One Hell of a Week

This last week was unbelievable at work. If you pay attention to the stock market at all, this week was actually historic due to the bankruptcies, sales, purchases, losses, and gains. Naturally, with the market going down 500 points one day, up 400 the next, down 450 the next day and up 300 the next, the phones through all of Ameriprise were ringing off the hook. I'm so happy that it's Friday and I don't have to think about the phones again for a few days, it's unbelievable.

Today I finally got my new goldfish for the new fish tank that I bought last weekend. Originally I always thought that goldfish were kind of stupid as a pet, just a little orange thing that sits inside a bowl that you feed every day and then it dies in a month or two. Little did I realize that goldfish were so much more than that.

Goldfish are a member of the carp family. If they are properly cared for and their tank is large enough for them and well maintained, goldfish can live for 40+ years and grow to about a foot long each. I decided to get two, along with a "Golden Mystery Snail" to clean the tank in a natural way.

I named one of the goldfish Jeff and Molly named the other one Charles. The snail's name is Edward. Jeff is short for Jeff, the weird kid I met at camp last summer. Charles is short for Doctor Charles Von Hogenstien III, and Edward is short for Edward Nigma, a.k.a. The Riddler.

Moving on from fish, here are a few pictures from the Mycology conference that Nick brought Molly and I to.

Sickly Saturday

I know weekends are supposed to be fun and relaxing, but both Molly and I aren't feeling our best right now. I have a massive head cold that started a few days ago and Molly woke up yesterday morning feeling "Like shit on a stick." I'm not sure exactly what that means, but it can't be a good thing.

We were planning on making a trip out to the Renaissance Festival this weekend, but it looks like we may have to put that on hold for now. At least it's raining outside anyway, next weekend will probably be a better choice all around.

This morning my dad, Nat, and I brewed up our next batch of beer, this time a Cream Ale from Northern Brew Supply. At first I was a little bit concerned about the hops since they smelled pretty strongly of citrus, but after they boiled down in the wort for an hour it was a much milder aroma. The brew kit was a Father's Day present from me, so we're a little behind on getting to it, but that's okay. I also ended up getting my birthday present a little early this year since it came in handy for the project. My dad and Cindy got me an Immersion Chiller, so that's one more tool to add to the HomeBrew process. Fun stuff!

No one particular picture was jumping out at me today, so here are a few from the Winter 2008 Family Reunion.


Austin learning how to drive a boat, during which he found the button for the horn and would not let go.


The whole group.


Josilyne and her proud catch of the day. When she reeled it in she looked at it and said, "Daddy, what's this?" to which he replied "That's seaweed, honey." She turned over to Tash and said, "Mommy I caught the seawee!" It was pretty damn cute.


Austin and Molly. Austin, after spending time with us in the boat, finally realized that we're okay people and he may just not be afraid of me anymore. The first half of the week was a whole different story, though.


A look over the lake at sunset. Apparently we were on the biggest lake in Michigan and it's deepest point was only about 10-15 feet. Weird...

Thistles!

Molly's brother Nick came into town today for a Minnesota Mycological Society meeting that was at the U of M St. Paul campus. Molly and I went along and got to watch people discuss mushrooms and opinions of edibility, flavor, safety, and a whole mess of other things relating to the field. It was fun to watch people get so excited about it. I always enjoy watching people get into discussions about things they're passionate about, they get so intense that it gives you an interesting view into their heads.

I took a lot of pictures of mushrooms, hopefully some will be popping up on here sooner or later. For now though, I'm still going through the honeymoon pictures. That said, which of these do you like better?



or


They're pretty similar, I know. Personally, I prefer the first one by a hair. These were both taken up in Tofte, MN. Oddly enough, they are different plants.

Bloomin` Raspberries

Unfortunately, most of the raspberries...and all of the berries in general, were not ripe while we were up north. Molly did find one secret stash while we were hiking along the Temperance River that I had to drag her away from, but Mount Oberg just taunted us with Thimbleberry bushes as far as the eye could see about two weeks away from being ripe. Oh well.

Labor Day

I hope that everyone had a fun and relaxing Labor Day and hopefully had an extra day away from school and work. After a disappointing start to the weekend (neither Molly or I were feeling well at the end of the week), we hit our stride on Saturday and made a visit to the fair. It was a fun trip, we went through the fine arts building and the cooking competition buildings. Next year we plan to enter one or both of those competitions, and here's hoping we follow through with that.

We also made a stop at the MPR booth, the DFL booth, and a few other less-noteworthy places. However, at the MPR booth we found a flier on the ground advertising a chocolate show and convention coming up in November. November 15th, to be specific. So, naturally, I thought it would be a great birthday present for Molly to get us tickets to the show. Naturally she agreed, so November 15 and 16 we will be at the convention center in Minneapolis seeing chocolate cooking demonstrations, competitions, clothes modeling, and sampling. I can't wait for that.

Today we relaxed. We played some video games in the morning, had lunch with my mom at Olive Garden, and then came home and played some more video games and a little Bocce Ball. And now I need to get to work putting together my lunch and dinner for tomorrow since I have class in the evening.

The picture for today will be a new self portrait that I took while we were on our honeymoon, this particular photo was taken on 61 about 10 or 15 miles shy of Tofte on a scenic overlook.

Life Comes Fast

So I realized today that it's already been more than a week since my last post. I guess I have no excuse other than life is still as busy as it has been the last few months. Now I've settled back into my regular work routine, but the new twist is that on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5:30pm until 8:00pm I'm at school!

That's right, Andrew Winter has returned to the world of academia. I enrolled at MCTC here in Minneapolis and, through the tuition reimbursement assistance offered so generously by Ameriprise Financial, I am working my way toward all of my general education credits. I'm starting out with a math class. The school is requiring me to take two pre-college level math classes before I get into the full brunt of them because it's been so long since I've had any type of math education. So, for five hours a week, I get to learn Algebra I. Fortunately, even with all the homework, I'm confident most everything will just be refresher so easing my way back into school will be a little easier.

Speaking of school, Molly starts back up on the second. I know she can't wait (!) to get back into that routine of class 8 hours a day again.

Stairway to the Sun

I know this isn't that exciting of an image, but I really do like the angle on it and the way the sun is flaring through the handrails on the top right side. This one was taken in Grand Marais out on one of the light houses.

I started reading a new book today, Fountainhead by Ayn Rand. I'm about 60 or 70 pages through it so far and I'm really enjoying it. There's plenty left to go, so I hope it continues on in that direction.

No work again today, apparently our technology team is a little slow with getting to work on fixing minor details that make it so I can't take a single phone call. Therefore, I had another eight exciting hours of either listening to other people take phone calls or reading up on things related to the job to "keep my head in the game".

One other side note, all the photos taken by the wedding photographer are up and if you would like to take a look at them, the link to the site is right here

Evening on the Porch

Relaxing in the evening on the porch in Tofte, MN during the honeymoon. What a great trip.



On a side note, work could not have been easier today. My systems were all locked out because it had been so long since I'd used them, so I didn't take a single phone call. Now that is what I call easing my way back into work!

Back to the Ordinary

That was a long, long break, but now it's finally back to the same old same old. At least, the same old same old for a week. After that I start school again, and I'm hoping that I will be enjoying that. Enjoying the end result more than the journey, I'm sure. Ameriprise gives tuition reimbursement, so starting on August 26 I will be attending MCTC in Minneapolis. This fall I'm just going to be taking one class, a math class, Tuesday and Thursday nights to get my feet wet again. Once I'm back into the swing of things maybe I'll be able to handle a heavier workload.

The last week was another busy one away from home for Molly and I. After getting everything from the wedding completely taken care of and me spending a day building a house with Habitat for Humanity, we set off for a Winter family reunion in Michigan. I got to see a lot of family that I don't see nearly often enough and had a good time. Or, at least a good a time as someone can have at a family reunion. Eventually, you're bound to start feeling a little too close to everyone.

It'll be strange to go back to work tomorrow. Three and a half weeks off is a long time, and I think Monday will be a very long day. Keeping that in mind, along with the fact that I didn't have a chance to get a new picture ready for today, I should make sure I get enough sleep to make it through the whole day without needing a nap. Fat chance...

Molly in Grand Marais

Another one of the many shots from the Honeymoon, this one was taken in Grand Marais along the Lake Superior coastline. I snuck this picture while Molly wasn't looking.



Today was another busy day for Molly and I. We went to Wayzata in the morning to return the letter basket (or birdcage in this situation) from the wedding. Then we made a run out to target and purchased a bookshelf, came home to put that together, went to Bed Bath and Beyond and purchased a night stand, came home to put that together, and reorganized the heck out of the living room. There's a little more room now, but so much more stuff. We may need to consider a bigger place here before too long. Expenses expenses expenses, right?