Only in Minnesota

So, Scott and I have had a severe case of cabin fever lately, with 33 consecutive days of temps below freezing. We had heard about this thing called Art Shanty Project 2009 (http://www.artshantyprojects.org/) that was happening on a lake near our house. So, on Saturday, with temps surpassing 40 degrees, we made our way to Medicine Lake to see the shanties. For those of you who aren't familiar with ice fishing, people that ice fish usually erect some sort of Ice House that can keep them warm while fishing from a hole in the ice. This is where the idea for Art Shanties was born. But, these aren't functional Ice Houses; they are art projects in the shape of ice houses (sort of). I was a little bit scared to be out and about on a frozen lake, but apparently you're safe if there are twenty inches of ice below your feet. I couldn't help but think "What if I'm the straw the breaks the camel's back and the ice breaks once I step on Medicine Lake". Totally ridiculous, I know.

This was by far the most "Minnesota" thing that Scott and I have ever done. We had a really great time checking out all the shanties, and it didn't hurt that we were enjoying a January tropical heat wave!

Later that evening we went to Matt's Bar which is famous for Minneapolis' best burger: the Jucy Lucy. It was one of the best burgers I have ever eaten. Seriously. So, if anyone is brave enough to come visit us here in the frozen tundra, you will be treated to a Jucy Lucy and a Grain Belt Premium beer, courtesy of Scott!

Here we are at the Art Shanty Project 2009!

Scott's friend, Mike Haeg, designed these shanties: The Dice Houses!


The Confession Shanty...pretty self-explanatory:

The Paper Shanty...i forgot to get a good pic of the outside, but the inside was full of origami:

The USS Walter Mondale (AKA Half Sunken Submarine) Shanty:

The Map Shanty:

Since winter is only four more months here we have a finite amount of time to experience some of Minnesota's more interesting past times. We are going to try and do something "very Minnesotan" every weekend. This could be our last winter here...you never know. Stay tuned...

Montana for Christmas

Scott and I spent the holidays in Billings, MT this year with his parents and lots of extended family. It was my first time to meet his aunts, uncles, cousins, and paternal grandparents, and they were all so wonderful! His Grandma Model makes the best Chex Mix that I've ever tasted...I should probably get the recipe from her so I can surprise Scott next Christmas.

We were also lucky enough to go skiing at Red Lodge for two days. I quickly remembered that I am not the best skier, but Scott had a great time skiing most of the two days with his dad, Mike. I stuck mostly to the greens and VERY easy blues, and still had some trouble. I guess we need to take a trip up to Lutsen soon (the "mountain" in northern Minnesota) so I can get some more practice.

The Beginning

Well...I've been meaning to start a blog for quite some time, but just haven't gotten motivated. The temperature is approaching the negative teens and so in an attempt to save my sanity, I decided to start blogging.

Scott and I live in Minneapolis (aka The Frozen Tundra), and have been here a little more than a year. We moved here from Chicago after Scott got a great job offer to work on the Harley Davidson account at an agency here. And, as always, we are accompanied by our faithful pooch sidekick, JD.

2009 is going to be a big one for us because...we're getting married! We are getting married in Maine, but we live in Minneapolis, and I'm from Oklahoma City and Scott is from Dallas. So, the planning process is a little bit difficult, but I know that it will be a very special day for us. We have a website set up for our wedding: http://web.mac.com/ashleyandscott.

The real reason for this blog is to put all of our pictures in one location that family and friends can view at their leisure. We hope at the very least that our family will get a kick out of it!