The Missing Target

I have stumbled upon the answer to the Target Store mystery. The Southdale Target was recently demolished. It was there one day and gone the next. According to the highly knowledgeable 6th graders at South View, it was more cost effective to tear down the building in preparation for construction of the new luxurious 2-story Super Target Store.

It should be grand!

Holy Snow Batman!

(This is me taking a break after the first hour).

I awoke this morning to sevearl inches of snow. I went to open the door to get a good look and was unable to open it. There were 6 inches of snow blocking our doorway. The rest of the driveway was covered in 6 to 12 inches of snow (depending on which drift you stood in).

Being the sole inhabitat of our house recently and needing to get out of our driveway by tomorrow morning, I bundled up and grabbed the shovel. Thankfully the 20 to 30 mph wind from yesterday had died down and the temperature was near 30 degrees Fahrenheit.

Three hours later and several layers of wet, sweaty clothes, I finished the driveway. It was great to be the goon of the neighborhood. Everyone was out with their snowblowers and just watching me as I slaved with the shovel. No one even offered use of their snowblower. The lesbian ladies next door just watched me shovel as the whipped through their driveway with their snowblower. They also thought it was a good idea to let out their annoying dogs while I was shoveling. Oh well, I guess I am not in Northfield anymore.

The positive side of this experience is that I don't have to drive to Bally's to work out. I got a great workout in the driveway. I can just stay home and watch basketball all day.

One More Night Solo ... I think

While I have one more night to go until Charlie's return. I am very excited to have him back! However I just checked his flight information and it says his flight is cancelled due to weather. I hope he can get a flight on Monday and at a reasonable time so I can pick him up.

He will be proud of me during his absence. I have obeyed all items outlined by him before he left:
1. When not at home keep the furnace to 58 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Make sure the door is locked and shut all the way.
3. Get the flat tire fixed on the Ion.
4. Bring my purse in the house. Do NOT leave it in the car.
5. Check the mail daily.
6. Wash his clothes.
7. Bake him cookies.


Okay, the last two he did not ask me to do. I did complete 1 through 4 with great success though. It was a safe and quiet weekend.

Charlie, I do love you but had to make fun of you a little bit! :)

State Not So Terrific

Alex completed in the Minnesota State Weightlifiting Competition on Saturday, February 24. This competition took place at Farmington High School. Each weightlifter had to qualify for this state meet and a handful of these competitors also qualified for nationals.

The competition operated just like previous meets. Each lifter got 3 attempts at snatch and 3 attempts at clean and jerk. They start the meet with the snatch. Despite a smaller field of competitors this meet took longer than the previous meets I have been too.

Alex started at 81 kg for the snatch. He hit this weight and more at the a competition 2 weeks ago. However he was unable to hit any of the three attempts at this weight. Therefore he did not have a chance to place at this meet. He didn't even attempt clean and jerk because placing was out of reach.

Sadly, I don't have any pictures because we didn't see any successful lifts made by him. He was really upset and disappointed in himself. But he also skipped two practice this week and just didn't focus welll for the meet. I guess it was karma.

We are hoping for big things at Nationals in Merryville, Indiana on March 10. Stay tuned for National results.

Little Brother Makes Nationals!

Charlie and I had the pleasure of viewing our first weightlifting competition this weekend. We traveled to Lakeville's Kenwood Middle School. This was the last competition of the season and last opportunity for Alex to qualify for the National Weightlifting Competition. He had been close at the previous competitions but just couldn't make the cut.

After an hour or so of waiting for his lift, we were able to see him hit all six of his lifts. He first started with the snatch. After nailing all three snatch attempts, he moved onto the clean and jerk. Alex nailed all three clean and jerk attempts, putting him in the National Weightlifting Competition. He was pretty excited to qualify. He also took first in his weight class at this competition.

Alex has the state weightlifting competition on February 24 in Farmington, MN. If he wins his weight class at the state meet, his trip to nationals becomes an all-expense paid vacation.

To see Alex's lifts, Dean has used his technology skills to post videos on YouTube.