Puppies!

My parents got a new puppy last week. He is about eight weeks old and weighs eight pounds. He is SO adorable (I know, I know, they all are). We got to meet him last weekend but it kills me that my parents live four hours away and thus I am not able to play with him constantly. I know too, that since he is destined to be a "big dog," his tiny puppy phase will not last long. My husband is SO lucky that other people get puppies often enough that I get my puppy-fix without bringing more home to live with us.

Without further ado, here is RD (like "Artie") the german shepherd:




And the puppy parade continues...

This is Mabel, my cousin's golden retriever. They got her last winter. She is a LOT bigger now but this is how big she was when we first met her. (our dog Griffin was infatuated with her, as you can see)




This is our Griffin. He just turned two last month, and actually turned into a huge guy (for a corgi). He was the runt of the litter and now weighs almost 40 pounds. And geez was he ever cute.






And now the finale - Morgan! She is now five and has some major 'tude. We love her to pieces anyhow but good lord she was adorable. To paraphrase South Park, Griffin was "cute!" but Morgan was "super cute!"






*Disclaimer: As much as I LOVE puppies, I strongly encourage everyone to consider adopting all those adult dogs out there looking for homes. My family has adopted many wonderful adult dogs, both purebred and mixed breed, and they are just as wonderful as all of these puppies. :)

Clinique 3-Step Skin Care System

Okay, I'm getting back on the blogging wagon. I fell off, life has been crazy, what can I say. All I know is that I missed writing so I'm going to do my best to update more regularly. Anyhoo...

I don't typically fall in love with products. It's not that I'm against buying things, it's just that I'm much more likely to gush about a song, or a moment, or a friend (or honestly, usually my dogs). Honestly, I don't really even like Sex & the City. I'm just not *that* girl. So I shocked myself a bit when I realized that today I felt like writing about not just any product, but a relatively expensive set of department store products. The truth is, if something is brand-name or expensive, it takes even more to impress me. The cost-benefit ratio really has to be there for me to get on board. Despite this, Clinique has managed to impress me.

A little back story - I've struggled with low level acne since I was 14. It never got to the level where I was put on prescription medications, and many, many family members had struggled with acne so I blamed genetics. Over time I eventually accepted that I would have a permanent zit on my chin and would never be someone with "good skin." I tried various over-the-counter brands in numerous forms - washes, creams, toners, scrubs, masks, you name it. Most of these products rely on either salicyclic acid or benzoyl peroxide.

And then I got pregnant. And after a little research, found that both salicyclic acid and benzoyl peroxide are best avoided when pregnant. They fall into "category B," which for the uninitiated means "we don't know if it has any negative effects on the fetus because we haven't done any decent studies yet." The vast majority of drugs fall into this category. So anyhow, some doctors advise you to avoid salicyclic acid and benzoyl peroxide, and some don't.

After realizing every product I owned contained one of these ingredients, I decided I'd at least need some decent make-up to cover up all of the zits my crazy hormones would soon be producing. Off I went to the Clinique counter at Rosedale. As part of the "consultation," the saleswoman raved about their 3-step skin care system. I assume they have some kind of commission system for their salespeople, but I somehow allowed myself to be talked into spending $60 on three products - Liquid Facial Soap, Clarifying Lotion 4 (why they call this toner liquid a "lotion," I'm not quite sure), and the Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel. I NEVER do that kind of thing. Ask my family, I'm cheap. :)



But now, of course, I am SO glad that I spent that $60. In less than 48 hours, my face felt better to the touch and was lots less oily. And now, about a month later, I have gone two weeks without one active zit. Seriously, this hasn't happened since elementary school. It's amazing how much better it feels to not need concealer every single day. I'll admit, however, that part of the reason I think the products have been effective is that because I spent so much, I feel obligated to actually use all three products twice a day, every single day. But I don't really care why it works - I'm just glad it does. I was also worried I'd be stuck restocking these products pretty regularly but as you can see from the photo (taken today), you can hardly even tell I've used anything after nearly a month.

So yeah, two thumbs-up Clinique. And no, they are definitely not paying me - I wish! Then I'd be getting this stuff for free. :)

Longfellow Grill

Longfellow Grill in Minneapolis is our go-to dinner and brunch destination lately. Even though they don't take reservations and we sometimes have to wait awhile for a table, I am in love with this place (thankfully they do let you call ahead to get on the list!).

Longfellow is located just off the River Road on Lake St in Minneapolis, and just happens to be within walking distance to my brother & sister-in-law's house. I didn't even know the restaurant existed until they moved in to the neighborhood but am thankful they did!



Despite the fact that I am just now getting to the most important part - THE FOOD - do not be fooled! Even if this place was a dump (it's not), it would totally be worth it for the menu. My absolute favorite is the walleye burrito, made with fried walleye, lettuce, tomato, Tillamook cheddar, and the best from-scratch tartar sauce I've ever had. I am currently on a fish-restricted diet right now (only one meal of walleye a month) and I save it up just for this burrito. It's SO good! (also, it is only technically on their lunch menu, not dinner, but I've ordered it for dinner approximately 15 times now and nobody cares so yeah, don't be afraid to order it if it's after 4pm).

What else is good? Our favorite appetizer are tempura-battered green beans with plum dipping sauce. My husband and I can finish a basket of those in minutes. It's actually inspired us to try tempura frying basically every type vegetable we get this summer through our CSA. My husband is also a huge fan of their Tennessee bbq pork sandwich. He is a bit of a bbq sandwich connoisseur and loves this one. With your sandwich, you get french fries (awesome) or sweet potato fries (also awesome). Oh and the side salad is so good that I actually order it instead of fries sometimes just because it tastes good.

Finally, a discussion of Longfellow Grill would not be complete without mentioning their awesome brunch (some of the highlights from the brunch menu are also available all day long). They have amazing, huge waffles and pancakes, and many of their omelette and scrambler combos are unique but perfect. In any case, you have not lived until you have attempted to eat their blueberry waffles or french toast.

driving in sunny weather while listening to "The Joshua Tree"

"Where the Streets Have No Name" is one my absolute favorite track-ones ever. Those first chords fading-in is one of my favorite sounds in the entire world. The first 90 seconds of that song always make me feel like anything can happen, and when it does, it will be something awesome. Which I guess is pretty much all you can ever ask from the first song on your album.



The weather earlier this week was gorgeous - sunny and crisp and warm. I'm talking leave-your-jacket-at-home warm. I always keep "The Joshua Tree" in my car's CD player so that when a wonderful sunny day hits, it will be there ready to go. It doesn't even have to be warm out. The album actually sort of works better as a fall album than a summer album, but it has to be sunny for it to to be at its peak.



One of the other reasons I love listening to this album on sunny days while cruising along is that two summers ago my husband and I went on a trip to Ireland. It was amazing, the scenery was ridiculously gorgeous, I developed a taste for Jameson, and when we were on a bus tour of the west coast of the country, our tour guide played this album. At first I was shocked; it seemed like it must be somehow cliched for an Irish person to actually enjoy U2. But then I realized that despite Bono's self-important weirdness and The Edge calling himself The Edge, most people in Ireland really truly love U2 because they made some great frickin' records. That and it was a sunny day and were driving and it really just fit the moment beautifully.

(rumblings of) spring

If you live in Minnesota right now, I don't need to tell you how awesome it is when all that ice and snow starts to melt away. Yes, it's wet and messy and everything looks kind of dirty, but it's still awesome. Sunshine, sweet sunshine! It's amazing how long those 28 days in February can drag on...and then all it takes is that one gorgeous day with sunshine and the sound of water dripping off the roof to cheer everyone up (even when it is still only 40 degrees outside).

But you don't have to take my word for it - our lawn gnome, Thor, is able to see the world again after months of being buried alive (?) by a foot of snow!


Yes, Thor and I know that this sunshine and melting will end briefly when we get that inevitable March blizzard - but the Real Spring is not far away and I'm going to enjoy Temporary Spring while it lasts.

Curling

Despite growing up just 13 miles from the "Curling Capital of the United States," I did not truly appreciate curling until the current Winter Olympics. So how did ambivalence turn to love quicker than you can throw a stone? See the following:

1. The US curlers are the epitome of what I think the Olympics should be about.

They all have regular, non-glamorous day jobs: Nurse, substitute teacher, bartender, IT analyst, etc. And they don't get paid to curl, they do it because they love it. They even have fundraisers in their home communities. There was a lot of disappointment this year when the teams didn't do that well, but when you keep in mind that curling isn't their profession, it's a lot easier to cut them some slack (and to be really impressed when they do well). The Chinese teams, for example, live and train in Canada 10 months of the year and do nothing but focus on curling.

2. Curling has a sort-of punk/alternative cache.

While everyone else obsesses over Lindsey Vonn, Apolo Ohno, and figure skating on NBC primetime, curling fans follow the matches on lesser cable networks in real time. Curling may not have speed, but it has lots of cool lingo and awesome non-spandex or sparkly uniforms. Check out the Norwegians' argyle pants:

The athletes are also total rock stars.

We have the the Danish punk (those skirts are fantastic):



The Swiss goth:



And of course, Duluth's own emo-boy (he even records his own music and posts it on myspace):



3. You actually learn things from the announcers.

Because curling is based so much on strategy, as opposed to speed, there is actually time for the announcers to explain what is happening. Similar to the telestrator that announcers us to explain football plays after they happen, curling announcers can listen to what the players are saying and doing and show you what shot they are trying to make, before it happens.

You also get to learn all kinds of ridiculous trivia about the players because there is time to talk about them. Like how John Shuster and Jason Smith have been best friends since high school, and how Jason is going to be John's best man in his upcoming wedding. Or how someone's favorite food is french fries.

4. I don't have to risk my life to play the sport myself.

If I want to go down to my local curling club, I will not need to dress in armor to protect myself from death. No helmets, no pads, no weird dicky to keep my throat from being slashed. Maybe just a sweatshirt and some gloves so I don't get cold. And warm socks. My first thought when watching most winter Olympic sports, "how does anyone learn to do this the first time without breaking their neck?" See aerials, luge, downhill skiing, half pipe, etc. This is just not a problem with curling.

5. Minnesotans!

Four years ago, the US curling teams were populated almost entirely by people from Bemidji. Yes, Bemidji. Four hours north of the Twin Cities, technically considered "the middle of nowhere" by many people. Bemidji has a mall whose main attractions are JC Penney and Herbergers. Their high school mascot is a Lumber Jack. But they have lots of Olympic athletes! And this year, the majority of the men's team are from Duluth. As everyone who isn't an idiot knows, Duluth is awesome. Also, these dudes from Duluth are all roommates (see #3 above re: trivia). There is no other time ever when towns like Bemidji and Duluth will get this much national, and international, attention. What's not to love about that?

6. Curlers know how to bring the sexy.

First, the US curling team sells its own brand of condoms. Seriously. Hilarious and genius marketing strategy.

Second, take a look at the rock stars above. WAY more appealing than Julia Mancuso and her stupid tiara. Curling's hotness has not gone unnoticed either. The European Curling federation even put out a calendar with nude photos of the curling hotties.

Finally, during every single match, over and over again you will hear someone yelling at the top of their lungs "Hard! Hard! Harder!" The yelling is directed at the sweepers but I'm sure Michael Scott would be in heaven.

Good Earth

Where to start? Delicious, great variety, reasonable prices, five minutes from my house, and pretty much the healthiest food you could ever hope to find at a restaurant.



Good Earth's "hook" is that the majority of the food they serve is organic and/or naturally raised. They also strive to get food from local farms when they can. In other words, Michael Pollan approved. This is a huge deal for me, because I only eat meat that is naturally and humanely raised. For most restaurants, that means I'm a vegetarian, but at Good Earth I can pick anything on the menu with a clear conscience. Restaurant food without guilt is pretty frickin' great.

They also have the *best* soups. Every winter, around Christmas time, they have this wild rice & mushroom soup on special that is to-die-for. I actually end up eating there at least three times every December because I love this soup so much. They also have a fantastic corn chowder every fall.

At every other restaurant, I have a favorite entree that I order every time, no matter what. But at Good Earth, there are so many tasty, healthy options that I rarely order the same thing. Sometimes it's soup & sandwich, sometimes a quesadilla, sometimes stir fry, sometimes pizza - it's all really good.

And let's not forget the tea. Good Earth has their own signature tea (Good Earth Original) - you can buy it at the grocery store but for some reason, it tastes 10x better when you drink it at the restaurant. I'm guessing it has something to do with the way it is steeped and/or the ingredients being fresher but I have no idea. I just know it is awesome.

Finally, I love Good Earth because it's great for a one-on-one tea & cookies date with your BFF, dinner with a group of ten, or a much-needed solo lunch during finals. So yeah, if you ever need a date for a trip to Good Earth, give me a call. :)