Fair Fun!

So...we survived our day at the fair despite its' highly grease-filled start!  We went straight from the 'Miracle of Birth' building to the 'Australian Battered Potatoes' booth.  Tasty but I could almost feel the pounds adding up as I ate them.  Thankfully, my husband and I split an order, which was still more than we needed, so we only induced half of the calories!  The rest of the day, food-wise, went very well for me.  We got some more of our favorite cinnamon-flavored nuts, we shared almonds and pecans...yummy!  Then, I had an apple, a raspberry malt and a bratwurst with sauerkraut and mustard for dinner.  That was it for food...I had a couple sodas but mostly drank water throughout the day.  Overall, I was happy with the amount of willpower I was able to summon up for the day.  I really wanted cheese curds but kept thinking about all the grease in those fried potatoes and it was enough to keep me away.  Since I had the pronto pup earlier this year at the county fair, I was able to pass on that.  The one thing I didn't get that I am regretting was the mini donuts, but I also had some of those earlier this year at the racetrack, so no great loss.  I suppose I'll have to get serious about the weight loss efforts now since the fair is over!  The rest of the day went very well at the fair and we thoroughly enjoyed the concert...even sat right in front of someone I went to high school with and haven't seen for over 20 years...so that was fun!  Next stop...the Renaissance Fair in a couple weeks!  Wine and turkey legs...here I come!

State Fair Time!

The Minnesota State Fair is here.  It started one week ago today and will end on Labor Day, 12 days of fun and frolic in total.  I will admit I haven't gone to the fair every year but have certainly been there my share of days.  I actually think it should be called the Minnesota Food Fair, but that's just my opinion.  In all honesty though, it would make for an interesting survey if you were to ask say, 100 people at the fair what brought them there...I think at least 3/4 of them would say the food.  That's what the focus seems to be each year in the media, the new 'foods on a stick' and all of the local news celebrities deciding what to eat next.  Sure, they do other things as well...mostly stupid but again, just my opinion.  So, as my husband and I prepare for our day at the fair, and a grandstand concert this evening that we have been anticipating for over two months now, I must admit that I would fall in with the majority in that survey...I almost obsess about the food I want to eat at the fair.  Not that it's such a great amount of food...it's just that I have my favorites.  I always have to do the corn dog with mustard (yes, usually the foot long because the others are just tiny)...cheese curds and one other thing, which I am typically flexible on, whatever looks good.  I've been found to munch on cheese curds, french fries, funnel cakes, etc...so there's no shortage of wonderful, tasty, grease filled and artery-clogging food at the fair.  My husband and I actually went last year and did very well.  I did have my corn dog and we shared some flavored almonds.  The only other thing we did was a wine-tasting which led to us purchasing a glass and sharing a small meat/cheese tray. Overall, it was a very successful fair outing for me last year.  I could add that at the time we went we had only been dating for two short weeks so perhaps there was the element of trying to impress him with my amazing will power, but I think I was just so ridiculously happy to be there with him that he was my focus and not the sights and smells of the fair.  So, I have been praying the last few days (in between salivating over what I want to eat) that God would keep my focus on just enjoying the day at the fair with my husband, relishing the fact that I am not at work and keeping me strong in Him.  I'll let you know how I 'fare' at the fair on a later date!

Creature Comforts

I'm sick.  I have some kind of cold/sinus infection that my husband passed along.  He's feeling somewhat better, I'm just getting started.  I always marvel at what happens to people (well, me anyway...I'm working under the assumption it happens to others as well) when they are under the weather.  I will admit I am not the world's 'sick champion'...I can tend to be a bit whiny and maybe even needy at times.  It depends on the illness...if it's a migraine, turn out the light, shut the door and leave me alone, but this isn't a migraine.  This is that sinus crap that makes you feel icky but not icky enough to justify staying home from work.  I digress.  Back to what I marvel at. This evening I was feeling good and crappy and just couldn't decide what I needed, tummy was feeling yucky but also hungry so, when I finally whined my husband out of the house, I decided to head to the store to find something to eat since nothing in the house looked good (yes, we did just go grocery shopping).  After perusing the aisles, I ended up with the always faithful chicken noodle soup and spaghettios.  Now, I don't honestly think the spaghettios that I just heated up in the microwave are going to go a long way to helping me feel better but they just looked right at the time.  Which caused me to marvel on the way home about how when I am sick I tend to veer toward what I ate growing up, things that remind me of home and my mother's tender touch.  My fingers are crossed...spaghettios here I come!

My Ship is In!

We took an impromptu trip to my favorite city this weekend.  My husband, step-daughter and myself decided late Friday night to take a trip to Duluth on Saturday.  It was supposed to be a day trip, but we had so much fun we ended up staying over night.  We were still down on the pier at 11pm watching ships come in and standing on the rocks trying to catch those chilly Lake Superior sprays!  What an awesome time we had.  I am a very spontaneous person and love those last minute trips very much and it was just so refreshing to know that my husband was the same way and that we are able to include his daughter from time to time as well.  He can say what he wants about his ex-wife, but at least she is very easy-going and didn't bat an eye when he called her late Friday night to say we were heading to Duluth for the rest of the weekend.

As we were watching the mammoth ships come into the harbor (I never tire of doing this)...I was just filled with happiness as I looked at my husband and step-daughter and realized that my ship had finally come in as well after years upon years of a dry dock.  My life is so complete right now and I am so very blessed.