MN State Fair 2008

August 25th, 2008

Chad and I hit up the State Fair this year and went all out. He had bought us tickets to Brad Paisley as a Valentine’s gift, so since we were already going we thought we’d make a day of it. After searching for a free parking spot, we arrived at the gates at about 1:30, just enough time to catch the end of the Common Man at the KFAN booth. Then it was time for cheese curds, the International Bazaar, and a beer. Next, we walked around hopelessly until we decided to check out the animals. First was the horse barn where we saw quite the extremes from the Percheron to the miniature. Next the cow barn, where the 1500 lb. ox was…well, he just was. In the swine barn we saw the showmanship competition. Basically just a bunch of young teens walking around with a stick in their hand trying to steer their pig, trying-being the key word here. Back to the KFAN booth for Barreiro and dinner-a gyro, a corn dog and a cob of corn. After that we got thirsty…time for another beer. We listened to the show till the end, then it was time for another snack-deep fried pickles this time and…yep another beer. Time to check in at the Grandstand. Jewel was the opener and she was great. She played some of her old stuff, new stuff and she even yodeled for us. Brad Paisley was an awesome show. We had so much fun, dancing and singing away to all his songs. After the show, it was a quick stop for some sweet martha’s cookies and we were out.
Now-time to hit the gym!

1-year anniversary of the 35W Bridge collapse

August 1st, 2008

Today marks the anniversary of the 35W Bridge collapse.
This is a tribute to those who died or lost their loved ones one year ago today. Events like that, for me at least, help people appreciate what they have to be grateful for or at least help them get back on track of what’s really important in life. I’m grateful for my husband who will stand by my side no matter what gets in the way. I’m grateful for a wonderful family I married into, who’s supportive and interested in all the events Chad and I do. Lastly for my family who, as much as we argue, we know it’s because we have such high standards of each other and it’s really just a sign of how much we care.

Country Jam 2008

July 21st, 2008

We survived yet another year at Country Jam. This was my 4th time going and it might be my last, for awhile anyways. While we still enjoy going and being a part of the whole weekend, it’s just not the same as it was in years past. I hate to think we’re getting too old for such events, but it might be true. We found ourselves skipping some day concerts because it was too hot. We’d rather sit back at the campsite in the shade then go to the concert stuck in the hot, blazing sun. I suppose having a cooler of beer at our access didn’t hurt either. On the other hand, the Beast (Doug and Sue’s RV) is officially sold! So going to CJ without the Beast would be difficult, mostly because we’ve been so spoiled with having been able to use it. Thank you Doug & Sue for letting us use it all these years!

Shots of me at the LTF Triathlon

July 21st, 2008

Tina at the LTF Triathlon32533-554-023f.jpg32533-078-001f.jpg32533-241-031f.jpg

The Results are in

July 14th, 2008

I completed in my first ever sprint triathlon sponsored by Lifetime Fitness. After the race was over, I felt like never doing that again, but on Sunday when I looked at my results the competitive nature hit me and I thought, I could do better. As I felt this was one of the toughest athletic challenges I’ve ever experienced, I’m proud of my results and look forward to improving upon them (see below for the actual results). That being said, Chad and I might hit up another Tri at the end of August at St. Croix Valley of Hudson, WI. It’s a little less distance on the swim and bike, but longer on the run.

Finish Time: 2:04:31.5
Category Place: 94 out of 97 Women 25 to 29 finishers (at least it wasn’t last)
Overall Place: 895 out of 1008 Short Course finishers
Gender Overall Plc: 436 out of 510 Female finishers
Triathlon Splits
Swim .4 mile
Time: 18:44.5
Pace: 2:54 /100m
Category Place: 83
Overall Place: 789
Gender Overall Plc: 395
Transition #1
Time: 4:52.1 (whoops-too much dilly dallying)
Category Place: 86
Overall Place: 840
Gender Overall Plc: 420
Bike 15 miles
Time: 1:05:47.5
Pace: 13.7MPH
Category Place: 94
Overall Place: 935
Gender Overall Plc: 456
Transition #2
Time: 1:49.5
Category Place: 34
Overall Place: 267
Gender Overall Plc: 117
Run 3 mile
Time: 33:17.7
Pace: 11:06/M
Category Place: 80
Overall Place: 807
Gender Overall Plc: 378

Going Camping

July 2nd, 2008

We’ve decided to pick up on our tradition of going camping with Jason and Courtney over the 4th of July weekend. It’s not so much a tradition I suppose since we’ve only done this once before, and that was like 4 years ago, but it has the potential to become a tradition. There are a lot of nice places to camp within the 2 hours of the metro and I hope we can experience more of them. We’re starting at the low end which provides the very basics: electricity, water, beach, shade. Other campgrounds I read about when booking this one, have outdoor pools and mini-golf. I hope next year, we’ll hit one of those up.

I’m back

June 26th, 2008

I’m still alive…just been a little busy to keep my blog up to date.
Here’s a short recap:

-Our fence burnt down due to neglect of putting out a fire in our fire pit properly.
-New fence has replaced old burnt down fence. Still needs to be stained though.
-Hit-Faced (sand volleyball team) became 2008 Spring League Champions with the return of Scoop.
-Hit-Faced has retired…figure let’s go out on a strong note.
-Put in a lovely new flower garden, which includes cucumbers…so let’s hope we have a good harvest.
-Chad and I bought new bikes and took a long bike ride around Medicine Lake last weekend…we kind of got lost and ended up biking for 2.5 hours.
-We’ve also been busy training for Lifetime Fitness Sprint Triathlon, which is on July 12th. Come support us on the day of the race!
-Our 1-year anniversary is coming up in a few days-June 30th. I can’t believe it’s already here. It certainly has been a good first year of marriage.

July is going to be a busy yet fun month. We’re going camping with Jason, Courtney and Riley over the 4th of July weekend.
Then, we have our Triathlon.
Next, Country Jam 2008. Which may be the last in awhile.
Lastly, camping with my family.

So that’s that!

Solitaire Stats

February 12th, 2008

worse than I thought, 15 of out 100. Try to beat me.

Solitaire

February 12th, 2008

So I thought I was pretty good at Solitaire-you know the computer version? Well, I spent my Saturday play 100 rounds of Solitaire to get an accurate percentage. I wanted to really know how many games I was winning. Turns out I’m not as good as I thought. I kept track on an excel spreadsheet on my home computer, so I may be updating my blog later with the real stats (yes, excel spreadsheet-for those who were apart of my wedding or country jam know how much I love excel). But I won something like 16 of 100 games. Depressing, huh? Here I was thinking I was winning at least 5 of every 10. Chad seems to think I was just having bad luck and that I should try it again. We’ll see if I want to dedicate that much time again this Saturday. It was kind of fun though.

New Job

February 4th, 2008

Well, it’s official…I’ve resigned at Target. I’ve accepted an offer at Tad Ware & Company as an account manager. Tad Ware is a Marketing Communications Agency, some of their clients include Pillsbury, Hormel, Royal Carnival Cruises, and Schwan’s. I’ll be working on the Schwan’s account working on their catalogs. I’ll be doing project management stuff (like what I do at Target) and also managing the budget and coordinating the photo shoots. So it’s much more responsibility, which is what I was looking for. This is a great opportunity and I’m really excited for this change. Smaller company than Target, about 40 people, but has proven to last in this industry-28 years and counting. The only adjustment that might be hard to make is not being connected to the skyways anymore, but I think I’ll manage. My last day at Target is 2/12, so I have about 6 business days left. Then I start Tad Ware on 2/13, yes right away. Chad and I and Courtney and Jason are going to Cancun 2/20-2/26, so I’ll have a break then. I thought this way I can put in a few days and meet some people, go on vacation, then come back ready to go!
So long Target Corp.