Trek to Two Harbors

I survived my first solo drive with the kids up north.  We brought both iPads so there was minimal arguments (and stops).  We were celebrating our niece's and nephew's birthdays.  We arrived a little before lunch and had time to play before we ate.  Jimmy's sister, Julie, made spaghetti and goulash and a homemade ice cream cake for dessert.

It was Paul's actual birthday.  He turned 9 and Izzy will be 16 in February.

Esme was a big fan of dessert and she didn't want to share it! "No mama, my cake." We played for a bit more and watched them open presents.  The bustling day was enough to knock Esme out before we were even out of town.  They behaved again for the ride home and I was so happy it was uneventful.

Happy Birthday Schottenbauers!

An $850 flat tire (and other fun...)

I went in to work early on Saturday to get some stuff done before we opened.  About and hour later a co-work mentioned I had a flat tire.  Just when I finally got my bumper taken care of, something else happens.  I tried filling it to see if it was a slow leak, but I immediately heard it escaping.  Taz and Zach helped put my spare on before I headed to Discount Tire to get it fixed.  I didn't even notice at the time that inside of the tire was bald, so they couldn't fix it.  Two new tires and $350 later they advised that it was likely an alignment issued and referred me to someone.  I decided to take it to our normal Midas and I glad I did.  Turned out it was some kind of rod or something was out and that was cause the wear on the tires.  Another $500 to fix that and get the front aligned.  It's an old car, so stuff like this is bound to start happening.  I still hope to get a few more years out of it.

 Just a couple other tidbits from the last week.  Esme got the cutest Leapfrog tea pot from her daycare gift exchange.  She carries it all over the house and loves to offer all of us a beverage.

 Parker helped grandpa with laundry when we were over on Friday.  He loves laundry at home too!

Bob Ross Chia Pet

Remember that Bob Ross Chis Pet I got at Jimmy's family Christmas?  Here is the full story as shared on Facebook along with some of the best comments.

Day 0: Bob was soaked, seeded and left to dry.

Kristen Angeline Oh my gosh excellent.

 Day 1 and 2: Bob is drying and gets to be filled with water!

 Day 3: Bob is gooey after sitting under a plastic bag.  

David Schottenbauer You have to get more seeds for the beard!

Day 4: He's lost some seeds in the back.  You can see some very tiny growth if you look closely.

Kristen Angeline sorry Bob

 Day 5: Bob is Sprouting!

Chelsey Pais Lesa Herrmann they look like worms.

Lacey Harmon Kohler Ew!!!

Annie Stroh Poor guy looks like he's got lice!

Day 7: It's hard to keep the upper part of Bob's head moist, so we may see some male pattern baldness.  There is also some weird mold like stuff growing, not sure what that is.

Kristen Angeline i wonder why, maybe an old batch of seeds??

Nathan Mitchell Happy little mold

Erin Komarec Lesa Herrmann According to google: “Watch out for mold and mildew. White fuzz is normal when Chia seeds first sprout. However, misting the seeds with water will help to reduce the fuzzy appearance, so make sure to do this daily. This fuzz is simply the root hairs, and they will disappear after the first week.”

 Day 8: Good growth today Bob!

Mikaela Boone This is the best thing ever!!

 Day 11: Decent back and side growth  I will have to research how to get the top to grow.

Cindy Miller Buxton His head is starting to look like such a happy tree.

 Day 15: Final update.  He never could get the top to grow and the bottom is getting heavy and pulling away.  Time for a haircut.  I plan to do more research so it turns out better next time!

Katie 'Kruck' Olson I’m really glad you did this- I’ve always wondered

Cindy Miller Buxton Don’t cut it, just do a comb over!

Rachel Mitchell By far one of the coolest Herrmann family Christmas gifts! Who gifted that, anyways??

Daisy Simpson I never realized that chia pets didn’t grow in soil. Just seeds up against the porcelain? Interesting.

Big Cheese!

Our local Hy-Vee had a fun cheese event yesterday.  A very rare wheel of swiss cheese arrived and they were offering free samples.  We needed a few things, so it was easy to make it in time for the tasting.

 Esme and I each took a cube, but Parker didn't have any interest.  

 I'd love to tell you it was an amazing culinary experience, but I just don't have that refined of a palette.  All of the deli folks said it was delicious, so I believe them!  If nothing else, it was a unique Saturday adventure!

Happy New Year!

We had a pretty tame New Year's Eve.  I made a fun meme of the kids with the Vikings cheerleaders the day before they lost to the Bears. I hope not to get a lot of use of it, but only time will tell.

 We headed over to my parent's for pizza and cards.  My brother bought some one piece jammies for my nephew, but he was too cool for them, so I win!  We just happened to bring Parker's Chewbacca jammies, so we matched!

 We played a game called Seven and the winner of each round got to choose a cupcake for everyone to try.  We went to Nadia Cakes and got a 6 pack of boozy cupcakes.

Strawberry Margarita: Made with a pound of fresh strawberries in every batch, dipped in tequila and topped with fresh strawberry buttercream.

Tequila Sunrise: A cherry and orange cake dipped in tequila and topped with orange buttercream.

Rumchata: Made with rum horchata liquor, a sweet cinnamon taste a lot like cinnamon toast crunch

Blue Moon: Made with lots of Blue Moon beer and topped with orange buttercream

Angry Fireball: Angry Orchard Cider and Fireball Whiskey.

Mojito: Made with cream soda, fresh lime juice and zest, with a hint of mint and topped with a light mint buttercream

 We headed home by 9 and barely made it to midnight.  Party animals we are!  Here's to 2019!

Vikings Opponent-Themed Dishes: Part 2

Well, the season didn't end as expected.  We all had high hopes for the team we put together this year, but it wasn't meant to be.  Hopefully we can regroup and make another go for Miami in 2020.  I really enjoyed our culinary adventure this year and was able to see it through all 17 weeks.  Here is the breakdown of the last half of the season.

Week 9 vs Detroit

Detroit Style Pizza has a thick crust that gains its signature crust from being baked in an oiled square pan.

Result: Vikings 24 - Lions 9

 Week 10 Bye Week

Tater Tot Hot Dish is a Minnesota staple.  I added green peppers and onions for some extra flair.

 Week 11 at Chicago

Chicago Dogs have been "dragged through the garden" and likely originated from "depression sandwiches" in the 1920s.

Result: Vikings 20 - Bears 25

Week 12 vs Green Bay

Beer Battered Cheese Curds, it's beer and cheese, enough said.

Result: Vikings 24 - Packers 17

 Week 13 at New England

(Imitation) Lobster Rolls originated on Connecticut in 1929 as a hot dish, but gained more popularity in the 70s.

Result: Vikings 10 - Patriots 24

 Week 14 at Seattle

Chicken Teriyaki, consisting of a glaze of soy sauce, sugar, and a variety of other possibilities.  It has been a cult favorite in Seattle since the 90s.

Result: Vikings 7 - Seahawks 21

Week 15 vs Miami

Cuban Sandwiches, likely dating back to the 1800s, travel between Florida and Cuba was easy and undocumented.  Cuban exiles and expatriates later brought it to Miami.

Result: Vikings 41 - Dolphins 17

 Week 16 at Detroit

Coney dogs have muliple origin stories from the early 1900s, but those from Detroit seem to be the most passionate.

Result: Vikings 27 - Lions 9

 Week 17 vs Chicago

Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza has a signature high edge crust stuffed with cheese, tomato sauce and toppings of choice.

Result: Vikings 10 - Bears 24 (playoff dreams crushed)

With a loss to the Bears, the Vikings season ended.  It was a weird season for a lot of reasons, but I hope we can rebound next year.  I've got 8 months to pick out a new #footballfood theme!

SKOL VIKINGS!