Insights and Comments that Happened Along the Way

14 days early...

2009-02-01T08:43:00.000-08:00

is OK for my boyfriend to bring me red roses for Valentine's Day just to surprise me. awww.

Seriously?

2009-01-16T06:51:00.000-08:00

http://www.seriouseats.com/2008/04/bacon-bra-brassiere-womens-edible-underwear.html

SERIOUSLY?

Why We Love Him

2009-01-09T11:30:00.001-08:00

Our seminary pastor is a wonderful person in many ways. My colleague Kelsey just shared another example of why we love him. In a devotion he wrote for Palm Sunday he referred to it as a "botanical ticker tape parade."

Has a better explanation never been made?

We love him.

Dead Escort

2008-12-17T11:14:00.000-08:00

The Escort finally took it's last stand. Today it was towed away by the Salvation Army. I feel good that at least I can give it to a good cause, especially during the holiday season. Long live the crappy, stress-filled, stupid, old Ford Escort. Good rithins.

Ringing for a Cause

2006-12-02T20:48:00.000-08:00

Today my friend Krista and I stood out in the cold (and when I say cold, I mean it was about 3 degrees outside) and rang bells for the Salvation Army. We copped out after about an hour and 35 minutes because it was cold, but I am proud to say that I gave time to help such a wonderful organization. The Salvation Army was my grandfather's favorite charity and because of that, it is close to my heart. I strongly encourage others to consider also ringing for the Salvation Army. It's a good experience (even if you have to freeze to do so).

Ode To Winter

2006-12-05T06:24:00.000-08:00

I thought you all would appreciate this superb, evocative, masterfully penned ode to the coming winter season.
So, grab a coffee, a comfortable chair, relax and scroll down to enjoy the warm feelings and pleasure that this wonderful poem will bring...

" ODE TO WINTER "

A poem by Abigail Elizabeth McIntyre

" SHIT It's Cold!"

The End

Best Friend

2006-12-07T19:43:00.000-08:00

if you compare these pictures you can easily see why ryan and i are best friends :) i love you ryan! Can't wait to see you in January!!!!

Mistletoe in an Elevator

2006-12-11T13:05:00.000-08:00

Here's to happy holidays and mistletoe. Check out this site. It's a funny holiday greeting.

Holidazzle Holiday Fun

2006-12-17T18:22:00.000-08:00

I've really come to enjoy being back in Minnesota so I can go downtown Minneapolis and enjoy the TCF Holidazzle Parade each year during the Christmas Season. This years was especially good. The floats were big and bright, the weather was crisp but mild for Minnesota in December and there were plenty of children around who were especially delighted by the parade (which always makes it more enjoyable). While I've always thought this would be a good date, my dates tonight were my sister and my parents. It was a good time and good family fun. I am also glad to go and give money to a worthy cause during the parade-- The Emergency Foodshelf Network. Happy Holidays everyone!

What Would You Like This Holiday Season?

2006-12-17T18:43:00.000-08:00

I've been working part-time at Borders. Although this past week, it has felt more like full time. And on top of that, people aren't feeling the holiday cheer (staff and customers alike). In fact, many are feeling the holiday stress. We all get caught up in needing that perfect gift. And, we all want to be so darn unique. So darn thoughtful. I think this is especially true in a bookstore.

Let's see... over the past weekend I've had people looking for holiday gifts which include... Sid Hartman's Greatest Minnesota Sports Moments (we're almost sold out... again), lots of requests for the new Vince Flynn, John Grisham, Stephen King. A few people looking for the Postsecret book (see earlier blog... this is a cool site!) And then there are those requests for something we have one copy of... and people who are delighted when I find that one copy (or more often another store that has a copy) or those frustrated when we are out when we are out and can't guarantee Christmas shipping (it's a week away people-- I can't help if you waited until the last minute and are now driving all around town. Buy a damn gift card!)

A few of my favorite requests from this weekend were...

"I am looking for a book about princesses get dirty too..." from a women in the children't section, who followed up with her request with... "Oh, but don't look up that phrase on the internet. You won't like what you find." Thanks. Good advice. I'll avoid that.

There was also the Elvis pop up book that someone heard about on TV or the radio. I thought it was obscure and directed them to the music section. Apparently we had it in front of store. Yeah, and I thought my gift giving was unique... An Elvis pop up? I just did a quick Amazon.com search and found what she apparently wanted... Check this out! Oh wow. Just what I need to get for that special someone this year.

There's frequently that request like "I don't know waht the title is but it has the word, "Shanghai" or "princess" or "book" in it. Yeah, thanks for narrowing that down for me. Have an authors name? No, of course not. Sure, we'll find that. Mindreaders, magicians we are.

Just a couple notes. I am tired and I need a drink. I worked until midnight and had to work again at 8:45 am. (Is that legal to schedule someone 8.5 hours apart? I doubt it.) Don't park at the mall if you work there-- take the bus from Roseville HS (no thanks.) Oh, and today is December 17th. If you haven't gotten it yet and store doesn't have it, get a gift card.

Thank God Christmas is almost over and I can go back to my 10 hours a week at Borders. I am exhausted. 70 hour weeks. 14 days without a day off work (between my two jobs) is a lot. Good luck finding that perfect holiday gift, my friends.

Cats in Sinks

2007-01-21T19:24:00.000-08:00

Sophzilla had this website on her blog a while ago and I couldn't resist putting a cute picture of Henry in a sink on my blog.

Winter Wonderland

2007-03-02T13:40:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to take a moment to share a few photos from the blizzard that hit the Midwest yesterday. This is looking out from my apartment window.

Pet Games

2007-03-04T09:47:00.000-08:00

Every time I go to make my bed, Henry thinks it is a funny game to jump up on the fitted sheet and lay down while I throw throw on the cover sheet. He'll then crawl around under the covers until he finds his way out and sometimes just lay down between the sheets for a nap. Seeing as cats love hiding places, this is a perfect little cubby for him. I couldn't resist, but to take a picture of him in his little hiding place.

Henry's Hierarchy of Needs

2007-03-18T08:09:00.000-07:00

Remember taking Psych 1 and learning all about Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs?

I think Henry is willing to go very far to fulfill his physiological needs. You would think by looking at the pictures below that I am the most neglectful pet owner ever and that my cat does not even has his most basic level of needs met. How can he ever reach self actualization when he can't even get his physiological needs met?

The idea that I neglect him is (of course) not true, he's just willing to go to all means to get into a new bag of cat food... as you can see in these two pictures... He actually managed to open the closet door and climb all the way up high to get a taste from his new bag of food...

And if his curiosity about the new food isn't enough, check out this video and picture of him playing in the faucet with the water running. And I thought cats hated water? Apparently not my cat...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ip2OnrS2XFA

Although, I think that he and Roman (his brother), have at least made it to the love and belonging level of the pyramid (which I'm relatively sure for a cat is self actualization...)

Would you like jello with that?

2007-05-04T06:38:00.000-07:00

Last night we finally had our big Blessings Squared event at Luther. The kitchen staff was short so a few others were recruited to help out. Here's a photo of Sara and I in our lunch lady uniforms (hair nets and all!)

My favorite thing about this photo is that Maria took it using a polaroid camera. So old school. Anyone need a yellow lunch tray? Just like the good ol' days?

Innaproiate Children's Toy

2007-05-06T16:06:00.000-07:00

My friend Krista's fiance found this for her on ebay. I think it the funniest thing ever. It would have set me on the right track at an early age.

Happy Birthday Maggie

2007-05-30T12:00:00.000-07:00

My dog's 13th birthday is today. She's been a part of our family since I was in the sixth grade and is still up and kickin'. Happy Birthday old gal!

Cat-Toon

2007-06-04T11:45:00.000-07:00

Sophzilla knows I can be a bit of the Crazy Cat Lady. Here's a fun cartoon she just sent me.

Dells and Gnomes

2007-07-15T16:13:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, I finally made a trip back to the Wisconsin Dells that I have been talking about in several prior blogs. It was a blast. There are a few key highlights to note about the trip:

The Gnome

Yes, we crazy ladies brought a gnome with us. He traveled in the car in Jillian's and my laps, sat by the campfire with us and even had a taste of beer. He was a hit. We drove past several cars on I-94 and held up the gnome. Inevitably, even the crabbiest of drivers cracked a smile. One man in a red truck really got a kick out of a car of four twenty-something women with a gnome and semi-followed us for a few miles laughing and smiling. He was a bit scary so we drove away quickly.

Here are a few gnome highlight photos:

The gnome is ready to hit the road. He's protecting the cooler with the food and beer.

Jillian loves the gnome.

We made a sign (that Paige is holding) saying "Wave if you love gnomes." It definitely got us a few waves and plenty of smiles. The best part- it was written on the back of my Noah's Ark ticket so the girls at the ticket counter even got a laugh out of it.

Can you see why people think Jillian and I are "twins." Here's a photo opp in the back of the car with us and the gnome.

The gnome welcomes you to our campsite!

Jillian's much anticipated 28th birthday is on July 21. The gnome was there to share in the celebration with her Snickers cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory.

We shared dinner with the gnome. Campfire pies and a nice cold beer after a long day at the waterpark.

Jedi gnome!

Oh and Paige and the gnome want you to know, that we are next to private property and there is no hunting! The deer that wondered by later that evening was relieved to know that!

Bonanza Campgroud

The Bonanza Campground was hilarious. The people who ran the place apparently lived there. They'd drive back and forth from their RV (that was all of 500 yards from the office) in golf carts. They were very small town... well, as were the majority of the people who camped there. The owners of the campground were also very patriotic. The roads were named red, white and blue; their RV was decked out with about 10 American flags, and they had a sign in their window that said God Bless America.

Other highlights of the Bonanza Campground:

Showers for a quarter for 10 minutes. Excellent and refreshing.
A firepit that was covered in sand.
Digging out the sand and getting a fire going with the help of Jillian (also a true camper.)
A "happening" party that Paige and Jillian were invited to with a bunch of twenty-year olds.
Watching the owners zip back and forth on their golf carts, yelling at their children to "get your dad a drink"
Finding out (after a trip to the liquor store) that they sell beer and malt beverages in their store.
Knowing if we go back, they make breakfast or will sell you a pizza for $7. Sweet.
The arcade. I didn't enter, but seriously good people watching.
Sleeping in a tent with my ladies. The ground may have been hard, but sleeping in my "mummy bag" was excellent.
Making hot "campfire pies" with turkey and cheese. Excellent.
Put simply- camping. I need to go camping more often. I love it.

Noah's Ark- America's Largest Waterpark

We spent all day Saturday at Noah's Ark. It was a blast. Highlights of the day include:

Arriving at 9 a.m. (the minute the park opened, we were there!) Benefits include a rockstar parking spot and no lines for rides for a good hour. We got two rides on the Black Anachonda in right off the bat! It was definitely the best ride at the park.
The rides. Period. They had a great mix of thriller rides and tame rides. Plenty of screaming was had.
Floating down the Lazy River and the Rapid River. Both excellent and well timed-- just at the time when you've had one two many screams on the thriller rides.
Sunning by the wave pool, which was great and relaxing. Got in a super nap. Downside. Super sunburned legs. My legs are as red as lobsters. No joke.
Lunch in the parking lot. Turkey and cheese sandwiches, fruit and nut mix and Diet Coke never tasted so good. A morning of running around led to famished and satisfied bellies.
The afternoon led to more sun and some swimming in the wave pool. Deeper burn, but great laughs. Again, my legs really hurt.
10 hours of fantastic people watching. The dells brings all kinds. The people watching at the Wisconsin Dells is well worth an entire blog so check out my Confessions of a People Watcher blog to see my insights.
Great times and tons of splashes with good friends.
Not feeling self conscious in a swimming suit because everyone else was equally preocuppied with their own wandering around in next to nothing.

Downtown Wisconsin Dells

Our trip downtown Saturday evening was a blog in itself. Paige, Jillian and I headed out to check out some of the bars. After over an hour of waiting for a cab (and no joke, three follow up calls to the one (quite literally ONE taxi in town), Margaret decided to drive us downtown, but to stay in and get some sleep. We hit up a few local bars for a round of shots.

Walking up and down downtown Wisconsin Dells is crazy. There are all these strange little tourist shops still open at 11 at night selling incredibly odd items. Amongst the midst a zillion t-shirt shots, there were people selling mocassins, candy, wooden horses. I should have stopped in for a wooden horse. It was tempting, I must admit.

We also met a cute guy in a bar who was obsessed with trying to figure out what song Luke Wilson sings in Old School but changes all the words to swear words. None of us could remember. It's too bad, he offered Jillian a dance and she was all into him and wanted to take him up on it.

We hit up a local bar where karaoke was going on. The choices were excellent including "Proud Mary" and "Ice Ice Baby" and my personal favorite selection of the night (ok, this is complete sarcasm) "The Thong Song."

The Cab Ride

About midnight, I turned into a pumpkin. A day of running around in the hot sun led me to become EXTREMELY sleepy. So, we headed home and Paige called a cab. She intentionally tried to not call our same cabbie who we had pissed of earlier in the night, but somehow managed to dial his number. He fortunately was "30 seconds away" and picked us up on the way to pick up another group. He arrived in a 15-passenger van. The unfortunate original passengars who had called for him had wandered the wrong way and missed their ride. He wasn't coming back for a long time. The man was on a mission. He was the only cab in town and it was a busy, summer Saturday night.

Along the way, he picked up a drunk 20-something guy who had made it to a gas station in the opposite direction of where the campground he was heading to was located, two girls who said that the bar he was heading to was "close enough" to where they need to go and another couple who were lucky like us and just hopped in at the right time.

The best part of the cab ride-- the dude's cell rang every 30-seconds where upon he'd yell "Taxi!" as he answered the phone and then give advice as to whether or not he could pick them up and explain to each that the other cab was broken and it was a busy night. Some people would simply get a "No, I can't go that far." Others got advice about avoiding an overcrowded bar with cops outside. The man was a wealth of knowledge. I won't ever think of the word "Taxi" the same after thatnight.

A New Tradition

I think a trip to the Wisconsin Dells and camping at the Bonanza Campground could well become a tradition each summer. It was a great vacation and well worth heading to the Waterpark Capitol of the World. I had such a great time in the strange, touristy, little hick town.

Laura Potter

2007-07-27T19:52:00.000-07:00

I'll admit, this post is about a week over due. But it's been a busy week. As all the world knows, the seventh Harry Potter came out on July 21st and I had to work the overnight shift at Borders. I have to admit- I had a blast. I love the books-- all of them! I finished the seventh book by Sunday afternoon after a 12 hour reading marathon. The Grand Hallows Ball, as the big celebration was called, was really quite incredible. The bookstore was filled with easily over 1,000 people all who were excited for the new book. I love hearing of people of all ages who can't wait to get their hands on this seventh and final chapter in Harry's story. There were children dancing and cheering and joining in on games and trivia. A few adults even dressed up (but quite honestly, with some, I wondered if they had been to the latest Star Trek convention too...) It was incredible at midnight to have the copies of the book rolled out. I was on the front line, cutting open boxes and handing out books. At 12:01 we held up the first copies to a bookstore filled with cheering fans. People stopped and asked for a picture taken as they grabbed their copies and one concerned little girl twice asked if there were enough copies for everyone there. (There, of course, were.) I heard a statistic that 8.5 million copies sold in the first 24 hours. I just find it incredible how JK Rowling really brought the world together through a children's book. It's a rare, and notable event. Kudos to you JK Rowling. I can only dream to be able to write with one-millionth the creativity and brilliance you possess.

Signs of the Times

2007-08-08T10:51:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we had a staff retreat at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn. On the way there, I saw a sign on a rural road at an old, run down gas station announcing the price of a gallon of fuel at the time the station closed. The price that was left on the sign showed that it has been awhile since this station was open. Gas was apparently in the $1 range at the time this station closed.

Cool Kids Day at the Zoo

2007-08-09T06:47:00.001-07:00

This is what happens when a bunch of grown women end up at the zoo together on recess day.

We're cute.

P.S. My favorite animal was the lion. His name was Garth and his lioness was named Winona. RARRR.

Why Men Use Post It Notes

2007-08-10T17:22:00.001-07:00

I got this from a friend awhile ago and refound it looking through my inbox. It's too funny to not add to my blog.

Junk in the Yard

2007-09-02T11:55:00.000-07:00

It's interesting to me how people are desperate to get rid of old items. And that they'll take anything they can get for it. Either that, or they are just too lazy to bring it to the junk yard.

The other day I drove by a house with a dryer in the front yard with a sign on it saying it was selling for $20. My first thought was, "what's wrong with it?" followed by "what's to keep someone from stealing it.

A house down the street from me also had a dryer out with a sign duct taped to the front that said "free metal." It was gone before I had a chance to come back and snap a photo. I wonder if it was taken by someone looking for free metal or if they were ordered to remove it. I'd guess the first, as I do live in the ghetto and I'm sure someone around here liked the idea of a free dryer (that I'm sure doesn't actually run.)

If anyone has seen something strange sitting for free in someone's front yard, I'd love to hear what other odd things people put out to give away. I've seen many appliances including a refigerator, dishwasher and the washer and dryers. I've seen many vehicles, but that feels a bit less odd to me... If anyone has ideas, please share.

Go Vikings

2007-09-04T14:30:00.001-07:00

Ok, so minus a four-year stint in Iowa for college, I've lived in Minnesota all my life. However, last Thursday was my very first Vikings game. Here's a few pics. Krista was my lovely date. We even pimped ourselves out in Vikings gear. Go Purple!