Farewell to a few wonderful icons.....

As I sit here and reflect on the media coverage of the recent deaths of Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson, I am really quite sad. Because the death of Michael Jackson was "sudden and not expected" he is the one who gets ALL of the media attention, when Farrah who was ill with cancer and publicizing her illness gets the shaft. It really isn't right. I have to admit as I am typing this I am listing to some of MJ's classic number one hits and it is a great remembrance, (I would be listening/watching "Charlie's Angels, but it isn't on my iPod) but i still don't think he deserves ALL of the media attention pushing Farrah and Ed to the wayside. It is truly a bummer how our society is.

Note: **I actually typed this on Friday night, but didn't get a chance to post as I could not find the pics I wanted to use :)

Post Canada Fish Fry Dinner - Monday June 22nd

After all of the fish we caught in Canada and brought home with us we of course needed to plan a fish fry! We realized that with the fish from Canada, our camping trip, fishing opener and our buddy giving us salmon from Lake Michigan, we needed to have a little dinner party.

On Monday we had Jenni & Matt, Rosie & Jeff, & Brian's parents over for dinner. I made peppers with onions and garlic, asparagus (just for Brian), and garlic bread. Brian manned the grill and I did the salmon in the oven and some shore lunch fish as well. Dinner was wonderful. Rosie brought brownies for dessert and Jenni brought cheese cake bars -YUM!!! We ate way too much, but it was such a fun night with friends and family!!!! Can't wait to do it again soon :)

the great "proverb" of Canada

The Saturday we got back from camping we went to our friend Jenni & Matt's house in Blaine. They were talking about going up to Canada to do some landscaping (they own their own business http://www.barefootmn.com/ ) at Matt's uncles, but they would not be going if Jenni didn't get her updated passport. They mentioned it would be fun if we could go with, but we didn't think we would be able to get time off after just being out of work Memorial Day week. Well, Jenni got her passport and we got the call/email to "please come with, it will be so much fun!" so lucky for my PTO and Brian being reduced to 30 hour work weeks, we of course, said YES!

So Thursday night (June 4th) we packed up and headed on our journey to the "proverb" of Canada. This is where the first story begins. We were trying to figure out the quickest way to get "up north" and the Garmin kept telling us to go up through I-Falls instead of through Duluth. We just could not figure out how that would be faster. So I was trying to use my satellite GPS on my blackberry and it asked for the State/Prov. So as I am doing this, I said "So what "proverb" are we going to? Ontario, right" and then busted out laughing, knowing that I said Proverb instead of Province...well there was my blonde moment of the weekend causing quite a ruckus in the truck. We ended up going through Duluth and realized that the only reason I-Falls would be quicker was due to the fact that Thunder Bay is considered eastern time. So at least we figured that one out!

We got to the cabin (literally in the middle of no where) about 3 am. I really had to use the bathroom as did Jenni and this cabin does not have electricity or running water, so we were on a mission to find the out house. Well we found it. (see photo taken in the daylight...it was too dark) So - this restroom/outhouse did not look like it had been used for quite awhile and we know that Matt's family comes to this cabin often...so we were a little confused. There were cobwebs over the seat and leaves down the hole, but when you have to go you have to go. Needless to say, the next morning, after Matt worked on the new sidewalk, he comes back to the cabin laughing and telling us that the "NEW" outhouse was up the hill and to the right about 50 yards. We said, "you are lying, there isn't another outhouse" well there really was, it was like a 5 star outhouse without electricity! (again, see photos)

So onto our day. Matt's uncle and aunt had us to their motel for lunch. We went there and then loaded up the 4-wheelers and boats to finally get out fishing (after all what else is there to do in Canada). So after an hour or more drive on the 4-wheelers in the middle of no where, we arrive at the lake. Threw the boats in and off we went. The best fishing was definitely on Friday. We caught many walleye and some bass and northern. It was COLD and windy and rainy out on the lake, but we survived. We ended up on shore and started a fire and cleaned the fish. Then it was back in the boats, back to shore and then back on the 4-wheelers to head back to the cabin. When we got back (almost after 10) we cleaned the fish more and started to cook dinner. We had a feast and finally at about 11:30, then it was off to bed for another busy day of paving and fishing.

Saturday we started our day with a delicious breakfast of pancakes and eggs. Then we went fishing on the lake right by the cabin. Then we went to the motel and spent time with Matt's aunt while the boys worked on the patio. We cooked up a shore lunch after they guys worked for awhile and then headed back to the lake for some evening fishing. Jenni and I decided to go in the Sauna while the boys fished more. Brian caught some really big bass and we could not resist taking the classic picture. ** please note that is was only about 32 degrees outside, so it was freezing. I almost wish there was snow on the ground to make the photo more appropriate!!! We then roasted marshmallows over the fire in the cabin, had some drinks and made smores and got ready for our last day of fishing on Sunday.

Sunday was fun as both Matt's aunt and uncle came out fishing with us. Again, we loaded up the 4-wheelers and boats and off we went. Fishing was not as good, but at least the sun was shining a little bit. We fished for awhile and then had a bonfire on the shore and made brats and smores again. Then we headed back to "camp" The boys went to finish up the walk and we cleaned up the cabin and packed and met everyone back at the motel. We finally hit the road about 5:30 Sunday night to head back home after a very fun 3 days in Canada! On the drive we saw a sign for some waterfalls and made Matt stop, despite the fact he was hungry and just wanted to drive and find food, but thank goodness we whined enough because this is what we saw (see below!) There will be many stories and memories to hold onto. Especially the moose that Matt saw, but didn't take a picture. We are hoping to go back this summer or early fall to enjoy some more fishing!!!!!!

Lake Carlos Camping Trip May 28-30th

Finally I am going to try to get to some blog posts. Life has been so crazy and I have so many entries I want to catch up on!

This update is from Brian and my last minute camping trip to Lake Carlos, just north of Alexandria, MN. We were both on vacation from work for the week (well Brian was on a Furlough) so I took the week off. We were going to go fishing and instead at the last minute we decided to go camping. We were down at my parents having dinner with the Forrest's and my grandparents and parents and decided on the drive down that we were going camping. We got back up to Champlin and packed our bags, food, got coolers and camping gear ready, booked a campsite at Lake Carlos and the next morning we got up, hooked up the boat to the Pathfinder and off we went.

We got up to the lake around 1:00 in the afternoon. We got our campsite all set up and put the boat in the water and started fishing right away. We had a beautiful day and caught a bunch of bass and northern. We went in to make some brats and a cocktail and back out on the lake we went. It was a nice evening, a little chilly, but fun. Brian caught a HUGE Walleye which was really exciting since we were only catching bass and northern. The last catch was a bullhead and so we decided to call it a night. We got up the next morning, had some banana bread and hit the lake again. Fishing was still pretty good - a lot of bass and northern. I even got a great picture of a loon and an eagle.

Then the weather turned. It got pretty dark so we came in, packed up the dog and headed to a nearby bar/restaurant and had a couple beers and shared a burger until the rain stopped. I wish I would have taken a picture of the burger, it was HUGE. It was stuffed with jalapenos, cheese, bacon, mushrooms and onions. It is a good thing we shared it, because we could hardly finish it together.

We went back out on the lake after the rain stopped, but then it kept raining off and on. We had rain jackets on and didn't let the rain stop us. We kept fishing, even though we didn't catch much.

Saturday morning we woke up again and went back out for a bit, but then decided to head home. We met up with some friends for a bonfire in Blaine that night and then went to Long Lake all day Sunday for the perfect end to our vacation!!!!

Stay tuned for our next adventure....Canada!!!

Update!

Hi All ~ This past week has been crazy with a last minute trip to Canada and catching up with work from being out on vacation Memorial Day week. I have a lot to blog about...our camping trip and the trip to Canada. Check back later this week for new updates and photos!!!!! There are many stories to share :)

why a + b = c

So as I attempt to start my first blog after months of saying I was going to...I didn't realize that I was going to need to be so creative in what I select for my blog title, name, dashboard, and all of the other jargon you need to pick from. So that brings me to my first post of why I picked a + b = c. I am anticipating that a lot of my blog will not only be about my life, but also Brian's (aka "B") and of course the dog, Connelly (aka, Cons, Conners, moose, bear, etc...).

So here is the story...almost a year ago when Brian and I were "having fun/hanging out" before we became an official couple, an older gentleman asked what we were (Did we have a title?). We said we were just having fun and that was that...so he proceeded to ask more questions and he summed it up as this; "So if a+b=c and c+a=b and b+c=a then that's what you are?" We thought that was pretty funny especially with the initials of our names and maybe the fact that we were at Moondance Jam and pretty drunk, so at the time that is what began "A" and "B" (a few of our many nicknames for each other) and our phrase of A+B=C (complicated) at that time.

Now that B and I have been together for over 8 months "officially" and while I was thinking of a title for this blog of mine, I decided that a+b=c still can relate to Amy and Brian but the c could equal either couple or Connelly...so for this it is going to stand for Connelly since he is part of our little equation and our busy life.

So there it is...my first blog (thanks Melissa for finally giving me the motivation...and Brian's comment to this was,"you are a dork")....please note there will be many more to come along with photos...so until then....