And you thought you were a freak…

1. Spam– I love Spam. I especially like it fried. I don’t know if this has anything to do with the fact that I grew up in Minnesota, the state where Spam is made. (Do you know that in Austin, MN, where the Hormel Plant is, they have a Spam museum?) We had Spam sandwiches growing up. In college, it was cheap, so I would buy it and fry it up–actually my roommate’s boyfriend from Malaysia used Spam in his stir fry–oh Spam how I love thee.

2. Velveeta Cheese– It’s creamy! It’s cheesy! It is soft enough to melt with salsa and make cheese dip! It is so versatile. Again, I claim the Minnesota heritage. We had Velveeta cheese on a lot of sandwiches. My sister and I especially loved Bologna and Velveeta sandwiches.

3. Miracle Whip– Why on earth would you want to eat that yellow Mayo stuff, when you could have Miracle Whip? My husband grew up on Mayo–so I usually buy one small bottle of Miracle Whip and another of Mayo. Both my kids prefer Mayo, so I am the lone Miracle Whip holdout.
4. Spam, Velveeta, and Miracle Whip– Cut the Spam and Velveeta in little cubes, mix it with Miracle whip and some onion or green pepper and put it in a carved out hot dog bun. We called these “Christmas Buns.” You stick it in the oven, and presto! A real genuine Christmas Bun. My mom and aunt still make these and I still love them. David hates them, so I rarely make them.

5. Rice-A-Roni– The San Francisco Treat. I love all the different flavors of Rice-A-Roni, including Beef, Chicken, Rice Pilaf, Spanish Rice, Fried Rice and Chicken and Broccoli.

6. Hamburger Helper– We also grew up on this. David doesn’t like this either. I don’t regularly make this, but sometimes for a guilty pleasure I will make the Cheeseburger Helper. (The kids secretly like it too.) It is good for lunch every once in a great while.

7. Kraft Macaroni and Cheese– Honestly, does this really taste cheesy to you? It doesn’t taste like cheese at all to me, but I like it nonetheless. One year in high school, I babysat in the summer for a family that had this for lunch at least once a week. We rarely had it at home, so I tried it and can you say “Yum”? My college years were full of “Buy 4 for $1.00.” Now I think you can only get 2 for a dollar, if you are lucky. Or unlucky, whatever your choice is.

8. Barry Manilow– I Can’t Smile Without You. When I can’t get my fix, I feel like we’re Two Ships That Pass In The Night. Oh Mandy! I would often listen at the Copa Cobana. Ok not really. But I got hooked in high school, even though he was a dork back then too. That guy can play piano too! I have him downloaded on my itunes.

9. Michael Jackson– I know he might be a child molester, a freak, and an otherwise shady character, but I really like his music. (Or should I say Quincy Jones’ music?) Billie Jean, Smooth Criminal, The Way You Make Me Feel, (Isn’t that the coolest video?) Beat It, and Thriller. My sister and I got the Thriller album (record album, can you believe it?) in high school for Christmas one year. I think it is still in the basement of our parent’s home. I just recently bought the CD of his “Ones.” (number one hits.)

10. Long Underwear– I get so cold during the winter, I wear them all the time. Who would know that I am a native Minnesotan, but now I think 40 degrees is cold? By the way, it was 75 and sunny here today. Didn’t need the long underwear.

11. Love’s Baby Soft– I don’t know why, but I do. The smell is so nice. But very high schoolish.

12. Algebra– I’m teaching my son algebra this year. I love it. I used to hate it when I was in school, but that was probably because I had a really bad teacher. Of course, my son hates it. Do you think it has anything to do with his teacher? I like figuring out the problems.

13. “Teacher Clothes.”– Does anyone know what I am talking about here? Sweaters or sweatshirts with a school theme, Necklaces and earrings with a teaching theme, Outfits that have books all over in very colorful hues. I have so many pins from when I was teaching, I don’t know what to do with them!

So that is the list. I’m sure there are other things, but right now, that is all the geeky-ness in me I am willing to reveal…

I have some dirt to tell you about.

It is filthy and will most likely rock your opinion of me but I have to share. Like sitting in a row of silver haired ladies under acrylic dryers, hearing about other peoples dirt in public just makes it seem that much more interesting, and normal.

It all started Saturday morning. I had volunteered to help my friend George frame in a walkway and patio. I really didn’t think this one through very well, becuase walkways and patios are pretty much exclusively in and on the ground.

I built the deck and gazebo you see behind my son last summer, which was above the ground. George needed to figure out how to frame a walkway to connect to the original deck and I was the brain. And brawn.

Basically, our mission was to move dirt. To be fair, Alex moved most of it while I framed the 2×6 walkway and wrestled 6×6 beams but I was ankle deep in the filth and became well acquainted with the shovel.

Here is the completed framing all ready for, you guessed it, more dirt! Thankfully we stopped here as my back was making it very clear that it had had enough filth and beams for one day.

My brother Matthew called my in the middle of the project telling me about the snow and ice he was driving in. I tried to have compassion, really I did, but I couldn’t let the irony of the call pass and eventually had to tell him about my 70 degree day building a patio. I hate winter and not so secretly love the opportunity to gloat in what amounts to an extended fall compared to what I used to experience as a kid. God bless you Minnesotans, but you are out of your minds puttin up with that kind of abuse! :)

Back to the filth.

It is kind of difficult to make out in the image above, and I can’t bare the thought of walking out back to snap a current picture, but behind the 2 trees are 3 dump truck loads of dirt. My neighbor put in a pool a couple years back and I volunteered to take the hole. The hill is about 5 feet at the summit and serves to block some of the road noise from the other side of the fence.

See that nice little peninsula wrapping around the trees? As of last night all that dirt as well as 2-3 feet behind it has been relocated to the front yard. I promise to take pictures to chronicle the progress of the front yard transformation once I muster the courage to hobble back out to the scene of the crime. Apparently I slaughtered my lower back somewhere near the “front yard – soon to be pond – side yard soon to be fire pit” area.

Here is some free advice for you.

Leave the dirt to the politicians.