Oh, Baby!

Jesse and I know we want to have kids. Someday. We've discussed it and decided that we will be both financially and emotionally prepared for them around the year 2036. But then I see pictures like these. And then I convince myself that they need to happen just a smidge sooner. The following trio of pictures are so stinkin' cute, no? So cute that they are gross. Feel free to tell me how lucky I am to be marrying a man that can hold a beer in one hand and a baby in another.

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Oh, Baby!

I can't dance, I can't Spring

Note from Lauren: I am sure there are approximately four of you who understand the meaning behind Jesse's blog title. For the rest of you...watch this video. Jesse is a big Genesis fan. And after watching this video, I guess I sort of am too. It's genius!

Before I get into the meat & potatoes of this post, I need to get something off of my chest: the Bravo channel needs to go. I am attempting to type this post while being exposed to show after excruciating show. The whole station is nothing but pure tripe. I will personally give a $50 war bond to whomever turns that channel's headquarters into a parking lot. No questions asked.

I love Lauren. I do not love her TV programs.

Now to the fillet mignon. We are finally on the verge of April (or Abril to you folks in Latin America, "buenos dias" by the way) and the snow should soon be a thing of the past. Lauren and I will spend our first weekend of the month at my boy's wedding festivities in the STP. It's looking as if the weather will cooperate so we can tuck away our formal parkas and stick to our standard dress-up gear.

Petrulo wedding at Graves 601 in Mpls. September 12, 2009.

If you did not get the word or see Lauren's skywriting, we also will be moving at the end of the month. I refuse to mention the city that we are moving to, but the duplex actually seems pretty decent. The mutts will also appreciate not having to walk past 72 other dogs on the way to potty time.

Kickball starts back up this next month as well. With our busy schedule we decided that Lauren will hang up her manager's hat, and we'll only participate on one team instead of the two we played on last year. Here's hoping now that Punto is no longer with the Twins Lauren will stop Punto-ing into first base. Pick up your feet when you run, dear. Pick up. Your feet.

We Got The Runs. Do you?

Also, we'll hopefully be able to get to a Twins game or two in April. We never bought tickets in advance last year but still got to several games, always last minute. We're hoping it works out the same way this year. So if you folks know anybody with the  heavy burden of extra tickets, kindly mail them to our address immediately. ◦

I can't dance, I can't Spring

Lenore

Jesse and I became the proud owners of a third dog this afternoon. For about an hour.

Let me explain.

We drove down to the south metro to pay our weekly visit to Jesse's parents this afternoon. I don't usually drive down there but we took my Explorer today because Jesse's dad, being the awesome future father-in-law that he is, was planning to fix a few things on my car. Thanks to him and his awesomeness, I now have working keyless entry again and a brand new uncracked cover on my passenger side headlight. Suh-weet! After spending a few hours down there and after getting my car tricked out, we decided to take off for home. We were discussing the rest of the evening's agenda and both agreed we should sneak in a few laps on the treadmill before we called it a day. It was then all of a sudden that we see a big, black dog running toward traffic in the east bound lane of Cliff Road. We're heading west on Cliff. Cliff Road is a busy street. Less than a half of a mile up is an entrance ramp for I-35. Cars were all over the place, and this puppy was darting in and out of traffic, clearly unaware of her surroundings. Dog lover or not, this is not something you want to witness. But being the crazed dog lover that I am, I freaked out, pulled over, left Jesse in the car with our dogs, and ran after this very confused canine. I barely managed to pull over and flip my flashers on. By this point I noticed another person. I assumed him to be the dog's owner. He quickly told me he was not, but we still felt compelled to get this poor animal off this busy street and to a safe place. My adrenaline was pumping at full speed as we ran toward the dog. She was a playful pup. She would walk toward me where I was on the side of the road, and then quickly dart back into traffic. This continued for what felt like an eternity, and each time she ran back into traffic I was convinced she was about to meet her maker. Thankfully though, traffic had now stopped in both directions, and other people were trying to coax the dog in my direction. I signaled for Jesse to come over with one of our dogs' leashes. She finally gave in, and ran directly to Jesse. Talk about an emotional roller coaster. And a workout. Jeesh.

Puppy girl didn't have any tags on her. What should we do with her? There was no way we could leave her there. She was friendly and didn't look malnourished. It was obvious that she probably escaped a happy home to take herself on a Sunday stroll. I didn't feel comfortable putting her in our car. Our dogs would go ape if we attempted that. We decided that Jesse would walk her back down to the next cross street while I hopped in the car (still parked on the side of Cliff Road, flashers flashing) and met him there. Jesse called the non-emergency number for the Eagan PD. We then waited with our new friend, and hoped that her owner would come get her soon after the police retrieved her. She was so sweet, and knew the sit command (more than I can say about two naughty puppies that live in my home currently). I named her Lenore, and it was then that I came to the resolution that if the police didn't come soon, Lenore would be coming home with us. It's funny how attached to an animal you can get in such a short amount of time. In not even 10 minutes with her, I had already named her, and convinced myself that we had room for her in our already crazy lives. We have two puppies. What's one more, eh?

But it was not meant to be. After waiting another 20 minutes I saw a girl driving a VW Jetta slowly down Lenore Avenue (yes, I named my new friend after the cross street we found her by), window down, frantically yelling for her pet. I was certain it was Lenore's owner. I soon learned that our little Lenore lady was actually Ruby, and an hour prior she had weaseled out of her collar, and ran away. I never caught Ruby's owner's name. She was a young girl. Probably a junior in high school. She was quite flustered but so thankful that we had her little Ruby safe and sound. Before we knew it, Lenore Ruby was gone. And the doggy drama was over.

Good bye, Ruby. Be a good girl. And next time you decide to joy ride through Eagan....stay off the busy streets, ok?

Side note that makes this story even funnier: I have a bit of a habit of unbottoning my pants after I eat a big meal. I had a big meal today at Jesse's parent's place. I kinda, sorta unbuttoned my top button right as we left tonight. Unfortunately for me, I completely forgot I had done that when I bolted out of the car to run after Ruby. I am still not sure if traffic stopped due to a dog running down the road...or because the woman chasing the dog was losing her pants. Oops!

Oh and we never did get our work out in. I might have to attempt another one of these workouts tonight. ◦

Lenore

Home

Big changes happening around these here parts. Jesse and I are moving out of the suburbs! Remember that place I mentioned at the end of this post? Guess what? We're moving there! Within a week of finding it advertised on Craigslist, we were handing over a deposit and signing a one year lease. And by the end of next month we'll be living there. I cannot even begin to describe how ecstatic I am to be back in Minneapolis again. I am not saying I will never live in the suburbs. Heck, I might even end up back in small town USA for all I know. One thing I have learned in this life is to never say never. But for now...right now I belong with my heart in Minneapolis. And poor Jesse, he's coming along for the ride as well (those naughty puppies will probably come too). For those of you who know Jesse well, you know he is not a huge Minneapolis fan. In fact, he is not even a small Minneapolis fan. He fondly refers to Minneapolis as the devil's playground. The fact that he was willing to move to this neck of the woods is a true testament to how much this man loves me, and how much he was willing to sacrifice (life and limb?!?) for my happiness. It doesn't go unnoticed or unappreciated, either. I fell in love with him all over again when I heard him say, "Let's do this." And I promised him that after a year or so I will be willing to trade my big city dwelling for a more permanent place outside the Minneapolis city limits. That is, unless he falls in love with Minneapolis before then.......

Our newly borrowed abode will be nestled (barely) within the neighborhood of Bryn Mawr. I did a little research on the area the past few days, and I am even more excited to call this area our new home. In April 2010 it was voted a "Best Place To Live" in Minnesota Monthly magazine. We'll be living directly across a park (great for practicing my sweet kickball moves, yo!), and near several paths and trails (perfect for puppy strolls).

I'll be posting pictures of our cute, little place soon, but in the mean time send us lots of moving mojo! ◦

Home

A Buffalo Chicken Two-fer!

I have not one, but TWO delicious recipes to share with you this evening. It's a two-fer, folks! Jesse and I love buffalo flavored chicken (we're very fancy like that). We also love cheese (any kind of cheese, we'll eat it). The following two recipes are a result of these two worlds colliding. I am just going to warn you--I don't think it's possible for you to like either of these following recipes more than us. But go ahead. Make it. We double dog dare you to try to.

Also, I apologize in advance for not having pictures of either of these dishes. You'll have to use your imagination. Or maybe Google will have some visuals for you. I lost the charger for my camera battery, and my Crackberry camera just doesn't capture the magic of these meals quite like I needed it to.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

2 medium sized chicken breasts, grilled, and cut into teeny tiny pieces.

1 cup of Frank's buffalo sauce. I usually dump in roughly half of the bottle.

1 cup of chunky blue cheese dressing. Again, about half of the bottle goes into the bowl. (I use the Lite variety, thankyouverymuch)

2 bricks of cream cheese (I use the 1/3 fat free stuff)

1 or 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese (less is best, but I have never actually measured how much I use)

1. Unwrap cream cheese and place bricks in a microwave safe bowl.

2. Microwave for 32-49.6 seconds so bricks soften.

3. Take softened bricks out of microwave.

4. Combine Frank's, blue cheese, and chicken with the cream cheese.

5. Mix well.

6. Using a spatula, scoop all of the mixture into a 9x13 baking dish.

7. Top with shredded cheese. The first time I made this I used too much cheese. I never thought there could be such a thing as too much cheese. There is when you're making buff chic dip. You've been warned.

8. Bake for 15 minutes or so at 350 degrees. Or until it's golden brown and/or bubbling a little.

9. Let it cool while starring at the pan longingly.

10. Eat with Olive Oil and Cracked Black Pepper Triscuits and/or Ritz Crackers.

Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken

1 pound of boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 bottle of Frank's buffalo sauce

1 jar of blue cheese dressing (Lite is where it's at)

1 brick of cream cheese (1/3 less fat tastes just as good as the regular)

1 bag of bunzzz

1. Set slow cooker at Low.

2. Combine frozen chicken, 3/4 of the Frank's, and entire jar of blue cheese dressing in the crocker potter. I just remembered that I threw in some leftover blue cheese crumbles I had sitting in the fridge the past month of so. Bonus!

3A. Go to work. Or run a half marathon. Hop a flight to Chicago and back. Or walk the dogs. Maybe organize your linen closet? Do something. But whatever you do, just make sure you get back to that slow cooker in in 6-7 hours.

3B. After you're done doing whatever it was that you were doing, scurry on back to the magic happening in your kitchen.

4. By this point the meat should shred quite easily with the simple touch of a fork.

5. Add the brick of cream cheese and remaining Frank's. Mix well with fork.

6. Try very hard not to eat it right off the fork. If you abstain your willpower is much stronger than mine.

7. Serve on bunzzz.

8. Eat, smile, and say, "Lauren is a buff chic genius!"

There you have it. Sorry it has taken me so long in getting these recipes out. Especially that buff chic dip. I have been teasing my foodie Facebook friends with talk of it for quite some time. 

Bon appetit! 

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A Buffalo Chicken Two-fer!

On The Road

Let’s talk honeymoon.

Jesse and I know we want to take one. While we both like the idea of hopping a plane and jetting off to a tropical location, neither of us think it sounds very appealing to leave one tropical location (Minnesota in August) for another one. We’d like to bottle up our warm honeymoon vacation for a few months, and then get closer to the equator during the winter of twenty twelve (when seasonal affective disorder is in full swing). But of course we still want to get away for just a short spell right after the nuptials too. Every one tells us that we should. So honeymoon we shall. I recently came up with a great and affordable option, and Jesse, being the good little fiance that he is jumped on board as well.

Almost every Sunday Jesse and I tune into one of our favorite shows together. No, it’s not Kourtney and Kim Take New York, although that does come in a very close second (insert winky emoticon here). Our favorite Sunday night show to tune into is a little travel show on KSTP (channel 5 for the locals) that comes on after the news. It’s called On The Road. It’s a fun, informative show about several of the hidden treasures and travel hot spots within the borders of Minnesota. They also occasionally travel outside the state, but the stories always have a nostalgic tie back to Minnesota. We both love it, and I even dance like a goon when I hear the opening song (true story, I do). One of the lines of the song is, "Take a little ride. Get a little windshield time..." How can you not love that? Jason is so awesome too. I just love him...almost as much as I love all of the places he takes me to from the comfort of my own bed. I by no means consider myself a history buff (did I mention I am marrying a guy who majored in history?), but both of us especially love the history of the state we have called home for (most of) our entire lives.

So here’s what we’re thinking—why not hit up a few places close to home? Thanks to Jason Davis and his Emmy award winning show, we have several ideas of where we’d like to visit. And they are a mere gas tank (or less!) away. That, my little bloggy friends, is an economical, yet quality time infused mini-sota honeymoon. It will allow us to honeymoon now. Aaaaand honeymoon later. Best of both worlds, yo!

But don’t just take our word for it. Check out Jason’s show. Maybe take a little mini-sota vacation of your own (sorry, you’re not invited on ours). Sadly they don’t air new episodes of On The Road anymore, but the show was on for so many years that it isn’t very often that we see a repeat. It doesn’t come on until 11 at night. A bit late for those of you who like to hit the hay early, but just the right time for those of you who like to sleep in a little too late on Sunday mornings (guilty), thus finding yourself wide awake at midnight. You can also watch it online here. And don’t you dare try to tell me you don’t get a kick out of that opening song. It get’s me every time. And riddle me this--why does Jason, the host of a Minnesota travel show, have a Brittish accent? One of the many mysteries of the universe, I suppose?

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On The Road

The Rev

Earlier this week Jesse and I met with the man that is marrying us. While we are both very confident that we are making the right choice to marry each other, we couldn't help but be nervous about our first official meeting with him. We both joked that perhaps he would meet us, say that we weren't compatible, and then refuse to perform the ceremony. Spoiler alert! This did not happen. And thankfully our pesky nervousness over meeting with The Rev subsided the minute we sat down with Jim.

Jim is a retired Presbyterian minister. He also happens to be the grandfather to two of the children in our wedding party. These are two children that are very dear to me. I am their nanny, and up until recently we spent the majority of our weekdays together. But, as most kids do, they have grown up. Josh is now a big man on campus second grader, and his sweet, yet spunky little sister, Julia is in kindergarten. In the time that I have known them, I have also gotten to know their grandparents as well. Both Jim and his wife, Marge are great people. Jesse did not know Jim prior to our meeting, but we both left our coffee date with him feeling so at peace with the decision to have him play a significant role in our wedding ceremony. He is a spectacular man, and so very wise. We are honored that he was willing to marry us. Does that mean he approves of our union? Whew.

There were also two other relatively major things that we came to the conclusion of when we left our meeting with Jim. The first thing is major. It's going to change the whole dynamic of our big fat farm wedding. But after giving it a lot of thought I think we have made the right decision. Ready for it? Are ya, are ya?

The wedding ceremony itself will no longer be taking place on the farm. See? I told you it was major. How does a couple boast of a big fat farm wedding if the ceremony is not happening on the farm? But don't fret your pretty little heads quite yet. Everything else will still be happening on the big fat farm. Just not the ceremony.

One of the first questions The Rev asked us when we met was the back up plan in the event of rain. To be honest, we didn't really have a concrete plan lined up. Yes, there is the obvious tent option. We could keep one on hand, and in the event of rain we could whip it out, and protect us and our guests from the elements. But tents are expensive. Like grossly expensive. To get a good quality tent large enough to accommodate all of our guests would be nothing less than a small fortune. Ie: just shy of the same amount of money it just cost my parents to have the barn re-roofed. No. Thank. You.

The other factor that we took into consideration was also weather related. Heat. Neither Jesse or I are a fan of it. We both overheat easily. Ie: We sweat bullets. Especially when we are nervous. And let's face it. We're both going to be nervous nellies that day. We prefer moderate temperatures. Not too hot and not too cold. There is no way that we can be guaranteed this come August 27th (Are you there God, it's me, Lauren....). I am already convinced that I am going to be a complete blubbering mess during ceremony. Combine that with both of us sweating like pigs....well yeah, it just doesn't appeal to either of us. And I can't imagine our guests are going to like it either. Adding the church into the mix will create some additional travel (less than 10 miles in the adjacent town), but we both think it is the best option in the end.

We wanted to see what our readers thought, though. If you were a wedding guest, what would you prefer?

• A climate controlled wedding ceremony in a church? Or...
• A whimsical ceremony where you greatly increase the risk of back sweat and moisture in other unmentionable body parts?

If you're a guest of our wedding then we've already made the decision for you. YAY! No back sweat! Unless you're me. I am sure I will still be sweating all nasty like even in a climate controlled church. But the good news is that you still get the best of both worlds. Indoor wedding ceremony, followed by a kick butt reception down on the farm.

It should also be noted that the church we booked happens to be the same church my parents got married in almost 33 years ago (insert, "Awwww" here). So not only will we be married on my future in-law's 40th wedding anniversary, but we will also be saying our vows in the same church my parents said theirs. Now how freakin' precious is that?

Oh yeah. There is still one more thing I was going to tell you about. Unfortunately my ADD nature has gotten the best of me. I no longer want to write. So hold tight. The next post will be out of sight.

PS--did you notice the last three sentences I wrote rhymed?

PPS--it's like 50 in Mpls today. My soul is singing while simultaneously doing an uncoordinated happy dance.

Oh and I just booked a showing at a charming little place less than a mile from the picture below. How cool would it be if Target Field was in our backyard? Yes, please. Now to only get Jesse on board.

Six Degrees of OBFFW--this picture was taken on my birthday last year. I
was there with the kids I nanny for and their grandma, wife of Jim, who
is The Rev marrying us this summer. See how that works?

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The Rev

Puppy Time Fitness

Lauren here.

Jesse and I have experienced quite the series of lazy events this fine Sunday afternoon/evening. A huge shout out to the festivities we partook in last night that left us with approximately zero energy for anything other than napping today. Daylight’s savings didn’t help either. B to the lah. Blah.

Wedding season is in full swing round these parts (believe it or not, we're not the only ones getting married this year!), and it had me spending the majority of the evening (and ahem…morning) downtown Minneapolis for a bachelorette party with several of my lady friends. I ended up having a great time, made lots of fun memories, and even met a few new friends. Don’t worry mom, I didn’t add anyone else to our guest list. Yet.

Fast forward to this morning. Jesse picked me up downtown at the hotel. I did the walk of shame wearing the same outfit and hairstyle I sauntered out of the house in last night (not gonna lie, I felt pretty hot sizzle all gussied up with the gals initially). While the overnight stay was not planned, it ended up being the best choice due to the consumption of a few too many adult beverages at The Saloon. Whoops. After fetching my car in Fridley we made it home, where I quickly changed into my most favorite, most comfy sweats, and proceeded to fall straight into bed. I knew how exhausted I was when I didn’t even sign on to Facebook to catch up on the weekend comings and goings of my friends. OK. I am lying. I checked in on my phone.

We ordered some pizza (fail), and napped/laughed through a back to back showing of Knocked Up on the E! channel. We finally emerged from our bedroom around 7:30 this evening with full intentions of hitting up the gym we joined the Sunday prior. We definitely had some mega calories to burn off after our indulgent weekend. I told Jesse to check the website for LA Fitness just to make sure that they didn’t close early on Sundays. Sure enough, they close their doors at 8pm on Sundays. They obviously do not cater to the post-Saturday hungover crowd. Well noted.

You would think that I gave up my work out for the evening then, right? Nope. I was hell bent and determined not to let the day to be a total loss. Even though Buff Bridal Booty Camp isn’t in complete full swing yet (it kicks off on the first day of spring, remember?), I still had a hankering for some type of exercise. We have an on sight work out facility at our sorry excuse for a luxurious apartment complex, but I try to stay away from it at all cost. It doesn’t appear to be very clean. I once witnessed one of my icky neighbors sweat ferociously all over the only treadmill and then not disinfect it after. Gross. Thankfully I had one other work out option.

Before, during, or after one of my naps this afternoon I found myself thumbing through the most recent Glamour issue. I don’t buy that magazine. It’s a good read but I am too cheap to drop the five bucks it costs to purchase it first hand. A big thank you to the girl (or guy?) who leaves it on our apartment's community coffee table after she is done reading it. I pounced on it as soon as it appeared on the coffee table earlier this week. Score! (PS-Jesse makes fun of me and my love of all things free. I once took a can of beef ravioli off this same coffee table. It's still in the cupboard. I think I am scared to eat it. And I don't think I really like beef ravioli---but hey, it was FREE!) I came across an article in Glamour’s health + body section boasting a A Tighter Body in Two Weeks! Um, yes please? I decided to try my hand at the two page step by step pictorial. There were eight total exercises. How many do you think I did?  

Here are a few visuals to offer you some entertainment. And hey, maybe it will even inspire you to try your very own at home work out. But here's hoping yours is slightly more successful than mine was. Keep reading.

And this is about where my workout ended. Bobo quickly discovered my new found interest and decided that he was way more important than what I was doing. In fact, every time that I lunged down to his level he would attempt to pull the weights out of my hands. After my first repetition I just gave into the little bugger.

How could you not love that naughty, little face? I couldn't get any actual shots of him proudly prancing around with the 2.5 pound weight in his mouth, but it was actually quite impressive. Without revealing our actual weight (hello, embarrassing?), we came to the conclusion that Bobo carrying that around in his mouth was the equivalent to Jesse or I carrying roughly fifty pounds in our mouths. Ouch. 

Of course Apple couldn't let her brother get all of the attention. She too found the weights to be very intriguing. Post work out they are now fully covered in puppy puncture wounds.

After our failed attempt at a work out was complete (a total of four minutes, mind you), I estimated that I burned off one swig of my Summit, and perhaps even a bite or two of my veggie delight pizza from this afternoon. The puppies on the other hand....it must have been quite the strenuous workout for them. They are currently burrowed under the covers, sawing logs.  

I hope you all had a great weekend! Ours was definitely one for the books. I didn't get to see much of my future husband. That's OK, though. I am thankful we got to spend the majority of our lazy Sunday together. Even if we were unconscious for most of it. He is leaving me for the other side of the Mississippi on Wednesday so him and his buddies can pretend they are in college again. Yes, he took two precious vacation days so he they can be completely consumed with all things March Madness. And lot's of beer. Oy. Sounds like a great time, no? And then we're back at it next weekend with our friends' annual St. Patty's Day event*. Here's hoping we make it to LA Fitness before 8pm next Sunday, though. 

*We don't drink nearly as much as it appears we do from this blog entry. But again, I guess they don't call it March Madness for nothing.

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Puppy Time Fitness

Versatile Blogger

Something exciting happened last week for our little ol' blog. We were awarded our very first, and very prestigious bloggy award. I am sure to most people (Jesse included) this is no big thang, but to this girl it was really a sweet honor. It means someone other than my mom is reading our blog. I follow a few blogs rather faithfully, and it was one of my all time favs that presented us (and fourteen other fun fellow fabulous bloggers) with the Versatile Blogger Award. Here's how I see it--it's like getting a SAG award. It was voted on by our peers (ie: fellow bloggers), but instead of wearing an evening gown and accepting this award on a grand stage, I am laying in bed, surrounded by snoring puppies, and wearing the most comfortable sweatpants in the world.

A huge shout out to Carla Marie over at Hammers and High Heels for the blog love. A little side note about this fabulous high heel sportin' blogger friend: She too lives in the same neck of the woods as us. I didn't know this when I first came across her blog, so it was a super fun thing to learn after reading a few of her well written posts. Carla is so very creative. She recently added a new segment to to her blog appropriately titled, Head Over Heels. The first one she wrote was in reference to a question I had asked her. So she linked our blog again. Pretty sweet, huh? Make sure to read that post here. Her HOH post provided me with lots of wedding decor inspiration. I am having a hard time in that area and need all the help I can get. And the best part is that most of the concepts will be very easy and inexpensive to incorporate. A virtual high five to Carla for being awesome. And for awarding us with...

Now. Here are the rules for The Versatile Blogger Award:

1. Thank the person who awarded you and link back to them in your post.

2. Tell 7 random facts about yourself.

3. Pass the award on to 15 new found bloggers.

4. Contact each blogger you want to pass the award on to and let them know you’ve done so, and let the giver of your award know you accept it.

Here, in no particular order are SEVEN random facts about Lauren and Jesse.

1. Lauren was a big time theater and choir nerd in high school. If you let her she will gladly serenade you by singing the entire Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat soundtrack. If you don't want to gouge your eardrums out with hit irons by the time it is done then she will continue with Mamma Mia. The Broadway musical version. NOT the Pierce Brosnan butchered Hollywood version, thankyouverymuch. Send her a Facebook message if this is something that interests you.

Save the drama for your mamma, Lo.

2. Jesse loves sports. He plays them. He watches them. He talks about them. Basically he eat, sleeps, and poops sports. Baseball is his favorite, and he even played a little college ball while attending school in South Dakota. He plays softball throughout the spring and summer, and sometimes well into the fall. Lauren loves to watch him play, while she simultaneously drinks adult beverages, and chatting it up with other Hot Garbage wives/girlfriends/fiancees. And even though she never took an affinity to playing sports (ie: she sucks), she loves to see Jesse hit the ball and score points. Oh wait. They're called runs.

That's some stinky Hot Garbage right there.

3. Lauren has met two celebrities in her life. One was Emma Thompson (soooo awesome!). The other was Dennis Haskins. Dennis who? Why, Mr. Belding from Saved By The Bell of course. And she has not only met him once, but TWICE. The first time was while she was working the front desk at the Holiday Inn in Rochester. He was a guest of the hotel. And then again, just recently while oot and aboot for a friend's birthday at the Shout House in Minneapolis.



Lauren got detention for being too cool for school. And
also for wearing a side preppy pony in public.

 4. Jesse's first unofficial job was mowing lawns. His second job was at Sam's Club. Some legal folks just recently contacted him and informed him that he may be eligible for a large settlement. According to the document Sam's Club got sued for not providing their employees with paid breaks during the time Jesse worked there. Lauren has her fingers and toes crossed for a big check coming her their way. If Jesse wins Lauren will make sure to sign up all 28 of their faithful blog subscribers to the Jelly of the Month Club. You can thank her later.


5. Lauren loves Billy Joel. A lot. The obsession borders on unhealthy. She was moved to tears when she saw him and Elton John in concert back in 2004. She has since seen Billy one other time, and has rockstar status tickets to see Elton again this May in Duluth. She prays every night that Billy and Elton will reunite once again for more magical music making moments. More tears will ensue.


6. Jesse is waaaaay cleaner than Lauren. He throws his dirty clothes in a designated place, and always hangs up his clean laundry. Lauren has an odd aversion to putting clothes in her dresser. She'd rather simplify things and eliminate the "putting away" step of doing laundry. The way she sees it is that she'll wear them eventually, so why put them in drawers and/or hang them? Completely logical, right? Not to Jesse. He sent her a not so subtle message by gifting her a large Ikea dresser for her birthday this year.


7. Jesse and Lauren met for the first time on the 27th of January. They are getting married on the 27th of August. Jesse was 27 when he met Lauren. Lauren is 27 right now. You probably have at least 27 better things that you could be doing right now. But you're not doing them. You're reading this blog instead. This is why we love you. On a related note--has anyone ever seen 27 Dresses? It looks lame.

(checking blog award instructions above)

Oh. Now I get to award 15 blogs that I love with the Versatile Blogger Award. YAY! Blog love!

In no particular order...

Hammers and High Heels   My Best Friends' Cousin's Wedding   The Candace   Project Bridesmaid   Mission: Me   Hip House Girl    Keeping Up With Our Family    Creole Wisdom   Larainy Days  Nick's Twin's Blog   Claire Au Pair   Huff in 'Nam   Linda Lee Cooper   The Borrowed Abode   reFind Design

Now that is a lot of linking love. Thanks again, to Hammer and High Heels for the blog love. To everyone else I passed the award onto: I apologize in advance if this is an inconvenience for you. Do not feel obligated to pass the award along unless you feel like you want to. I just want you to know that your blog is read, loved, and appreciated! ◦

Versatile Blogger

Jesse Four Years Ago...

Lauren mentioned that next month will mark her fourth glorious year in the cities. After knowing her for over two years now, it’s hard to imagine my life without her. But it got me to thinking of days gone by. Days before my bride-to-be. Days before two naughty puppies.

Four years ago, while Lauren was beginning to plant her roots in Minneapolis, I was living at my boy Q’s house with three other guys. Just four single guys (including a Japanese exchange student) in a cozy house, just off of W 7^th St in Saint Paul. The proximity was perfect for us. We had a Subway on one side and a Mickey D’s on the other.

We also had 2 bars within walking distance as well.

We were more apt to visit those types establishments, even if we worked the next day. Something we wouldn’t even think about considering nowadays. The house also served as a meeting place for all of our other friends as well. Yes, the place was a rockin’ most nights, Thursday through Saturday.

Hair today. Gone tomorrow?

There were even impromptu UFC fights in the front lawn. Often a wallet would fall out of one of the participant’s pocket and lay on the grass overnight. Luckily it never ended up in the hands of some grubby street-tough.

I was working at Wells Fargo as a teller, which turned out to be a rather brief stay. There’s not a lot to elaborate on there. It was a job and it was just barely better than selling plasma or panhandling with a fake two foot beard.

When the grass turned green my life consisted of lots and lots of softball. Three nights a week to be exact. Spanning the Twin Cities from Roseville to Eagan, and all spots in between. If I made a dollar an inning, I would have been a thousandaire. I also served as a softball mercenary as well. I would fill in for anybody that needed an extra guy on short notice. Even if it meant me driving halfway up to St. Cloud (2007 gas prices remember). Side Note: now if I were to do it I would be considered “just another warm body” to complete the outfield.

Hot Garbage circa 2006.

Ah, the younger and leaner days…..

Lauren likey the one in the middle. ;)

Our main goal back then was doing everything possible to survive the week for the weekend. As Loverboy once eloquently sang, “Everybody’s workin’ for the weekend”. It couldn’t have rung truer. I would submit that 90% of our weekends started with someone cracking an Old Milwaukee by high noon on Saturday. And we continued down that rocky path until Monday.

Fantasy Footballing with the Rubes.

Ah, but those days were not meant to last, and for good reason. Slowly but surely the boys were led to domestication by evil sirens their wonderful ladies.  Just kidding, just kidding, they all really are cool chicks. And a couple of years later, I found my own cool chick. And her little dogs too.

◦

Jesse Four Years Ago...

Our Rock Star Photographer

Can I just say something that I am super excited about? I just have to let it out. I figured that since this is our wedding blog, this would be the perfect place for me to let everyone know exactly how I feel.

I am super-de-duper excited about our wedding photographer. I haven't found myself getting too overly excited about much with this wedding yet. Well other than the obvious over the moon excitement I feel over becoming Mrs. Jerle. And our venue is pretty much the coolest ever (the term, venue was not in my vocab six months ago btw). But things like my dress, bridesmaid dresses, and decorations...I haven't really cared one way or the other about those things. Maybe it's because the wedding is too far out still. Or maybe I am just not a bride that gets worked up about the aesthetics of a wedding. It's probably a bit of both. However, if there is one thing that really gets this bride's motor goin'....it is our wedding photographer.

When Emily and I first made contact it was by phone. I am sure she was not expecting me to chat her ear off for the entire half of an hour, but she was a good sport about it nonetheless. And then a few weeks later we met in person. We settled on a trendy little coffee shop in Minneapolis. I introduced her to my groom, and our two canine companions. We chatted some more, and went over a few minor details of our wedding day. But short of a few emails here and there ever since, our relationship has been very one sided. How so, you ask? Well, Emily doesn't really know this but I have taken a bit of an obsession with stalking her website at least once, if not several times a week. I can't tell you how many countless times I have viewed her galleries online. I am totally a smitten kitten.

Here. Take gander for yourself. Click on her galleries. Read about her. And she even keeps us updated with a blog. I sent her a link to this blog a few months back and asked her if I could blog about her. She wrote back and told me that I could indeed blog about her, and even offered us an opportunity to guest blog for her later down the road. She was probably just being nice, and is hoping that I forgot about it. PS-I haven't.

Isn't Emily ahhhhmazing?? Sigh.

Photography was the one thing that I knew we'd splurge on when we started planning our wedding. I was fine with everything else being mediocre as long as we had a good photographer there to capture all of the precious moments. I heard about Emily from two completely separate people (thanks, Naura and Heather for referring her to us!). That's how I knew she was meant to be. A good website and portfolio is great, but nothing beats a solid reference. And a good photographer is worth her weight in gold. Emily is definitely worth it.

I love Emily's passion. You can see it behind every photograph that she takes. Her shots are unique and definitely outside the box. I love that! PLUS she does pet photography. Having a photographer that was willing to work with our naughty angelic pups was a must. Jesse isn't completely sold on the dogs being a part of our wedding ceremony (make sure to vote on this matter via our online poll to the left) but we're both on board with having a few snapshots taken with them prior to the wedding ceremony.

Emily, we hope you are aware of what you've gotten yourself into. We're crazy. And we're not always photogenic. Try as we might, we usually just end up looking plain and simply awkward. You're definitely going to be working hard for your paycheck on August 27th. Another thing to be noted: Jesse has the habit of making peculiar hand gestures whenever a camera is in his face. I am open to suggestions as to how we can keep this from happening on our wedding day (photographic proof below).

Exhibit A.

Exhibit B.

And just for good measure: the picture below was taken this past fall right after we got enagaged. Jesse, Apple, and I were checking out the lay of the land for the wedding. Consider this our before picture. I am hoping we can get a similar one on the day of the wedding after we're all gussied up and newly hitched.

Before. Can't wait for the after.

Emily, thank you for taking us on. We are confident that you'll be able to turn us into quite the handsome couple with your photographic magic, and we're sooo very excited to have you and your husband/sidekick/second shooter be a part of our big fat farm wedding.

To our faithful readers: Are you planning a wedding or an event and in need a photographer? Emily would love to talk to you! She also loves to travel, so if our reader in Alaska needs a photographer, she may be willing to come to you! According to Emily's most recent blog post, she just got back from shooting a wedding in the Bahamas (I was something that starts with a J and ends in an ealous when I read that). If you haven't done so already, please check out her website. There are several ways to get in touch with her. Phone, email, Facebook, Twitter. This talented lady is very accessible and would love to hear from you.

Stay tuned! Jesse will be posting the pre-me response to this blog very soon! I also plan on doing a few more write ups on the other folks who are helping to make our day special. You just read about our photographer. We also have an amazing event coordinator and florist that we are working with as well. Both of these individuals are friends of mine who are unbelievably talented, with businesses that are just beginning to take off. We are so proud and honored to showcase their passion on our wedding day. ◦

Our Rock Star Photographer

Four Years!

Next month will mark my fourth year as a Twin Cities gal. I love my life here, and I am beyond ecstatic that life's journey has brought me to where I am now. Compared to most, I have not experienced a lot of heartache and misfortune. I have lived a blessed life, have been surrounded, and continue to be surrounded by amazing (seriously, amazing) people. I have made my share of mistakes, experienced a little heartbreak, etc, etc. It is what it is. Thankfully though, every good decision, along with every bad has led me to where I am right now. It makes all the bad (that wasn't really that bad) so much more worth enduring. I am still making bad decisions. I just have an awesome partner who encourages me to keep said bad decisions to a minimum. I will tell you more about him in the next paragraph. Keep reading. It get's better. And cheesier.

I was always a firm believer that if two people were meant to be together that they would find their way into each other's lives. Some way. Some how. As most of you know, Jesse and I found each other with the aid of good ol' Match.com. Yes, we were that lame that we couldn't find dates on our own. I have actually given this a lot of thought, and have come up with no other conceivable way that we would have found each other without this popular dating website. I am forever indebted to the folks over at Match.com for being the link that brought us together. It's weird. We lived only a few short miles from each other. I, a crunchy granola hipster wannabe, was a Minneapolis resident, while Jesse dwelt in St. Paul with two of his rube buddies, completely oblivious to anything other than baseball, hockey, football, basketball, golf, and WWE wrestling. The "twin cities" and their residence could not be more different. They may as well be on opposite coasts. Well, they kind of are. One (the cooler and better one) is on the west bank of the mighty Mississippi, and the other is on the east. Close but so different. But with all that being said, even as different as Jesse and I are from each other, I couldn't be more convinced that I have met my match (dot com). In fact I told my mom that exact thing within days of meeting him. A little creepy/stage 5 clinger of me? Maybe just a little. I didn't tell him this until several months down the road, mind you. Could you imagine if I had admitted this right out the gate? "Oh hey, yeah, I know we just met but I am going to marry you someday if that's OK??...." But was I right? Most definitely I was right. I pretty much always am (errr, make no mention of what I said in the previous paragraph). This man just fits me. Like a comfy pair of worn in sweats. Katy Perry, as much as I despise the twit, sang it quite accurately: I finally found you, my missing puzzle piece (gag me with a spoon, right?). Although, I am sure there are days when Jesse wishes that puzzle piece with his face on it was far out of sight, lodged under a couch cushion, and covered in dog hair. Or better yet, he wishes that he was that puzzle piece that got eaten by the dog, and then eventually...well, I think you can figure out the rest. But no, in all seriousness, the man is so gosh darn cool. And he digs me and my random, crazy, off the wall, hot mess of a self. The good is oh so good. And the bad...well there really isn't much that is bad. Honestly. We rarely fight. We get annoyed with each other, but that's really about it. And I know that probably makes the majority of you want to throw up. I am sorry, it's true. I will hold your hair back while you wretch, OK?

I wanted this little blog segment to be about where Jesse and I were in our lives prior to meeting each other. Some of you might find it interesting to read. Others (everyone but probably three of you) will probably stop reading here, if you haven't done so already. I am going to let Jesse go first. I don't know much about Jesse's life prior to him meeting me. It's not that I haven't asked. It's just that I zone out while he talks about it. Because it's so boring. I hope he makes up some stuff so as to keep our readers more captivated. Only kidding. As Jesse would say, "Them just jokes." His life was pretty stellar pre-me. Shocking, I know.

Jesse and our former couch crasher, Jungle. They were and
still are BFFs. Congrats on the new place, Jungle!

Jesse strikes this pose a lot when he is
around his buddies. Not really sure what
it means. Notice, Jungle is in the background.
Up until I came into the picture those two
were two peas in a pod. Really, not much
has changed.  

Jesse and Brack. Again, not sure what they are doing in this
picture. It was pre-me so I try not to ask questions.

Stay tuned. Jesse will soon be telling tales of life prior to yours truly. He is working on the post right as we speak. Or as soon as tonight's games are over. Yes. I said gamessss. Plural. There are several. Every night of the week. And then when there aren't gamessss on, there are shows like First and Ten (do it again, go fight, win!), Sports Center, and blah bleepin' blah. It's the cross I bear...... ◦

Four Years!