10.26.08 -- 11:40 a.m. Winding down to the big day. Nearing the month mark, very excite! Emily attended both of her showers last weekend and the weekend before that. Both of them were a HUGE success. My aunt Linda made some excellent shower invitations and I heard that the cuisine was extra delicious. On the Cook side, the shower was hosted at Michelle's place and my mom was able to meet all of Emily's family and friends. It sounded like Michelle hosted another amazing party with lots of sweets and treats. Even I got to contribute to the festivities by answering some fun 'newlywed' questions so that Emily could try and guess my responses... I did good :) Anywho, even though the shower was more for the bride than anything, I just wanted to say thanks to each and every one who helped and celebrated with Emily.

Fall is here and going fast. Today it snowed a little even. Yikes! Good thing I went out and got some beefy Nokian Hakkapellita RSIs. Argh argh argh. Now, Nadine is extra hungry for a huge snowstorm:

10.12.08 -- 10:00 p.m. What an awesome weekend. Git serious. Coles came into town this weekend and we changed the oil on the Saturn5, went golfing with Don and Rich, watched footballs, and hacked quite a bit. This week in Fantasy Football I marched on my way to 4-2. My main dog, Clinton Portis went off off off. Huge game there plus D. Mcnabb had a decent game, and Andre Johnson is startin' to come around. I rike it.

Anyway, just a quick little update tonight to get these pics up. It was a gorgeous fall day out on Deer Run. Lots of leaves changing, lots of birdies left out on the course :) Anywho, here are the pics:

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10.09.08 -- 5:00 p.m. Never been this terrible with updates before :rolleyes:. I guess some things never change right?

Lets see, since July, much much much has occured. The biggest change without a doubt, is the circular piece of platinum on Emily's ring finger. How, when, why you ask? [HOW] At Lake Como one day walking around talking about relationships, we sat down on a bench, I got down on one knee, tears were a flowing, and she said yes. It was rather quite simple, nothing extravagant, nothing over the top. I guess I am just a simple kinda guy and she is a simple kinda gal. The good news is, she said she loved the ring.

Yes, I did pick it out all by myself. Well almost, my lovely mother was there to hold my hand and assist me with her opinions too, but I made the final decision so I am taking the credit. [WHEN] August something [who needs to know the precise date anyway... right?] [WHY] Well I think that is pretty obvious don't you? I love that girl quite a bit more than I love my very own car and the millions of dg.com readers all know how much I love that car.

So? When is the wedding? After Thanksgiving. Where will it be held? Three words: Viva Las Vegas. I know not all the loyal dg.com subsribers were invited so for that I apologize. It is strictly going to be a family only with some close close friends ordeal. Small enough for our liking, but a big enough crowd to party.

Enough mushy gushy talk, lets talk degs. Tater is the most amazing little mut ever. He has lasted through some tough times [dog attacks, eating whole bags of mint m&ms, eating whole bags of twizzlers, and being butchered by the Grand Ave. Groomers... twice now]. Yes, he loooks quite dumb because they always cut him too short. They leave his snout and his ears long like he's a stinkin poodle or something.

The way we will always remember you Tates:

Either way, he needed it so I guess I will get over it. Tater also found his brother from another mother over the summer. His name is Autobahn [Auto, they call him] and he is one of the goofiest, cutest, loudest I've come across. He and Tates wrestle around nonstop together and they are equally quick/nimble so it's quite entertaining to watch them motor around the yard. Pics:

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Emily's company, Quirks, hosted a couple of work outings in July/August. The first was a pool party at Steve's house. An amazing house, backyard setup, and pool out in the middle of no-where-Minnesota plus some delicious salmon cooked on wood planks, lots of man cocktails, and good company ensures a pretty dang good time. They are all really cool people and considering it is such a small company, [eleven on staff?] everyone is real close. The 2nd outing was the Saints baseball outing. They kicked things off at Gabes by the park. I hadn't been to Gabes in forever and I almost forgot how delicious their food is. [It's a shame too considering how close I live to that place] Let us not forget the free busride from the bar to the stadium as well. The game was as to be expected, entertaining, good food, good booze not so competitive on the ballfield. Emily and I did manage to pound down some serious beer. Well, from what I recall she did. I guess I can only confirm my intake quantity and lets just say the ounces consumed/hr ratio was quite high. Anyway I really like hanging out with the Quirk's folk and am looking forward to the Quirks annual holiday party :D

I feel all growns up. Emily and I have been quite the "couple" on frequent occasions actually attending dinners hosted by other "couples", bringing wine, talking about grown up adult topics like responsibility, children, and sex. Well maybe I made that last part up, but we honestly have been "coupling" it up mas que frequentemente. Starting off with the Vidnovic's, had us over for some some delicious red meats and they sure can cook. If it's not Tawnya's pasta salad, it's V's grilling. Always a fine meal a la casa de Vidnovic. More importantly, they recently had a beautiful baby girl. She is just a little ball of rolly polly mush. Very cute stuff here.

The Kellins and Hardies had us over recently, too. Pat cooked up some delicious salmon from his fishing extravaganza out on Michigan. Jen made some very organic yet still delicious salad and potatos. Organic meaning, they have a vegetable garden in their back yard that %75 of the cooking ingredients came from :O Ya... someday, I will acheive green thumb status of that magnitude, someday. The Hardies we know from Emilys work. Mitch and Shawn, such sweet people. Shawn's enchiladas were laced with crack and other drugs and thats why I was forced to devour enchilada after enchilada faster than you can say "bob's yer uncle". We also tried our hand at some Battle of the Sexes. Mitch and I dominated, I need not say anything more. Shawn and Emily, if you feel like you want a rematch sometime, we'd be happy to show you how to play, again. Oh snap.

In other news, Capt. Coleman Schelitzke got furlowed and is now working out of EauC for Menards co. That is good news for the friends and family of Coles since he frequents back to the cities now that he is a mere 90 minutes away. Dave has a new lady friend from Winona. Her name is Trammy and she is better known as the Tramster. Emily and I did a little Applebees double date action with those two followed by a brutal rock band session. [failed out of 10/12 songs] Yikes. Speaking of which, Rock Band 2 is out now dot dot dot.

Last weekend was my cousin Cooper's birthday. He turned two and is likely one of the cutest two year olds I've ever seen. I was able to catch some good pictures of him opening gifts and nom'ing his cake. Also, Marc took Nadine out for a little test drive through the Afton windy roads. I know he may be considering a Subaru in the near future. Consider this the first of many peer pressure instances, Marc. Las fotos de fiesta aqui:

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This weekend is Emily's wedding shower [Goons]. I am excited for Doris to meet all of the Goons. They were all so excited and supportive at Cooper's birthday, and I am just so very proud to have the two families "meet" [mafia style]. The weekend after that is the other wedding shower [Cooks] where mi madre will get to meet her family. I am equally excited if not more :) Ahhh marriage.

This weekend Coles is comin in town and he and I are golfing with Don and Rich. Should be entertaining considering this is Coles 3rd time out this year. Skins anyone? Schaefer also has his own site now. I updated the "stuff" page but here is a quick link to ease the stress of your mouse click finger:

Welp, until we meet again...

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