Vikings VS Cardinals

We had the opportunity to attend the Vikes/Cardinals football game yesterday. The Vikes gave a WHOOPEN to the Cardinals. It was a great game to attend.
I want to throw a shout-out to our friend Timmy and his friend who hooked us up with the tickets and parking pass. Thanks Timmy!!!!
Here are some photos we took on our adventure.

This is the Westgate area which is right next door to the main stadium. We posted a blog earlier about this spot but at that time a game wasn't scheduled.
As you look at the photo you will notice LOTS of Purple and Gold!
It was amazing walking around as you actually felt like you were at a Vikings game in Minnesota! Pretty cool.
DH actually thought of not wearing his Jersey at one point because he wasn't sure how many others would be doing the same. He wanted to make sure it was a safe adventure for both DH & DW.
As we found out, he had nothing to worry about.......

One of the restaurants has people on stilts that walk around on game day and make fabulous balloon hats for a few select people to enjoy. If you look closely you can see he's making a hat of Purple and Gold colors.
If you look at the previous photograph, no one has one of these fantastic hats.

Would you Looky there, out of ALL those people, who would have thought DH would end up with it?? DH was a great sport and kept it on his head all the way to our seats in the stadium.
He actually had a motorcycle cop who was laughing as he drove past him and gave DH the thumbs-up.
DH has always loved the opportunity to make people smile and laugh!
Doesn't he look fabulous?? LOL!
,
On the way back to the stadium we ran across some other Minnesotans and couldn't pass up this rare photo op. LOL! Everyone was laughing HYSTERICALLY at this one.

We found our seats and snuggled in comfortably. We looked up and to our amazement they started opening the roof. The comfortable 74 degrees when we got to our seats was very soon replaced with a balmy 51 degrees. What one must deal with here in the dessert..... Brrrrrr...

Go "VIKES"!!! (If you notice, the balloon hat is just to the left of us in the above photo.)

You didn't actually think we'd get through a blog post without DW having a showing did you??

You look "Maaaahhhhvelous" Sweetie, simply "Maaaahhhvelous"......

Happy Holidays!!!!!!!!!!

It's Auction time again..... Some funny photos in Phoenix as well.....

It's that time again and we've begun the process.
The skins on the end of the main auction have started to be removed to allow all the adjoining tents to be put up.
DH is looking forward to another successful auction. He'll keep you posted........

We thought we'd post some photos of the different and strange things we've come across in our first year in Phoenix. Enjoy!!


Yep, It's mounted directly to the nose of the car. It use to eat and drink at one time...... Ugh!


SERIOUSLY???


We LOVE this bumper sticker!


A "MAGIC" truck. You see everything IN the truck right now, but 5 miles down the road you'll be lucky to see just the mattress in the back.
Large quantities of belongings all held in with itty bitty string.
Sure honey, it will hold.........
YOU be the judge......

You're as cuddly as a cactus

Just wanted to let everyone know that the Grinch is alive and well here in Arizona again.
Here's a photo showing him in all his glory! Hope all is well with everyone.

Cars, Cars, Cars. Goodguys.

Another day has passed with the Goodguys car show. It was packed with people and cars again! DW attended today while DH was working and she was able to take photos of some great cars. We are both attending again tomorrow, Sunday, because DH doesn't have to work and the both of us can wander around together.
We wish we had a car that we could bring to a show like this. The people here are amazingly friendly and it's a great opportunity to meet people from all over the United States.
Here are a few of the photos DW took while wandering the grounds of Westworld. Enjoy! We'll take more photos tomorrow and share them with you.








This is an official "RATROD" Too cool!



Just a few photos to show you the quality of the cars that attend this event.
A few interesting rides are here, but interesting is always Great in the realm of customs, Resto-mods and classics!


Finally in this last photo, if you look closely above the roof of the truck you see DH's place of employment's motorhome coach. On top of the coach, on the left side, in a black and white shirt is DH who was talking with a co-worker and DW snapped the photo.

Good Guys - Scottsdale, AZ.

DH had an exciting day today!
He was asked to work the B-J Booth at the Goodguys Rod & Custom Association car show held at Westworld here in Scottsdale, AZ.
Of course he "hemmed and hawed" at the thought of having to work..... Sigh! You know DH - he NEVER wants to work. :-)


http://www.good-guys.com/news/hotNews.aspx

DH arrived at Westworld early this morning to help with the final set-up before the gates opened up at 8 a.m. We had 4 cars on display that will be auctioned off in January.

We had the B-J Motorcoach with the cars on either side of it, tables in front to hand out poster calendars and an observation deck above to overlook the fields of cars below.
The number of cars that showed up was Amazing!
Even crazier is that all the cars arrive by 8:00 a.m. and all leave at 5:00 p.m. They all do this each of the 3 days of the show. "CRAZY"!!!
The sound of Horsepower, the smell of Unburnt fuel in the air, and the vibrations felt in your body as some of these incredible pieces of art roll by makes any car "ADDICT" smile as if in a ZEN like state.
DH is so upset that he has to get up and do it all over again tomorrow morning, Saturday.
Oh the Inhumanity!! LOL!

A shot from above the Motorcoach.


Another shot from above the Coach.


Another shot from above the Coach. Look at all the cars. Amazing!!
Remember they all have to leave at the end of the day and return in the A.M.


Oh Yeah, I almost forgot. We even have our own blimp to fly. We had to fill it with Helium. Let's just say that step alone is it's own adventure. LOL!


Here's the Goodguys Car of the Year for the West Coast for 2008. "SAH-WEEEEEEEEEEEET"

DW will be joining DH at the car show tomorrow and DH will take more pictures to share.

Rain Delay

Today was the day of the 2nd to last Nascar race of the season here in the Phoenix area at the Phoenix International Raceway.
We attended the race last year but decided to take a pass this year.
Good thing we did!
The race started at 1:45 and had about 1/2 hour rain delay from 2:30 to 3. It didn't look too bad on tv.
Well, we found out differently!
About 1/2 hour after the race resumed, the storm hit our house!
There was actually Thunder!
DW took the following picture thinking we'd only get a few sprinkles but it was pretty exciting! We don't remember the last time we had rain fall!

Well, the sky opened and in just a few short minutes, there was actually hail! DW had been upstairs checking to make sure the rain wasn't coming in the windows we had opened when she noticed hail on the neighbors roof! She high-tailed it downstairs, yelling "it's hailing!" and grabbed the camera to get the following picture. This is a rug that is just outside our back door under the patio overhang.

Meanwhile, the rain poured down!

After the rain had stopped, DW stepped out the front door and surveyed the clouds. She took the following pictures and only after about 30 seconds outside, there was a lightning strike too close for comfort! DW ran back inside and slammed the front door! And yelled "Holy S%#$, Holy $%^%!"
But she managed to snap the following pictures showing the storm as it passed us.





It had been cloudy most of today. We're so used to it being sunny everyday that when it's cloudy, it's just weird. But we manage!
We hope everyone is keeping safe and warm in Minnesota!

Incredible Dining Experience

Tonight, we decided to treat ourselves by dining out. The whole first year we lived in Phoenix, we would drive by a newer seafood restaurant on a daily basis. We had heard wonderful things about their food, so tonight we decided to give this restaurant a try.
Neither of us are huge seafood fans, but we will eat fish and we'd been told they also have steaks on the menu.
We went early, about 5:45 p.m. and when we entered the restaurant, we only saw 4 other tables with patrons. But on the other half of the restaurant, there were approximately 30 people in the bar area. We were seated in an elegant booth in the dining room and opened our menus.
Before we had a chance to review the menu, our server placed a bowl of tortilla chips and a dish of salsa on our table. We looked at each other with raised eyebrows. So this is how seafood places operate now? Apparently they weren't so much a seafood place as a mexican food place.
Ok, we'll go with that.
DH ordered a taco salad and DW ordered a balsamic chicken wrap. Our server was very prompt and attentive. Our food arrived after a short wait and we enjoyed it. The food I mean.
Our dining experience just seemed to get weirder and weirder. There was a gentleman who had apparently been outside holding a sign advertising the restaurant and now decided that he needed to be in the restaurant and loudly claiming that the fact there were 5 whole tables of guests was because of him and his work.
Ok. We'll let that one go.
One of the waiters brought 3 balloons to children seated at a table behind us. Once again, we looked at each other and waited for the inevitable.
Yup, about 2 minutes later, one of the balloons hit a sharp decoration hanging from the wall and popped. From the kitchen, we heard one of the employees say he thought it sounded like gunfire coming from the dining room.
Ok, once again, we let it go.
Neither of us had finished our dinner when our waitress brought our check and told us she would take care of it when we were ready. But there was no hurry.
Really? Seriously? Ok.
We decided not to rush since there were still 20+ empty tables in the restaurant and we figured they didn't Really need ours RIGHT NOW!!
After finishing her chicken wrap, DW was eating the seasoned fries on her plate when one of the waiters came over and asked if she was finished and could he take her plate?
DW looked at him and finished chewing the fries in her mouth before replying "no, I'm sorry. I'm not done yet."
Seriously? Seriously??
Ok, we let that one go too.
We couldn't stop giggling now though! It just kept getting better!!
After another waitress came by and asked DW if she was finished with her plate (yes, she was, finally). Instead of taking the plate, the waitress said she'd be right back to get it.
So now, they Really Don't want to take the plate!
A table of 4 was soon seated behind DH and one of them asked the waitress where all the seafood had gone from the menu. We heard the waitress tell them that the restaurant had gone through 3 menu changes since she'd been there. We didn't hear how long that had been but apparently it was a relatively short time.
Our plates were finally cleared from the table and a young waiter stopped by our table and asked how we enjoyed the food. We both said the food was good. The waiter felt some inexplicable need to tell us that he'd like to order some food but he loaned $20 to his friend and now his gas tank is near empty and "Holy Crap", he doesn't have any money!
SERIOUSLY???!!!!
As we left the restaurant, we were still giggling and told each other that next time, we have to remind each other to "Turn it off!" Our Freak magnet, that is!!
Life is one constant adventure!!

Oh, The Embarrassment!!

We hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween!
Lots of ghouls and goblins made a quick stop at the Jarvi household for Halloween candy last night. From 6:30 to 8:00, we had about 50 trick-or-treaters show up at our house. The funniest one was a young man about 12 years old who was dressed as a zombie mummy with lots of wrapping hanging down over his face. After a handful of candy was dropped into his outstretched pillowcase, DW observed him actually sticking his face into his the pillowcase. DW looked to his companion who explained that he can't see through his costume. She grabbed his elbow to turn him around to leave and realized he really couldn't see!
And here are our 2 dogs, they were feeling the Halloween spirit as well as a Ballerina and a Pumpkin!


Or NOT! It's almost like they're embarrassed or something!
But DW thinks they look Adorable! And the tiara on Phoebe's head lasted about 3 seconds after the picture was taken! Yes, DW is one of THOSE people! But just see how cute they are!
Ok, back to reality.
A couple of weekends ago, DW drove to Las Vegas to support DH during the latest auction. And DW learned the hard way that you don't wave to someone to get their attention while you're sitting on an auction floor. All is fine, no car was actually bought and other than that one time, DW had a Great time wandering around the auction! Lots of wonderful cars, cool memorabilia and even drifting! The room that DH had was on the 27th floor of Mandalay Bay and had a Great view of the drifting track and the car tents. Here's a view from the room taken at night.


Oh, and by the way, don't forget that Daylight Savings Times ends early Sunday morning. So those of our friends back in good ole' Minnesota, don't forget to change your clocks and gain an hour of sleep!

Vegas Baby!

Yes,
DH is still alive.............. Sore, Exhausted, Tired, Yet functional!!

All DH can communicate is "WOW, ONE HELL OF A SHOW" - "CAN I GO SLEEPY NOW"????

After two weeks of walking the Mandalay property, DH could kick anything that you might need knocked down. His legs are STRONG now. With the help of some recommendations for footwear from the "OKIES", DH had a successful auction with little to no pain of any sort with his feet. Thank you "OKIES" your input was AMAZING! I can now look forward to Scottsdale and not have to worry about being uncomfortable.

What can I say? Vegas was an amazing accomplishment. For the first time at a site of this magnitude and to pull it off successfully, is a feat in itself. The cars were amazing, the turn out was amazing. Mandalay Bay as a Resort itself is amazing...... DH & DW would love to go enjoy what the property has to offer during non auction times............

Here are a few photos of DH with a few cool cars at Mandalay Bay.
With the Scottsdale Auction right around the corner, hopefully we can keep up to date with the blog. Sorry it has taken so long to update.



This is a photo of DH with a 1968 Plymouth "HEMI" road runner. DH was able to drive this car to a security check point where he could take a left to re-enter the auction site, Orrrrr take a right and make a run for it. He thought long and hard on this decision and of course with the little man on his shoulder guiding him as he has through life, DH proceeded to the auction site. DH stated "That had to be ONE of the most difficult decisions of his life"! For those who know DH best, this body style and "HEMI" option would make 99% of Mopar fans think the same thing. It was a great reminder of the past.


Here's a photo of a 1969 Plymouth GTX. DH has been a fan of this body style since he was in High School. DH hopes one day he can again navigate one of these "MONSTERS" down the road with the biggest of smiles on his face.

Here's a photo of DH's room that overlooked the parking lot. It was really cool to get back to the room at night and overlook the 480' long car tents and everything around them. It was a great sense of accomplishment to see it from the 27th floor of Mandalay Bay.

Hope all is well with everyone! Just so you know, it's supposed to be 92 Degrees here tomorrow.
Hopefully we are heading to the State Fair tomorrow. Weather permitting. "GIGGLES" :-)

Dickies Dogs - Update!

What the heck is happening here??

http://www.azcentral.com/community/scottsdale/articles/2008/09/29/20080929sr-dynamite0929ON.html

Beamz

We were exploring this weekend and ran across this awesome Musical creation. It's AWESOME!
DH & DW actually had the chance to play around with it. Perhaps in the future we will own one. It's really cool. Enjoy!
www.thebeamz.com



Hope everyone is doing well. We miss all of you!

TnA

PHOENIX "NEWS"

In the "NEWS"
We posted a blog not too long ago about this place. It has the BEST chili dogs and the guys DH works with eat here probably once if not twice a month. "CRAZY"!! What is the world coming to?

PHOENIX -- Scottsdale police and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms are investigating an explosion that caused extensive damage to a restaurant in north Scottsdale.The explosion happened late Sunday at Dickie's Dogs, at Bell Road and Thompson Peak Parkway.The owner was inside the deli-style restaurant when he heard glass breaking followed by an explosion. He was injured, but not seriously.The same business was pipe-bombed four years ago.Police did not release information about the type of explosive device used in the latest explosion, but they said it was not a random act."It's just early in the investigation, so we're going to have to put the interviews together with the forensic evidence they collect to try and determine what happened," said Scottsdale Police Sgt. Mark Clark.The restaurant did not have surveillance cameras, Clark said."There is no videotape in the business or the immediate businesses next door, but we are going to be looking at other areas of this shopping center to see if there's other video that may give us some help," said Clark.The restaurant's appliances were pierced by shrapnel. Investigators were going through the business with a fine-toothed comb Monday morning, pulling fiberglass insulation and other items.A neighboring chiropractic office was also damaged.

Gathering of friends

Friday night we were invited to a friend's house for a small get together. We arrived at 8:15 p.m.
When we walked in, we were introduced to someone we had not met before. He is good friends with a friend of DH's friend's wife.
Come to find out, he is a world class Chef.
___________________________________________________________________


Executive Chef
Paul Carter is the Executive Chef at The Phoenician, a 654-room luxury resort in Scottsdale, Arizona. Chef Carter supervises a staff of over 150 and nine kitchen operations including Windows on the Green, The Terrace, The Phoenician Café/ Ice Cream Parlor, The 19th Hole, Oasis Grill, Canyon Oasis, In Room Dining, and all the Banquet kitchens. He also oversees pastry, bakeshop, butcher shop, pasta shop and garde manger operations. As the resort’s Executive Chef, he takes charge of all menu creations and preparations, overseeing daily supervision and training of restaurant staff. According to Carter, “Perfecting simplicity, is the essence to great food.”

Chef Carter’s worldwide background has provided him with a culinary expertise that far exceeds his 17 years of cooking. His love affair with the kitchen dates back to his early teens. A native of London, Carter attend Colchester Institute of Culinary Arts in Essex, at the young age of 15 yrs. Upon earning a three-year culinary degree, he began his cooking career at the Hotel Sonnenhügel in Bad Kissingham, Germany where he held the title of Commis de Cuisine. He later served in the same capacity at Chateau de Montreil in France for three years. After rising through the ranks in the kitchens, he moved to the venerable Connaught Hotel in London where he held posts in all kitchen operations from butcher, to garde manger, saucier of fine dining, to banquets. In 1992, Carter moved to the United States to head up kitchens at world class resorts including Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel, California where he held the position of “Saucier” for the fine dining restaurant. He held the position of Executive Sous Chef at the Ritz Carlton, Naples, Florida and also the Executive Chef at the exclusive Vinings Club in Atlanta, Georgia. Prior to joining The Phoenician, he was Executive Chef at the Ritz-Carlton Cleveland, Ohio.

Carter is the 1991 recipient of the coveted William Heptionstall award, an honor given to “The Most Enterprising Young Chef in the U.K.” He also received the Maitrise Culinaire Diplome by Palmes Culinaire in 2002.
__________________________________________________________________

We had a great time with everyone. One of DH's co-workers made what are known as "Tony's Nacho's". They're made with the "SCOOPS" you buy in the store. They consist of filling each and every "SCOOP" with blended beans, beef, and many other fixens. You place them on a cookie sheet and arrange them to stack on top of each other as a pyramid. You sprinkle assorted cheeses over each layer, then keep layering until the structure threatens to tip over. Then you place in the oven to melt the cheese and enjoy! It's a great idea and every "SCOOP" you get has everything in it. Brilliant idea! He owns the rights to this.

Chef made a treat for all of us for dessert. "Tequila Chocolate soufflé". We each had our own individual soufflé and believe us, they were to die for! Perfect melty chocolate with a warm gooey center and the best vanilla bean ice cream ever!
This was the BEST dessert we've ever had. We hope sometime in the future we can have a lesson in cooking from him to step up our cooking knowledge.

We hope all is well with each and everyone of you! We miss you all!

"WESTGATE" Entertainment

This past Sunday we were feeling like we needed to go do something. Some friends of ours said we need to go and check out the Westgate area. They said it's got great food and entertainment.

We headed out on an unknown adventure again here in AZ. They have so many unique areas to explore that you just wouldn't have the time to see them all if you tried during a short vacation! Westgate has really cool fountains that dance to music that plays through the speakers as you wander about.
This place was immaculate. Workers were pushing around carts with soap and water to wipe down everything. Tables, columns, chairs. It was really a great place to check out.
We noticed all the palm trees had Christmas lights on them and can only imagine what it looks like at night. We will venture back here at night and check it out.

This photo shows the stadium where the Arizona Cardinals football team plays. It is just a stone's throw away from Westgate. You can imagine what this place is like when a game is scheduled!

We stopped and had lunch at Jimmy Buffet's "Margaritaville"
The food was fantastic and the restaurant was really cool.
http://www.margaritaville.com/

DH had the jerk chicken. It was delicious! And the BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger DW had was Great as well!

We continued our exploring after lunch and ran across Lots of Harley riders. We thought "what in the world is going on here"? Well.............

We ran across a huge Pink fire truck that is on tour for Breast Cancer.

They had a huge turnout and all these big burly guys wearing Biker Jackets and sporting major Tattoo's all walking around with pink on. It was really cool to see. http://www.pinkribbontour.com/

We were even able to get the driver of the fire truck and the Military escorts to pose for a photo. We thanked them and DH said a special "Thanks" to the serviceman for all they do for us. They got bright smiles and said "It's our Honor".
We smiled and continued on our way. That was a nice surprise for us.

As we were getting ready to head for home, we ran across this sign that had all different cities and countries and how far away they were from the spot we were standing.
DH & DW looked at each other and said "Do you think we can make it to Paris?"
We took a big chance coming here to Arizona & we wonder if we will ever be able to make it to France. DW has wanted to go there for as long as she can remember.
"Follow your dreams to pursue your destiny!" - The Harpinator

We leave you with one last photo of Westgate. Definitely worth the visit!!

Trip to Oh-Wah-Tan-ahhhhhhh

We're back in AZ from our recent trip to O-Town MN. We had a GREAT time spending it with our family and friends. We were able to head to the local Steel County Free Fair (SCFF). It's the biggest county fair in the state of Minnesota.

We ran into people from year's past and met family and friends on Friday night at Ye Ole Beer Gardens. This in itself is worth the trip.

We never realized how much the "Yaaa, Sure, You Betcha" is said in everyday conversation. DH & DW looked at each other in amazement every time we heard that........ We actually laughed out loud! Only because people laughed at us due to our accent when we first arrived here in AZ. We've been told that our accents have almost left us completely, but they still hear a little of it in certain words....
We love our roots and if people find our accent funny, by all means, laugh. We know sure ya betcha did don't ya know. LOL! :-)~

We went non stop from Thursday night when we arrived, to Sunday early afternoon when we boarded our flight back to Phoenix. We can't say enough how wonderful it was to see each and every one of you. Thanks again!!!!
Below you will see a few photos we took of our short and quick trip.

Here we are at "SKY-HARBOR" airport here in Phoenix. It's great that they allow you to park your car and have a view of the flights leaving the airport. DH could stand out here for hours watching the planes take off. "HOW COOL"

No trip to the SCFF would be complete without a photo with Steely the Steer. As you can see in the background, the sky was perfect. Not a cloud to be seen. For a second, we thought we were still at home in Arizona!
It's true, you DO get a few nice days in MN!

Here is a photo we took of Fair Square. It's an entertainment area that has a variety of performances happening throughout the day. This picture shows a friend of the family that was called on stage to be a helping hand. We didn't even know he was around till the performer picked him out of the crowd. It was a show stopper to say the least! Thanks for the laugh Gener!! :-)

A trip back to Oh-Town would not be complete if you didn't enjoy a Pizza Pie from Nick's Pizza Palace. This pizza is the BEST in town. DH & DW devoured the whole pizza in Olympic time! Mmmmmmmmmm