Brandi in toe. However, she had a delayed entrance, being the diplomat and endearing fan of her fans, she stopped to play Late Morning Lullaby for those people waiting on the sidewalk, who were rejected once the Coffee Hag had reached capacity. She came into a cheering crowd, who were closer in age to us, and just as equally as excited to being seeing a second show in the same night!!! This experience was much more intimate, even though we were quite a bit further away from the "stage". People shouted out requests, questions, observations and Brandi and the fellas chatted along with the adoring audience. She played for another hour, a mix of songs she hadn't played earlier and a few staples such as The Story, which is SOOOO darn fun to sing along with in a crowded room of "true" fans.

We exited the Coffee Hag at about 12:30 AM, to my dismay Brandi did not stay there to sign additional autographs, but she had preformed twice so I should be happy with that right...? No we faced a wonderful hour and a half drive home, which flew by with all the discussion of the evenings events and just how truly unique it was and will most likely NEVER happen again.

I should also note through out the night as we were calling many people Chubbies, we were also very aware that a friend near and dear to us all was missing this excited adventure! She was however with us in spirit and we had ever intention of using her situation to get something for her signed or given to us if we met Brandi, atlas the opportunity never presented itself! Perhaps next time we'll work it out for your Shenana!