Car accidents, concerts, Beaver Fest and volleyball

One of these days I’m sure I’m going to start a post with it was a normal and relaxing week…this will not be that post.  Work has been crazy but that has been the norm the last few months. Monday night was training with Molly and Trainer Ben.  Didn’t get to have dinner with my dad as planned because he rode his Harley down and needed to get on the road to beat the storm.  Luckily, I was able to enjoy dinner with him Sunday night at Scornovocca’s.  I can never get enough time with my dad. Tuesday night was Tacos at the Tap with Lukas, Mel, Misty, Summer, Shane, Maria and Brian.  Had some laughs, made some new friends. 

Wednesday afternoon I got rear-ended.  The car took off and almost caused another accident when they went flying around the corner and nearly sideswiped the ambulance I was stopped and waiting for.  People are rude. I got a nice cash of whiplash and vertigo but just glad it didn’t end up much worse.  My car is ok and so am I.  Just shaken up and sore.  Couldn’t play volleyball that night because of it so that was a total bummer. 

Thursday night went to the Florida Georgia Line, Cole Swindell, Kane Brown and Cadillac Three concert with Molly, Michelle and Sandy.  I wasn’t a huge FLG line fan going into the concert.  I mainly wanted to go for the opening acts.  But I can say I am definitely a fan now.  They were very entertaining and had one of the best encores I’ve ever seen. 

Cole Swindell makes me swoon. He’s giving Eric Church a run for his money on being my fake celebrity boyfriend.  We came out of the concert and walked into a monsoon.  I’m not sure I can recall the last time I saw it rain that hard.  Luckily we got to run to our cars in it.  To say we were soaked to the bone is a dramatic understatement.  Friday night when I went to put on my boots, they were still wet from the night before.

Friday night I met the crew for Beaverdale Fall Fest, or Beaver Fest as we like to call it.  Carnival rides, food vendors, live music, car show and tons of people out and about in my favorite neighborhood.  It was an absolute blast. 

Saturday morning I had to get up early for the Beer In Hand Volleyball tournament.  Let me tell you playing with a giant ball and a cup in one hand is not as easy as it might sound.  We didn’t win but we had a great time trying. 

The Hawks got upset by North Dakota State as we were finishing the tourney and I took that as my cue to go home and nap! I was supposed to meet my friends back at Beaver Fest that night but decided to stay home instead.  Ben and I ordered Chinese and watched the Ohio State game.  I’m super excited for the Packers vs. Vikings game tonight.  Go Pack Go!!!!

This week looks to be equally insane but I’m looking forward to a mini vacation Thursday-Sunday.  #fearless40

9/11, ladies night and football

Some days I can barely remember what I wore the day before.  But even though 9/11 was 15 years ago, I remember every detail of that day as a terrified 25 year old in North Hollywood, CA.  I was in the shower getting ready for work and I had the radio on. Danny Bonaduce had a morning show and I heard him say a plane had hit the World Trade Center.  I didn’t know whether to believe it as the show was known for many pranks.  I jumped out of the shower and turned on the TV.  As I did, the 2^nd plane hit. My heart dropped.  I instantly began crying. I heard the words “terrorists” and “attack”. I heard there could be other plans.  I couldn’t believe my ears.  I ran and woke up my sister and roommates to let them know what was going on.  I didn’t know what to do. It was as if time froze in a thick horrific fog.  I left for work and I remember being on the 134 freeway.  Usually mornings were full of music, horns, people making deals on their phone, zooming traffic and road rage.  This morning was silent.  People drove with their windows down trying to soak up every detail of the radio reports.  People were crying in their cars.  No one was in a hurry to get anywhere.  It was a freeway of lost souls.  I remember phone lines being jammed.  I remember just wanting to hear my parents voices.  I got to work and they began closing the studios.  They began evacuating sky scrapers around Los Angeles.  At this point the Pentagon had also been hit.  A plane had went down in the country side.  Everyone feared that Los Angeles was also a target.  I remember looking at my boss and telling him I was going home.  If something terrible was about to happen, I was not spending the last day of my life at a recording studio in Hollywood.  I was going to be with my sister and friends. We were glued to the television all day.  I remember watching the planes hit over and over.  Watching the tower collapse.  Watching rescue workers running towards the ruins.  Watching the citizens of New York City covered in ash and debris running down the streets for their lives.  I will never forget the chill I couldn’t shake that day. The hollowness in my heart.  The silence in the skies overhead that were usually filled with planes landing at LAX and the Burbank airport.  I remember feeling heart broken and helpless.  To this day I will never forget the sacrifice that was made for our country. The lives that were lost.  The lives of loved ones left behind that were forever changed.  I remember always remember 9/11.  In a time of a nation torn apart by politics and social issues I look at the flag and think of the Pledge of Allegiance: “One nation, under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all”.  And that day, we were.  Let us not forget that. 

Wednesday night was volleyball league.  What a blast.  It had rained all day and the sand was soaking wet but I had so much fun.  My team is wonderful and despite the insane amount of sticky sand that ended up in my contacts, my gum and in crevices on my body I didn’t know existed, I loved every minute of it.  And we won, which always helps. 

Thursday night training was great, as always.  No better way to spend an hour of my night then with Trainer Ben and Molly, sweating like a demon and getting back in my groove. 

Friday night was a long overdue ladies night with Kara, Molly and Audra.  We had dinner at Spectators and then went to The Brewhouse to listen to Final Mix play. We were joined by Lukas and Maria and had a night full of beverages, dancing, laughter and shenanigans.  Have I ever mentioned how awesome my friends are? 

Saturday was the Superbowl of Iowa.  Iowa Hawkeyes versus the Iowa State Cyclones.  I had let go of my tickets for the game.  As much as I wanted to tailgate with my brother, see my nephews and enjoy Iowa City, my adult kicked in and I decided to stay in Des Moines.  I went to Saints with Audra and Gary and watched the Ohio State game. I know, I know what the heck, Lyndee? But my ginger loves the Buckeyes and I love her and football.  Unfortunately UNI lost.  But the Hawks put the smackdown on the Cyclones which is always a wonderful thing.  Later I went to the Tap to meet Summer.  And ended up driving home a friend who had celebrated a teeny weeny bit too much during the game.  You know your buddy is drunk when you drop them off, wait to make sure they get in the house and two minutes later you get a text that says “I’m home!”.  Ha! Oh Fuzzy, you crack me up. Followed by my best friend waking me up at 3 in the morning to tell me he's a spider monkey.  As the song says, in heaven there is no beer, that's why we drink it here.  God bless Iowa football fans. 

Today was productive to the max.  Got groceries, did laundry, worked on the yard, made breakfast, lunch and treats for the week.  Can’t wait to share the white chicken chili and peanut butter oreo truffle recipes with you on Testing Trendy this week.  Y-U-M to the YUM.  Oh, and my Packers won their first regular season game.  I am one smiley Lyndee today.  

Pleasant surprise to find out my dad is on his way to Des Moines tonight for a few days.  I can never get enough time with Big Papa Gene! This week will be training, volleyball, daddy daughter dates, Florida Georgia Line and then Beaverdale Fall Fest this weekend.  Another crazy week ahead but I’m ready to rock it out! #fearless40 

Come sail away…

Check off another adventure in the Lyndee chronicles.  I’ve spent plenty of time on water (my happy place) but never lived on a sailboat for 5 days.  It was definitely a Labor Day for the books. Thursday Brian, Mel, Ryan and I loaded up the truck and started out for Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. 

The drive was supposed to be about 7 ½ hours.  We made it in a lightning fast 10 hour pace.  Hey, it was vacation and we had some stops to make.  Unfortunately we didn’t make it to the Spam museum like I hoped.  Sigh.  Maybe next trip.  We stopped at Newt’s in Rochester, MN for lunch on my dad’s recommendation.  It was great! And I’m not just talking about the fish and chips. I also found the fusion of two of my favorite drinks.  A long island mule.  Oh yes, you read that right.  A Long Island Iced Tea and a Moscow Mule doing a delicious and divine dance on my tongue. Mind blown!

After numerous potty breaks because some of my friends, who shall remain unnamed, have the bladder of a 10 year old girl we finally hit Wisconsin.  Luckily, the next potty break was perfectly timed.  Divine intervention if you ask me.  We pulled off the ramp and lo and behold, the magnificent sight of Lambeau Field.  I was pretty much a crackhead version of a kid on Christmas morning as we walked around that sacred ground and took pictures.  Even my non-Packer loving friends appreciated the history and magnitude of being there. 

We finally arrived in Sturgeon Bay and on the boat.  Wow. That’s all I got. If you’ve never been to Door County, I would highly recommend it.  As we shuttled our stuff out to the boat via the little boat, aka the dink, my soul was instantly happy.  And as if floating in the bay on a boat wasn’t cool enough, how about looking up at the sky to see your first life viewing of the Northern Lights? I couldn’t capture their beauty in pictures but it will forever be burned in my mind.

Friday we sailed around the bay.  Eventually we docked in a little resort town called Fish Creek and met up with Misty.  This town is adorable.  We enjoyed dinner and drinks at Bayside. Checked out a crazy shop that sold high end minks ($2700), art, jewelry and handguns.  Because who doesn’t buy a gun when they buy drop a couple g’s on a mink coat?  Um, yea…maybe Kim Kardashian and Kanye West would enjoy shopping there but not my cup of tea.  There was no Dollar Tree to be found.  Foiled again! Back at the boat we were blessed to see the northern lights AGAIN! Hello astronomical lottery! We had some drinks, played cards and laughed until our faces hurt until the wee hours of the morning. 

Saturday we sailed to Menominee, Michigan. The weather was absolutely perfect. I can’t put into words how peaceful it is to be sailing with no land in sight, listening to music, watching the waves and feeling the occasional spray of water on your face. 

Saturday night we walked around exploring Menominee and met some wonderful and fun people.  You can’t judge the real character of a place until you mingle with the locals and I can say that Menominee rocks.  And the Hawkeyes and Panthers both won their football games.  That’s a stellar Saturday for this girl. 

Sunday we took our time sailing back to Sturgeon Bay and then explored the town.  Well, some would call it bar hopping.  You say potato, I say potatoe.  

You know that friend that likes to get sassy and push your buttons and sometimes you just have to do something crazy like throw their shoe on the roof after they’ve doubted you will retaliate? Yeah, Misty and I had a moment like that. It’s not every day you get kicked out of the bar because you’re wearing one shoe and bleeding from the arm but Misty won that prize.

Monday was a long drive home but I was excited for my bed. And I made memories this weekend I will never forget with some amazing friends.  No, I didn’t go to the gym while I was gone but I definitely got in a hell of an ab workout from laughing.  Thank you Mel, Ryan, Brian, Misty and Gaich for a fabulous five days. And Wolverine, you rock Prince.  #fearless40