The Brief Background of TonyDanza

I realize with my busy life, that TonyDanza hasn’t been mentioned in any post recently.

So just to recap with him…he’s had some stress but he’s a bit happier lately. I had a free consult with an empowerment doctor who reviews pet relationships with their owners, Matt thought the whole thing was crazy. I figure if they tell me something new, something useful, it can’t be all crazy. Well she nailed it when it came to my two cats, she told me that Lola rules the roost. She’s feels confined and because of her confinement, she does what she wants, when she wants, really doesn’t care. That’s Lola!

But when she talked about TonyDanza being stressed and nervous, I realized she may be right.
If I look at things from his perspective, this is how it’s rolling out:
1. Things are great. He has his own apartment in Bismarck. (Summer 07)
2. Things become questionable, he has to live with my parents while I transition out to Dickinson. (Fall 08)
3. New house, things are okay, it’s not the same to have my undivided attention but things look on the up and up. (November 08)
4. Enter Lola, things are not good. (February 09)
5. Lola and him become “friends”. Things are better but he thinks she’s mouthy. (April 09)
6. Things become BAD….enter Elvis, the dog who hates cats. (June 09)
7. Things become wonderful, the dog is gone. (November 09)
8. Things go to AWFUL BAD…enter Dudley, the stupid weiner dog who doesn’t get it. (June 10)
9. Things are GLORIUS, the dumb dog leaves and it appears that there are all these boxes to jump in. (April 11)
10. Things go to NOT GOOD. He and Lola go back to my parents house to live with Toot and Bell. 11. Despite his past encounter with these animals, they aren’t really friendly. (May 11)
12. Things get better but he has to move again to live in the duplex while the condo is being built. (September 11)
13. Things are not good as I leave many weekends but the upside, no dumb mutts polluting up his air. (October 11)

So we’ve been spending more time together and he’s been pretty happy. I bet he was VERY happy last night. I planned to have fish. I went to the gym, with the fish vacuumed-sealed in a bag, immersed in a pot of water. I returned one hour later, with the remaining part of the fish on the floor (out of the bag, out of the water) and an orange scruffy kitty licking his lips and starting intently at me.

Worst meal: Floor fish

“As every cat owner knows, nobody owns a cat.” -Ellen Perry Berkeley

Saying Things....

It’s been an interesting week; the best part was the weather. It hit 80 degrees this past weekend, in MARCH! Last year at this time, I was still snow shoveling and wearing Ugg boots.

The hard part of the week was the board meeting for NDYP, where the organization that has been providing coordination effort has decided to restructure and has decided to dissolve the board. It was incredibly hard to hear as I’ve enjoyed the times I’ve spent on the board, the leadership opportunities I’ve had, and the relationships that I’ve made.

The nice part was taking Alaina out to supper to celebrate her passing! I got her some scrubs for her future, excited to see where she gets to wear them at. I also gave a private house tour to G M'Dar, Mom, and Alaina. Texturing is now complete. Hoping in a couple weeks I'll get in to see the cupboards and floor!

The best part was that I’ve been given the opportunity to work one day from Dickinson a few times a month. It was a successful day and gave Matt and I a bit more time together. It was a great kickoff to the weekend. We had a memorable Friday night where we had a moving picnic…bought a pizza, took a drive, had some conversation, and ended the night with drinks on the brand new bar. I’m a lucky girl, I date a man that can make a French martini, and likes it!

Saturday, we took a drive to Bowman. Matt is looking at new pickups and has dealt with Bowman before. We took in a bit of the town and ate at the Chinese restaurant. Sunday started too early. We helped out at the Dickinson Rural Fire Department Ladies Auxillary’s breakfast. I forgot how good I was at the waitress card, but I remembered how not good I was with syrup plates, ewwww.

Favorite quote:
MJR: I need to run a few errands this week, including the dry cleaner.
ALM: I like that you go to the dry cleaners, that's so nice
MJR: You like that I go there? What, didn't your ex's go there?
ALM: No
MJR: How did they clean their suits?
ALM: Bwhahahahahaaahahaha

Favorite meal: Beef and chicken kabobs tie with the moving picnic.

You will find as you look back upon your life that the moments when you have truly lived are the moments when you have done things in the spirit of love."- Henry Drummond

Weekends are the Best!

I love weekends. Not just a little, I love weekends, a lot. It was a great to get away from work, enjoy the sunshine/70 degree weather, and spend time with my favorite people. On Saturday, heard some great news…Alaina passed her CNA test! She’s official! I’m excited for her as I know this is a great field that she will excel in. It was excited to see her so happy, looking forward to the celebratory dinner later this week.

We hung out with on the farm for a bit on Saturday to celebrate Mom’s birthday. We had phase 2 of the Surround Sound set-up. It involved more remotes, more wire, more confusion. We didn’t have the ideal turnout but they got the job done, with a couple of beers. We also spent some time with the cows/calves. Experienced the highs of watching the calves bask in the sun and run around and also experienced the lows of one die. I hate that part, never seems right, doesn’t matter if the calf has a pink tag or not. I like when things work out and everything goes as planned. Don’t know if it’s the control freak in me or the fact that I’m a big softie. Just hard to see the calves suffer and the mother lose her baby.

Sunday was pretty relaxed and the time felt off all day because of the spring ahead. We did finally have HuHot, Mongolian Grill. We thought it was okay, we’d go again but we still have a favorite in town. We also tried BOTH new yogurt places, Tutti Frutti and Cherry Berry. Although they were both packed, we may have a favorite in Cherry Berry, and the worst part is I can see a bad habit starting here! We also got to spend time with Matt’s parents. I enjoy catching up with them and they were awesome to bring Nike back so Matt could take her back home.

Since Nike was in town, we did try to introduce Lola and TonyDanza to Nike. It went as good as possible. There were some hissing, growling, staring…no real fighting but no cuddling. Maybe next time!

Meal of the week: Mom's potato soup. It's such a family thing, I know it's not Matt's new favorite but it was nice to share with him something that's always been a comfort food.

"Cats don't like change without their consent." -Roger Caras

Photo Follow-Up

Official photo! Two of Matt's board members are on the left side. We had supper with them at the banquet. They approved my attending U-MAS at the last board meeting along with a few other items of business (for more details you'll have to visit with the person that took the minutes).

What's funny is that the first time Matt gave me a tour of the airport, He showed me the award that they won in 2000, he said, "This year will be the next year we win." Either he knows how to set his mind to things or can predict the future very well.

"Everyone here has the sense that right now is one of those moments when we are influencing the future." - Steve Jobs

And Then It Got Better...

We’ve had a busy week already …and what day is it, Wednesday?!

We went back out to Mom and Dad’s on Sunday to pick up Matt’s smoker and we got way more than we bargained for! Matt experienced his first birth! He watched a cow have a baby calf with Dad. And to top it off, it was one of my cows! Dad had a slug of them this weekend. Matt was surprised that it wasn’t as messy as he thought. He also watched the cow start mothering up right away. Here’s hoping it’ll be a good little heifer.

Matt and Mom also attempted to put together Mom’s home surround sound. We aren’t finished yet, but I will admit I thought it had good sound. It did make me laugh to see the two of them surrounded in wire and cord with multiple remotes in hand.

We finished off the night at the Ramkota at the Upper Midwest Aviation Symposium’s Icebreaker. They had a large room filled with people who understood GIS, Airbus, and ramp terms. My biggest fear while in attendance with Matt is I will mix FFA and FAA up!

My car did get broken into while parked at the hotel during the conference. I was pretty riled up, I’ll be honest. They only took the change out of my console and the light/ceiling out of my trunk. Other damage includes my faith in the community/my surroundings. I bought a thing of pepper spray awhile back, haven’t been carrying it around yet. I’ll admit that this silly little thing may have put me over the edge. And I realize that having pepper spray wouldn’t have stopped this crime.

Highlight of this week so far, by far, was the banquet. Met some more great people, so many that I met at the conference say such good things about Matt! And then it got better, they went to announce Commercial Airport of the Year, and I began to recognize characteristics that sounded an awful lot like the Theodore Roosevelt Regional Airport. I was shocked he kept the award a secret for the past week! I was so proud, I know he’s worked so hard, with so many hours to improve the airport and the experience that people have when there. It was awesome to see his excitement and celebrate the acknowledgement of his efforts. He also was wearing a tie I bought for him and a blue suit….looked so good, I’m really mad that I didn’t have a camera to take our pic and to take one of him with the award.

So that was great…and then it got better…We won 2 round-trip tickets to anywhere Continental US from Delta! We’ve thrown out a few ideas, Washington DC, New York, Boston, L.A., Disney World….I’m excited!

Best Meal: Banquet dinner, with Prime Rib, mashed potatoes, and steamed vegetables.

Man is always more than he can know of himself; consequently, his accomplishments, time and again, will come as a surprise to him.” – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Food, Condos, and Chiropractors

Snow update: still there.
Shovel update: 2 more times

A few updates, I’ve been getting very excited about the condo. About a month ago, I picked out the samples for the cupboards, the paint, the counters, the hardwood floors, the carpet, and the tile. I’m excited to see my picks in real life. The duplex I’ve been at since September has been just fine, the cats are okay with it and it holds all my stuff, but I’m ready to spread out a bit and unpack. It’s been a pain lately to make or think of things because I have item that I need but it’s in a box and the location of the box is whoknowswhere!

Another recent condo update: Matt and I took a personal tour of the building as it’s still being worked on. They are taping and texturing now. But the walls are up, a lot of the electricity’s up, the windows are in, and it was fun to see how things are coming together. I like how light and airy it is because of the big windows and the high ceilings. I’m very excited about the walk-in closets and the open kitchen to living room floor plan. There are some things that I was surprised about based on my initial thoughts and the plan but nothing to deter my excitement. Now if I can just get people around me excited about moving.

Weekend plans were nice, as usual. Matt and I had a bit of Chinese on Friday night. On Saturday we cooked for my mom’s birthday. We had to go to the grocery store to pick up a few items and the list that I had previously dictated for Matt was handed to me in code. Just to give you a preview, some of the items included cbdpo, ljudifo dmfbofs, and fhht. When our list got lost at Central Market, he pointed out that it was a good thing that everything was in code.

Mom’s dinner was great. The salmon was very good, the ribs were the best we’ve had in a long time, and the wine was very refreshing! We had a good time and Matt was even taken out on his first cow-check. No babies came, much to his disappointment. I’m excited that he’ll be in town for a few extra days as he has the Upper Midwest Aviation Symposium. He’s invited me to the banquet dinner.

Crappy thing that happened, while working out on Friday, I went into a squat and must have had a slight twist when I came out of it as I have two inflamed discs. I had to go to the chiropractor for the first time and was “clicked” back into place but told to not be working out, no yoga, and to make friends with an ice pack. Not loving this pain or immobility, ugh. Hope that my recheck on Monday will show better. I don’t have the pain that I did, mostly just an inconvenience.

Best Meal: Mom's dinner, Matt really outdid himself with the ribs!

"Sleep 'til you're hungry, eat 'til you're sleepy." ~Author Unknown

Holiday Gas Hipster

In an attempt to continue to personalize the blog, I will share a story that made me laugh. Matt’s new favorite thing to observe are hipsters. In fact, when we go to Chicago, he wants to find the Hipster hangouts. You may hear more about this group of people in pop culture. They have been referenced on many of the shows that we watch including “Happy Endings” and “2 Broke Girls”. These are people that don’t like fads and trends and tend to like things ironically. They are more into thrift stores and the way things used to be. Matt’s proud of his hipster statement where a friend was talking about a bar that she had visited. When Matt asked for clarification on this bar, he realized that she was talking about a bar that he had been to but had been remodeled. His statement, “I liked it the way it used to be.” Very hipster of him. You can tell a hipster by v-neck shirt, skinny jeans, canvas shoes, and random hats.

Now that we’ve had this rundown on the makings of a hipster, back to the story.
Matt told me about Holiday Gas Station in Dickinson where he was excited to have a hipster spotting. He went in and said hipster was working behind the counter and was working on drawings during the slow time. Matt told him that his drawing was pretty cool. Hipster was surprised and said that people usually think his art is lame. Matt disagreed and instantly a friendship was formed as they always say hi to each other when Matt comes in.

So as Matt was telling me the story I couldn’t help at laugh at his quote, “So yeah, new favorite gas station is definitely Holiday, that is until they fire the Hipster, and then I’m gone!”


“Look, two parties of cool hipsters are sitting near wall.”
“OK. Let’s go over this one more time: Hipster or Homeless pop quiz, ready? Hipsters wear?”
“Skinny jeans.”
“Homeless wear?”
“Dirty jeans.”
“Hipsters listen to?”
“Radiohead.”
“Homeless listen to?”
“The voices in their head.”
“Hipsters have?”
“Beard and blog.”
“Homeless have?”
“Beard and so much sadness.”
Scene from "2 Broke Girls" on hipsters between waitress, Max, and owner, Han.