End of February

I realize that it's been awhile since I've posted. I guess you could say there have been a couple reasons for that...

• About a week and a half ago, our neighbors decided to secure their internet, and I'm still Dutch enough (or smart enough) to try and get by without giving in to Comcast and fork over $50/month for internet access.
• There hasn't been a ton of writable material. Ever since I can remember I always feel that the time of Feb-early Mar has been super slow. The snow is disappearing and its not quite warm enough to spend a ton of time outside yet...what's there to do?
• It's pretty much been raining here all day today...I got a text from Wes this morning saying it was snowing and blowing there. Looked it up and saw 4-6 inches forecasted with 30 mph snow. Doesn't seem like Spring Training weather to me!
• Speaking of Spring Training...Twins are 2-0 right now with wins over Boston and Cincy. I know...its only preseason and it doesn't matter....but its better than being 0-2. With Boof going under the knife this month and supposedly missing the whole season, I'm going to make a bold prediction...R.A. Dickey will be in the Twins bullpen on Opening Day. Not Juan Cruz, not Chad Cordero.
• Other Spring Training note...Doug Mientkiewicz signed with the Dodgers this morning. Somehow he keeps picking up jobs year after year...
• Speaking of baseball, I'm helping out at Timothy with the JV team this year. I agreed (for some reason) to help out for little/no pay. I guess that also means I don't have to be there everyday. But I'll guarantee that next week when pitchers and catchers report at 6:30 a.m....I'll be there.

On a totally random note...I just wanted to say how much I appriciate all of you. It's been a little difficult living here at times...away from family and friends...and sometimes I wonder why God led us here. I still don't know, but I know that soon enough he will reveal Himself through our lives here.

So long everybody...

Culver's

You know its gotta be good when I post 2 times in one day...and believe me, it is. This has been my latest ice cream obsession...Culver's Concrete Mixer with Cookie Dough and Nerds. Yes....Nerds. The story is...we keep getting Culver's coupons in the mail...buy 1 get one free butterburgers...free fries and drink with the purchase of a butterburger...and the main one "buy 1 get 1 free concrete mixer. Well...we went the first time and I didn't know that I got 2 choices of toppings...so I asked for cookie dough. Linds (knowing how dutch I am and that if I could get more for my money, i would do it) let me know that I could get a 2nd topping for free if I wanted. Well you could imagine that the first thing that would cross my mind would be..."What goes well with cookie dough?"

But it wasn't.

So instead of saying something like M&M's, Oreos, Chocolate syrup, or anything like that, I choose the next most flavorful thing that appeals to my tastebuds...Nerds. Now I can't imagine this, but maybe some of you don't know what Nerds are...or haven't had them in awhile. So...what you need to do is next time you're at the store, just pick up a box. Don't think of it as a waste, or splurging money. Think of it as a wakeup call for your tastebuds...and be prepared for an explosion of flavor.

For those of you wanting a taste, I can't give that to you, but what I do have I give... (this particular coupon gave us a buy 1 get 1 free two-scoop sundae, so its not all mixed in really well)

It's been awhile

It's been awhile since I've posted, but if I can recall, there hasn't been a ton going on lately.

• We made a trip to Iowa the weekend of the 6th-8th. Linds' reason was for Tori's baby shower...I really just wanted to go ice fishing one more time before the weather warmed up. I will admit, it was a little eerie walking in 3+ inches of water on top of the ice. Then sitting out there in 50 degree weather listening to the ice pop all around you... But it was nice to sit out there with no shack or heater. We went for about 7 hours, and didn't catch much of anything until the last 1 1/2. But when we did start catching them...boy did they keep coming! We ended up keeping about 25 bluegill, but easy caught 2 or 3 times that much that we threw back. I would post a picture...but since Linds already posted it on her blog, I'll just tell you to click your way over there to see it.
• We made it up to the low 60's for one day this past week, which, I will admit, was pretty nice. As much as I love the ice and snow, I forgot how gratifying shorts and a T-shirt were.
• This week we have President's Day off, so its a short 4-day week. I'm not quite sure how I'm going to spend the free day. I have this sinking feeling that I'll spend it sitting around getting some school stuff done. Its tough...because I know Bass Pro Shops is a short 15 min away, and with all the thawing that's been going on...a new fishing pole has been added to the wish list.
• Finally, I want to wish everyone a happy official start to Spring Training 2009 for the Twins!!! I will admit that before church this morning, we (I) watched on the Twins website as the minutes counted down to zero. Now there's a new countdown...

10 days, 2 hours, and 14 minutes until the first Spring Training game!!!!

So long everybody...

Free Breakfast

I'm not sure how many of you paid attention to, or noticed, or even watched for that matter...but Denny's had a commercial that aired during the Super Bowl on Sunday that offered a free breakfast to America on Tuesday the 3rd. So naturally, being the true Dutchman that I am...took them up on their offer.

Now this is a little embarrassing, but I actually woke up a number of times during the night afraid that I somehow overslept and missed my all-important breakfast date with my wife. (Who didn't have to work that day, yet still woke up with me.) But when the alarm went off at 5:30, I could almost smell the hot plate of pancakes, eggs, sausage, and bacon sitting in front of me...dripping with syrup...chased down by a hot cup of coffee. Wow...was that a fantasy...

Reality set in at about 6:01 when we drove up to a packed parking lot.

We parked across the street in the Target parking lot and walked over in the frigid cold. I believe it was somewhere close to zero on the thermometer, and I was beginning to wonder if a free breakfast was really worth standing in the cold for. Well, we walked up and didn't see a line that supported the number of cars in the parking lot. We walked in the door and saw only a couple people in line. We put our name on the list and it wasn't long before we were enjoying our warm, free Grand Slam breakfast courtesy of Denny's.

The day just kept getting better in that it was high school preview day for the 8th graders, so we went with them to tour the high school, meet teachers, and look at extra-curricular activity options. Why is this a good thing? It means a little more relaxed day in that we didn't have any morning classes, I got a free pizza dinner, a free T-shirt, and....it was jeans day. Boo-Yah!!!

So long everybody...