New Financing Plan for the Vikings Stadium

The Minnesota Legislature continues to struggle with a bill for a new stadium.  There is strong public sentiment to not send the bill to taxpayers.  Make that don't send the bill to us... okay if you send it to some other city or region.
 Every proposal for funding has a downside.
 Electronic pulltabs or a Racino??  Too much gambling. 
 Divert funds from a previous excise tax about to expire?  People in that overtaxed metro area object.  More tax on a $7.00 beer sold at the stadium?  More tax on $90 jerseys?  The people who don't want to see their real estate taxes rise like that better. 
This week there was a proposal to put an excise tax on football players salaries and increase the user tax on fans.  Just have them hand over their paychecks at the entrance and comp them a couple beers.
Wonder if anyone has considered just taxing the team (players, coaches and owners) more when they
lose.  Might be an incentive to get that team going again. 
It took almost 50 yrs. to get a bridge deal for Stillwater.  Don't lose hope if you want a stadium. 

Walking the Walk

Five years ago I lost a lot of weight.  85 pounds.  That was the easy part.  Keeping it off proved difficult.  I have dissolved in tears during doctors appointments.  My physician of 27 yrs is kind.
He didn't ridicule or scold.  Maybe he should have, but then I probably wouldn't go to the doctor
when I needed to.
Last year I lost 20 of the pounds I had regained.  I had regained 50.  I know.  Stupid.  I found a lot of
excuses.  I found the strength to lose those 20 but not more.  Then Christmas came and I gained another
five.  Back and forth for five months.  Up five.  Lose them again and again. 
This week I sucked it up and decided I had to hit the streets again.  Walk more.  Exercise more.  I have been telling myself that thrice weekly at Curves and two miles a day should be enough.  It should be but it isn't.  Today I walked 7 to 8 miles.  My knees say it is 8. 
I am also strongly imploring the LORD for help.  He is strong when we are weak.  I am weak.  He is strong.  He is faithful.  I am not always faithful but need to keep my connection strong and keep on.

The Wizard of Oz

We keep an erratic sleep schedule at our house. My husband and I are often awake during the

night and up a couple of hours reading or on our computers. Since we are retired, it is only mildly

bothersome. It does make it difficult to set our automatic settings on our furnace to save heat while we sleep.

When I was gainfully employed it was stressful not to get a good night's sleep. Now, if I am tired during the day, I take a chair nap.

Chair nap. Time spent with my blanket and a book or watching TV. Occasionally this happens

at 2:00pm and I watch Dr. Oz. Dr. Oz is the new Oprah. He has answers for many of life's problems. Because he has a daily one hour show, he has already shared his medical advice on

every condition and yesterday had a segment on dressing in clothes that flatter the less-than-perfect figures.

I think Dr. Oz is nice, but he is a cardiac or thoracic surgeon and I'm not sure fashion advice couldn't be left to other Oprah wannabees.

Before I dozed off yesterday, I caught the Drs. advice on diet and nutritional supplements for

different body types. All ears, here. Maybe there is hope to lose that middrif bulge. Raspberry ketones were the recommended fix. Hope springs eternal. I decided to try raspberry ketones.

My mistake was not rushing out to buy a bottle stat. Today I hit up four stores. The shelves were empty. The clerk at General Nutrition offered to put my name on a list when the next shipment comes in. I asked, "Is it because of Dr. Oz?" She shook her head yes.

I ordered the product online. The shipping costs almost as much as the supplement but I will

get them next week. I do wonder how they can produce a bottle of pills extracted from 90

pounds of raspberries and charge $8.00 when the supermarket wants $2.50 for a half pint.

It must be wizardry or I am getting the razzberries.

Wonder if I will be ready to wear a bikini this summer after I finish the bottle. That will happen

about as soon as I win the Mega Millions lottery which is impossible because I never buy a ticket.

\\

There Goes Peter Cottontail

More from my nephew Peter's trip to China. He saw these "snacks" at the airport. Rabbit heads.

Might be inappropriate to serve this for Easter. My grandkids would cry. They are

watching for the Easter bunny.

My Life is in Jeopardy

Don't be overly concerned for me. I am in good health. However, I am moderately

obsessed with Jeopardy. I have watched Jeopardy for years and love to see how

many answers I can question along with the contestants. As my daughter, Mary, noted

I say my responses out loud. Sorry, it probably isn't fun to watch Jeopardy with me.

My husband does but he knows me well. He knows how competitive I am.

Once a year Jeopardy does online testing to find new contestants. I don't do it. I know I am

only an average player and have huge gaps in the file in my Cranium. I know nothing about opera and don't do well in math. I wouldn't have a Clue if I were standing on that TV set with the lights and cameras attempting to win money.

My personal challenge is to answer the Final Jeopardy question. No matter the Trouble, I make

a dash to get to a television for the final minutes of the show. Shades of Rain Man. Oh, oh.

It is no Trivial Pursuit for me. I would Risk all and Scrabble my plans to attempt solving the last answer. I probably don't have a Monopoly on this obsession.

My grandpa was known for playing Bridge. He loved to play. If he had been losing, he wouldn't quit until he won a game and then left on a high note. Honor game. That is what I do with Jeopardy. Not to boast, but I usually get the Final Jeopardy answer right. I try not to whoop and holler unless I have it correct and the contestants don't. That is when I get "the look" from Jon.

It's hard to be humble. I should get a Life.

Hunger Games Review -or- Reality Bites Stillwater Minnesota Resident

photo: left, cow stomach , piggy on right)

Not "The" Hunger Games. I didn't read the series of books or see the popular movie. I am having enough problems dealing with the present and will forgo the futuristic novels. Friends
have shared the plotline. It sounds depressing and the ethics of hunting innocent kids seems questionable. Okay, I haven't read the books and can't judge. Just saying. I understand the books are a compelling read, but the concept sounds depressing. Videos and stories of child soldiers forced to fight in Uganda under Kona make it seem too plausible.

I am in my own version of hunger games. Dieting. Trying to play mind games with myself
to hit the target. Spring actually arrived on the first day of spring this year and I don't have
that extra 4 to 6 weeks before the heavy sweaters and bulky clothes are put away.

My husband Jon was repulsed this morning when I announced I might eat the leftover Swiss steak with veggies for breakfast. Four years ago when I lost 85 pounds, I did this occasionally.
High protein and any change seemed to help stop the snacking later in the day. I was the only one playing the game with my own mind but it helped.

I didn't follow through with the plan to eat Swiss steak and now it is 10:55 am and I am hungry. Time for the second trick. Think of something unappealing to eat. It just happened that my sister sent me an email and photos of my nephew Peter's meal in China. He was served cow and pig's stomach and said he ate it all. He also had pig's windpipe. (Sorry, Peter, I used your photos without permission.)

I don't happen to have any cow stomachs or pig lungs in the refrigerator. I might have to think about the ground beef that is there and speculate if it contains "pink slime". http://www.thenorthwestern.com/article/20120322/OSH04/120322026/National-grocers-stop-buying-pink-slime-meat Now that can make one stay on a diet. The government is giving consumers the choice of ground beef with or without the pink slime. Some choice. We shouldn't be so hasty judging other cultures cuisine.

Zombie Jamboree

We should have seen this coming. We live in a culture that is currently glorifying werewolves and vampires. In movies and on the tube they are romantic, mysterious characters. Pause while I groan. When I was young we listened to the Kingston Trio sing "Zombie Jamboree".
I doubt I knew anything about voodoo culture. I just liked the Kingston Trio.

Disclaimer: I don't believe in zombies. I don't believe in vampires or werewolves. I do believe people can be fascinated with the dark side and demons are real.

I arched one eyebrow and couldn't resist following a story online about the CDC releasing info on what to do in a zombie attack. Excuse me? A government official released a survival plan for the public to defend against zombies? Maybe that budget could be cut.

Pursuing this further, I found out they used the catchy "zombie apocalypse" release, to get people to read the info and stock a home survival kit. Have enough water, food, medications, flashlites etc. to take care of your family. Well, that I agree with. Take care of yourself. Don't just rely on the government to come in and swoop you up and meet all your needs. You may stand on your roof a long time.


I guess their plan worked. I read their zombie survival plan. I think we need more peanut butter in the cupboard in case of disaster. Google: CDC + emergency preparedness, zombie apocalypse. Photo from the CDC website.