Piglet Much?

Oh. My. Gosh.

This has to be the most adorable thing I have ever seen. Their little piglet is afraid of the mud, so she gets little Wellington boots put on every morning.

CHECK IT OUT ------------>

I've got myself a new Register to Vote Widget. Now, most of you are probably registered already. But if you're not... take this opportunity to do it. It'll take 2 minutes. Tops. And you'll feel better about yourself. Even if you're a republican :)

Deranged Kitty and a Cute Puppy

My little Baerli was being so cute this morning frolicking in the backyard with his beloved bone that I had to share some pics with all of you. I also was able to snap a picture of my somewhat deranged kitty. Have you ever seen that movie "Everything is Illuminated?" My cat is the feline version of the Ukrainians' family dog.

Ready to pounce on the closest bird or squirrel:

Protecting his treasured bone:

And last but not least, my deranged kitty:

Never Trust a Bird

The marvelous Stacy tagged me for "the easiest meme ever" the other day and I figured I could handle it. The rules of the meme are:

1. Pick up the nearest book.
2. Open to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.

Since I'm sitting right next to a couple of my dad's huge bookshelves filled with tons of books I have never read nor do I plan to read, I picked up the first book that I've read. Even if it was a terribly long time ago.

From Gulliver's Travels:

"I cannot tell whether I were more pleased or mortified to observe in those solitary Walks, that the smaller Birds did not appear to be at all afraid of me; but would hop about within a Yard Distance, looking for Worms, and other Food, with as much Indifference and Security as if no Creature at all were near them. I remember a Thrush had the Confidence to snatch out of my Hand with his Bill, a Piece of Cake that Glumdalclitch had just given me for my Breakfast. When I attempted to catch any of these Birds, they would boldly turn against me, endeavouring to pick my Fingers which I durst not venture within their Reach; and then they would hop back unconcerned to hunt for Worms or Snails, as they did before."

Creepy. Clearly I was wrong to assume all of my slightly irrational fears about birds came solely from Hitchcock's movie "The Birds."

And what's with Jonathan Swift's tendency towards capitalizing nouns? A Bit out of Control.

I'm not going to specifically tag anyone, but consider yourself tagged if you want to be :)

Interview With a Bubba

Over the weekend my little bro was gracious enough to let me interview him for the enjoyment of the blogosphere. He can be tough to deal with sometimes, but for the most part he's a pretty fun little kid. Or teenager....

How old are you Jared? (I only forget sometimes....)

Eighty

And that makes you what? A... 7th grader?

Yep

It's been a while since I've been in Junior High, what's it like these days?

Gangster

What do you mean by gangster?

Everyone's a gangster

But we live in the 'burbs...

It's still pretty gangster

Okaaaayyy, moving on. What subject do you like the most?

Math.

Why?

Because it's always funny.

Because of your teacher?

No, the class is just funny.

How smart would you say you are J-rod?

Pretty smart. Like boy genius.

Who's the cutest girl in school?

Not answering

Why not?

Cuz I'm just not answering

(What does he think I'm going to do? Tease him about it? Okay, I probably would, but it'd be so much fun...)

Whose better: Superman, Spiderman, or Batman?

Batman

Why?

Cuz he's not cheesy.

Cheesy?

The other one's are for teeny little kids.

And Batman is for grown ups?

No, but it's for older kids.

I like Batman. Christian Bale style...

He's good in the movie, but otherwise... he's a pansy.

But not as Batman?

No.

Why are there seven days in a week?

Because... Is there like something to this question or something?

No. Just a question. If you were in a boy band what would it be called?

Your Mom. That was a joke Jennie. Here's the answer: I would never be in a boy band.

But you'd get lots of chicks...

Yeah, but guys in boy bands were tight suits and things. Funny outfits.

So you wouldn't do it because it'd hurt your fashion sensibilities?

Pretty much.

Describe our cat Tigger for my readers.

Umm, he attacks you if you go near him sometimes. Or he goes whiny whiny if you pick him up at all.

Which nickname do you like better: J-rod or Bubba?

J-rod. Because the other one's insulting.

(Some back story: When J-rod was a baby, he was huge. Like mega huge. Whenever we took him out people would comment about how he was going to be a linebacker when he grew up. All those rolls of fat were so adorable and Bubba just fit him. We called him that for at least the first 6 years of his life. The picture to the right was taken after he had learned to crawl and shed some of the massive baby chubbiness.)

Will you answer one of life's biggest mysteries? Why do girl's buy so many shoes?

It's cuz they're crazy.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you choose?

Mmm... Gandolf.

Why Gandolf?

Duh... Because he has magic. Good enough. No more questions.

Wait, one more. Would you rather drink a barrel of monkey snot or go down a slide or razerblades into a vat of iodine?

The second one.

Apparently my brother has had enough torture for a night :)

My Town Monday - Malls That are Probably way to big Edition

Wow, it seems like forever ago that I last posted anything. Last week was pretty busy and crazy leaving me no time to post. Any free time I had went to reading Trish Ryan's new book which was a fantastic read, demanding all of my attention until it was finished.

As most of you know, Minnesota is not the warmest of places in the winter. In the Twin Cities, roughly a fourth of the year is spent in below freezing temperatures. Great news for bundled ice skaters and hockey players, but terrible for the rest of us. Forget about going outside at all if there's wind chill involved. Luckily, Minnesota is home to a heart warming place called The Mall of America (AKA - The largest mall in America.)



Here are some fun facts about the MOA:

1) The mall is built where the Twins' and Vikings' Metropolitan Stadium was located. When the mall was constructed they commemorated the exact place where home plate was by putting a plaque there.



2) Only the entrances to the mall are heated, even in the winter. Because the overhead windows, light bulbs, and people create so much heat they actually have to air condition the mall year round. Crazy!

3) There are over 500 retail stores inside the mall and 32 of them are shoe stores. (Did you read that Heidi? 32 Shoe stores!)

4) The mall includes Nickelodeon Universe (the largest indoor amusement park in the US), an A.C.E.S flight simulation area, a LEGO store and play area (one of my favorite spots), a large 18 hole mini-golf course, an aquarium (they let you touch sharks), a bowling alley, a movie theatre, and an indoor stock car racing facility (you won't find me anywhere near there).




5) They are in the process of expanding the mall to include 400 more stores, 3 hotels, an ice rink, a dinner theatre, and a waterpark.

6) The mall gets over 40 million visitors a year making it the most visited mall in the world.


7) Apparently there is a chapel inside the mall somewhere and over 4200 couples have been married there. Why would anyone want to get married in a mall? Seriously? I can think of a million other places I'd rather be married. No offense to any blogging friends who got married in a mall.

I have to admit that as much fun as it can be to go wander aimlessly when I have enough money and time to do so, most of the time I hop on over to a smaller mall in The Cities. All the shoe shops, screaming amusement park kids, tourists, and random mall performers have a way of getting to you after a while. Still, I do like to do my Christmas shopping at the MOA because I find the best gifts hidden away in tiny one-of-a-kind stores. How could I not? They have everything at the Mall of America.

PS - For a full list of My Town Monday posts visit Travis Erwin's blog here.

Dear Co-Workers

Dear Co-Workers,

Unfortunately we don't all have our own offices. Instead we have cubicles, which makes it likely that other people with hear you when you talk loudly on the phone. To your doctor. When you are describing a disgusting ailment. In intense detail.

I can also hear you when you talk to your significant other. Which shouldn't really be a problem. Except that you insist on talking about your steamy non-professional lives.

Ew!

Sincerely,
Jenkneebee

My Town Monday - One of the Most Beautiful Bridges Edition

A couple of the blogs I've been reading recently (One Word, One Run, One Day and Barrie Summy) participate in something called My Town Monday. Every Monday they share fun facts, pics, and stories about local places. I love their posts so much that I've decided to start participating. Maybe not every Monday, but on a semi-frequent basis at least. I've lived so many places and loved so many unique things about each one that I want the opportunity to share them with all of you.




This week I've decided to blog about the St. Paul Stone Arch Bridge, one of my favorite places to go in the Twin Cities. The beautiful bridge featuring 21 stone arch spans was originally built in 1883 by James J. Hill as a rail road bridge. It spans a total of 2100 feet across the Mississippi river and is a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.






In 1978, the railroad stopped using the bridge and it was eventually renovated to create a scenic pedestrian path. Several festivals are held on the bridge each year and it's a great place to watch the fireworks during 4th of July celebrations because they are launched from an island in the middle of the river.


The bridge is a great place to see the city and other Mississippi bridges down and up river. St. Anthony's falls can also be seen clearly from the bridge and it contributes to the charm of the location. All in all, the bridge is a beautiful St. Paul retreat located in the middle of the bustling city.



Note: As much as I wish I had taken these photos, I didn't. They are on my blog compliments of wikipedia images :)

It's All Right... Cuz I'm Saved by the Bell

Some things I used to love as a child have lost much of their awesomeness (I'm not sure if that's really a word, but I couldn't think of anything else that worked there) as time moved forward. Things like bubble gum ice cream, the Olsen twins, and Vanilla Ice. Fortunately, there are tons of things that still rock from way back when.

Back in the day, my best friend and I would race to her house from the bus and settle in to watch a fabulous episode of Saved by the Bell. We were massively in love with Zach and Slater and if only they knew us, they would be massively in love with us too. Screech and Mr. Belding were alternatively funny and annoying, Kelly was so beautiful, Lisa was rockin' the early 90's fashions, and we all wanted to be as smart as Jessie.

Last night, I found out that with my new Netflix membership (Yep, I'm a bit behind the times) I can watch ALL of the episodes online, ANY time I want. Well, maybe not at work, but other than that. I ended up watching the one where Lisa and Zach hook up, but Screech is not at all happy about it. And I loved it almost as much as I used to. Sure, the lines are cheesy and the acting is slightly unbelievable at times, but it was great to see my old friends Zach, Kelly, Jessie, Slater, Lisa, and Screech again.

You Better Not Pout, I'm Telling You Why....

Last Friday I flew out to Colorado Springs and found a fabulous surprise waiting for me at the airport. Santa Claus and his brother had decided to crash our flight (reindeer apparently only work on Christmas)! Santa was sporting glorious red shoes, black pants, and a Hawaiian style shirt featuring his likeness all over it. Later he also wore a bright red sports coat to compliment his colorful shirt. He was also carrying a stylish, boxy man bag. His brother was wearing a shirt covered with holly leaves and he also had a beautiful, free flowing beard. I must say, they handled the stares and attention like pros and even flew coach so they could be with the people who love them. Unfortunately Mrs. Claus was staying home to oversee the Elves. Being the stalker I am, I couldn't let the opportunity pass to score some pics on my new phone.

Walking away from the terminal without the knowledge that I was following them and trying to capture their white locks on film:


Even Santa needs a rental car sometimes. His company of choice? Hertz rental service. Rumor has it that they've been the least naughty.

A nice side profile of Santa's brother who was waiting for their baggage. Don't you love that beard? You can tell it's cold up north!

Colorado!

Hey all! I'm heading out to Colorado for a little trip this weekend and you can expect some fabulous pictures when I get back. I'll also be seeing Ari Hest in concert while I'm there and I am tres excited about it. Unfortunately I leave in a hour and I haven't done a bit of packing yet. Because I'm that much of a slacker buttt :) Have a good weekend!

Mysterious Sneezing Case: Solved!

My theory from yesterday has officially been proved correct. I was able to come into work an hour later (No, I did not tell my boss I was allergic to early mornings.) and I've had no sneezing attacks so far. If only my later morning schedule was a permanent change...

JenKneeBee and the Mysterious Case of the Sneezes

Aaaaaaaachoo! Aaaaaaaaachoo!

That's me for the first couple of hours each work day. I'm not sure why I only get sneezing fits in the first couple of hours and only at work. I can't say I'm allergic to my coworkers or the lab since I'm there all day and clearly do not spend the entire day with a kleenex in hand. I'm much more inclined to believe I'm allergic to early mornings. I wonder if I could get a doctor's note saying I can't possibly work before 8:00 in the morning? And I wonder if my boss would go for it?

Which of These is Not Like the Other Ones...

My little bro came over to hang out with us today and we decided to pose for this fun pic. See if you can correctly guess which one is me, my little sister, and my little brother. The flash made all of our hair look extra shiny :)

4/2/08 Update - Most of you commenters were correct! My brother's the one with the curly hair. Normally it's not so curly, but he let us have fun wave ironing it. My sister is the one on the left and I'm in the middle.

Friday Dose of Randomness

For some Friday randomness, I present to you random pictures from the last week:

We gave my mom a make over and then made her pose for pictures. Doesn't she look pretty?
My little bro fell asleep on the couch in possible the most uncomfortable position ever.
The other day I made Strawberry Cream Pie. An oreo crust with a thick vanilla pudding center, strawberry's in the middle, and a layer of home made whipped cream on top. Yummy, yummy, yummy.

My little sis and I were shopping for make-up and we decided to be "artistic" with the eyeshadows on the counter. The ladies behind the counter thought we were psycho I'm sure.

It was also my sister's Sweet 16 this past week. This means that she can now date and will soon be able to drive. Scary!

A Dog's Foray Into an Outdated Wardrobe

Yesterday, my sister and I were talking about getting a friend for Baerli.

Me: Should we get a girl dog or a boy dog?

Lizzie: Maybe we should get a girl dog, then Baerli can have a girl friend. And we could put cute bows in her fur.

Me: But Baerli's not technically a boy dog anymore, he's an it. We could probably get away with putting bows in his fur.

Lizzie: Mom has some old dresses in her closet we could put on him.

The next half hour we spent raiding the old dresses and clothes in my mom's closet and we found some goodies. Here are my favorite outfits on my patient, treat-loving dog.

He looks like a circus dog:


My sister was laughing so hard she could hardly lift him up enough to show off Baerlie's hot 80's jumper:

The vest with a lovely clashing peasant skirt:

My sister got jealous of his fabulous skirt:

And one last picture of him trying to tear of his flame bandana:

St. Paul Winter Carnival

A few weeks ago, I checked out the St. Paul Winter Carnival and never posted pictures. The carnival takes place every winter in downtown St.Paul and features ice sculpture, snow sculptures, ice skating, performances, contests, and a hot dish tent. We went mostly for the ice sculptures which are always awe inspiring.

This one is the entrance sculpture that everyone is allowed to walk onto and take pictures. My little sister and her friend:


This elephant was just one part of the "Three Ring Circus" sculpture and I thought it adorable with the peanut balancing on it's trunk:

Two ice people dancing the night away under the stars:

This homage to The Wizard of Oz was my favorite:

It's hard to tell from the picture because it's so dark, but the kid in the yellow sweatshirt was wearing shorts. In below zero windy weather!!!

The hot dish tent. Minnesotans are extremely proud that what the rest of the US calls "casserole," they call "hot dish."

MIKA!!!

Last Wednesday my sister and I went to see Mika in concert at First Avenue in Minneapolis. At the moment, he's hugely popular everywhere except for the US, but luckily he's still touring here. The concert was FAN-FREAKING-TASTIC!!! Not only is his voice amazing, but he is also aan incredibly high energy performer. His cd is titled "Life in Cartoon Motion" and the concert was focused around that theme with over the top sets, props, band members, and of course, Mika himself. You can watch some of my favorite songs here, here, and here. Here are some of the (somewhat low quality) pics I snapped during the show.

Mika jamming out in a fabulous purple jacket. Yes, we were this close and it was AWESOME.

It's hard to tell, but you can kind of see in this pic that the backdrop was a beautiful color mural and there were lights and flowers everywhere on stage.

One of his props for his song "Big Girl, You Are Beautiful."

I don't really remember which song this led into, but we loved the random skeleton puppet and the massive amounts of confetti coming down on the stage like snow.

Mika got to sexy for his shirt.

Belting it out. I like this one because it looks like he's ready to eat a chunk of the mike.

After his band left the stage, the audience called him back on for an encore and what ensued was the craziest, coolest thing I have ever seen at a concert. Prop guys hoisted a huge white sheet on stage and had it backlit. Then the band came out in sheep and wolves costume and they put on this old-schoolish cartoon with just their shadows and theme music playing. Then the end of it they launched into "Lollipop" and let loose tons of 2 foot diameter balloons to bounce around in the crowd like beach balls and ended the song with those flying around and confetti spraying everywhere over everything. Completely amazing and undescribable, but I'll try and do it with this woefully low quality clip and pic.

Cougar Chaser and Beard or no Beard

Okay, first things first. I started my new job last week and so far, I like it. I have fabulous co-workers and a semi-decent boss, which automatically gives it a boost over my previous stint. One of the people I work with is a deaf lady who makes us all laugh with her wise-cracking ways and is teaching me a bit of sign language. So far I've mastered the alphabet, "Good Morning", "Shut your face", and "You're weird." Very useful :) The guy I work with is... interesting. He's very friendly and a hard-worker. But he's also 24 years old and in love with my 50+ year old boss. He goes on and on about whether or not she would think he was serious if he asked her out. She's young looking, but still... weird. (One of the many instances in which my sign language comes in handy.)


Now, I need you to help me with a very important matter. Scrabble Boy and I keep arguing about whether or not he should have a beard. I won't tell you if I'm pro or anti-beard so as not to sway your opinion, but here are pictures of him with and without. Tell me which you think he looks better in, and try to forget that he's wearing glasses in one picture and not the other. Also, do you think he looks older in one or the other?

You Know You're in Minnesota if... 9 Degrees Feels Like a Heat Wave

I've been such an absentee blogger that maybe I should rename my blog "Someday I Might Post" or "Check back in two weeks and there MIGHT be something new for you to read." Kinda long though. Mostly, I've been busy traveling and dealing with some major life changes. After a year living in beautiful Colorado, meeting some wonderful lifelong (hopefully) friends, and dealing with a lousy job market and one dreadfully horrible job, I am moving to Minnesota. I came out to visit my family last week, started job searching and I was lucky enough to find a job right away. I have pretty mixed emotions about the move. On one hand, I love being near my family, having a great job, and not having to pay rent. On the other, I will be leaving some of my favorite people and one of the most beautiful places in America. And the world. And I'm pretty sure nowhere in the world is as cold as Minnesota right now. Brrrr! This is me taking a picture of the temperature gauge a couple evenings ago.




Wish me luck starting my job tomorrow!

Your pencils are creating a health hazard. I could fall and pierce an organ.

A quote from Rainn Wilson (Dwight on The Office):

"I think the Oscars should be animated because animation writers don't fall under the Writers Guild, so I think it should be entirely animated from beginning to end."

An animated Oscars? I would totally watch that. And I'm not sure if I've ever watched the Oscars before.

That's a wrap!

The other day I came across this website that does something called "wrap art." They take their presents and instead of using traditional wrapping paper, they use non-traditional items. It's a great way to re-use items that would be thrown away and a way to spice up your gifts. I took a shot at it and this is what I came up with. Last year someone gave me a crossword tear-away calender and although I love crossword puzzles, I don't do one daily. I taped them all around the box and then used some ribbon and ornaments to make a nifty bow. Check out the website, there are some really cool ideas.