The weekend gave us a rude awakening as we awoke on Saturday to find our yard covered with snow. We slept in a little (for us that is 7:30 a.m.) which was very nice. We were on our way to the Homecoming Football Game which put the "improving each week" Gophers vs. the lowly Purdue Boilermakers. It was a great day to be outside though, it was bright sun, but brisk. We wore long johns, winter coats, scarfs and stocking caps. Our claps were muted by winter gloves, but we cheered hard to get a Homecoming victory and improve the Gophers record to 4-2. We think we have to win out at home to make a bowl this year and that should be attainable. We have Michigan St on Halloween night, we have Illinois the 7th of November and we have South Dakota State on the 13th of November. On the road we don't really have a prayer as we play at Penn St and at Ohio St, and then finish the year at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City! I bought 4 tickets to this game if anyone wants to make a road trip, but my intention was to sell them to some desperate IA fans.
After the game we tried to do some shopping for our trip to San Fran/Hawaii which is coming up in 3 weeks. I haven't bought a new swimming suit since high school and thank goodness for elastic it still fits. We went to J Crew in Rosedale (haven't been to Rosedale since 2000). Our friend Courtney Snyder is the Store Manager at J Crew so we thought we would patron her store with some business. My wife tells me "MEN" always find the good deals and WOMAN always have to pay full price. I found some nice stuff on the Clearance rack (the only place I EVER shop). Nicole found nothing under $100 so she didn't get anything. I felt bad for her, but we'll keep looking.
On Sunday it was sunny again, but cold. Nicole worked on her CRP (Clinical Research Paper) all day. I watched golf in the morning and then played 18 in the afternoon with Brent Snyder and his brother Kyle and his dad Bill. They were nice guys and Brent and I are becoming very good friends. He is an unbelievable golfer and I learn so much by just watching him play. He gave me 8 shots (think about that), I have been golfing my whole life and carry a 4.8 handicap and Brent gives me 8 shots. So that means he was playing to a plus 3, which means he could shoot 3 under par for 18 holes. I kept it interesting and played very well, but lost to him on the 17th hole to lose the match. He simply made too many birides on the back 9. He shot 70, I shot 78. My pair of 39's was solid playing, but I hit 2 in the water on the back 9 which cost me the match. I had a blast playing with Brent and his family. We walked to stay warmer and who would have ever thought walking 18 holes would burn 700 calories, but I like it!
Last night (Monday night) Brent and I ordered pizza in and watched Monday Night Football and Tivo'd Presidents Cup (Golf event between the US and an International team). Our wives went to Recipe Club hosted by Sue Glasnap. They are great people from IA and we have a little competition going with them about Iowa vs. MN in any sport. They seem to win all the time, but it makes for good fun. She has a good friend in our development who is a big Wisconsin Badger fan and they are NOT SPEAKING this week because the Badgers play the Hawkeyes this weekend (Go Hawks)! Can't believe I wrote that but when it comes to the Badgers, I would cheer for Hitler if he were playing them.
Nicole and I are heading to Las Vegas this weekend for a little corporate getaway. I have a conference to attend on Saturday so she and Karen will spend the day either by the pool (doubtful) in the spa (maybe) or scouring the shops at Caesars (most likley). We are excited about the accomodations in Vegas, we are not big Vegas fans as we are not gamblers, but they have some of the best restaurants in the world and I'm sure we'll drink some very good wine. We are staying at the Palazzo, which is supposed to be top notch, so we'll report on it when we return. It is a quick 48 hours trip, actually less than that. We arrive in Vegas on Friday afternoon at 3:30 and leave at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday so in and out. This conference is very valuable to me though information wise. I learn each year some trends to watch and always find something in it to bring back to my client base. I have gone to this conference, this will be my 4th year, and the 1st 2 years I went with just Nicole and they were in Chicago. Each time I came home I had such good info that now Mark and his wife go, there first year was last year, and I doubt Mark will miss it again as he thought the same as I did about the value proposition it brings. There are so many smart people and to learn from a few of them is very beneficial because I'm not one of them.
I forgot to mention last Friday we missed out on the Homecoming festivites on campus (parade, pep fest) and went to Nicole's bosses house for dinner. They had a retreat that day and then afterward he invited all of his employees and their spouses for dinner. We think there are 28 employees in all, 15 being doctors and the rest office staff. He lives in North Oaks, which I have never been to, Nicole has been there for lunch a few times with her boss. He and his wife were the nicest people and very down to earth which was nice to see. You would have to see North Oaks to explain it well, but let's agree for a minute that Troy Burne is a nice development. I am biased of course, but there is a good golf course and some nice homes, but North Oaks makes Troy Burne look like the projects of Chicago or the "crackstack" in Minneapolis. It is a huge development where I'm going to guess the minimum home price is $1 million. Kevin McHale lives there, the CEO of 3M lives there ($8 million home) according to Nicole's boss. There home was very nice, but modest. It was small for North Oaks but still close to 5,000 square feet. We had a nice time meeting Nicole's coworkers. Enough rambling for now....
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