Big deal in the mail...

Here I am mailing an important document.

Welcome to Just a Little Love on a Friday. Thank you for continuing to read this tripe. I am of course, not working today. Don't start on me, I am working tomorrow.

Lets start this week with Donna's response to last week, I will print it here just in case you did not see it at the bottom of the post last week...

"To defend myself, I don't say you "never" work I say that you don't work much. When you do work it is rarely a full 8 hour day that most normal people work.

Your blog is proof enough that you don't work. I don't usually accuse you of being a couch potato-I just wish I had as much time as you to do whatever I want. But you are a man so you aren't expected to clean. Or should I say, you aren't expected by society. I expect that you do.

In all fairness, Chris, it is people like you who teach people like me to learn to relax. Thanks for being such a good role model at relaxing and enjoying life.

Donna"

I am glad I can be a role model to someone else. Being a role model to the National Food Eaters Fan Club was getting to be a chore. Donna really needs to relax a bit more, then she wont be so uptight. Maybe a blog could help her relax.

Also I need to take care of the birthday list....
I missed July so here they are...


Jeff Stahl had his birthday was July 11th and he lives in Tahoe. Call him or email him and wish him well or call him and hate him for living in a warmer climate than you.
Brenda Iverson birthday was July 7th, she is the lovely wife of Steve who is a regular on this blog.


The Nordic Woman's Lisa Lucht birthday was 7/26 and we all wish her well on her special day because she has to put up with the Nordic one every other day of the year.

And here they are for August...

Scott Dahl birthday was August 12th, he is the official content proofreader and critic for this blog. He also fancys himself as a hockey player. I am sure he can skate backwards, I can't. Call him or email him and wish him well or congratulate him on his ability to skate backwards.



Nordicman's was yesterday 8/18, and we all wish the Nordic One the happiest of happy birthdays. I personally want to wish him a warm bratwurst and a cold beer on his happy day. If you would like to send your best wishes his way email him and tell him that Lederhosen is cool for fall. Thanks again man for taking me to the game. That is one I will remember for a long time. Vikes Suck.

Mike Chaussee birthday is August 31, Mike is a dingleschputz and lives in Bismarck North Dakota. Call him or email him and wish him a happy birthday or good luck with winter.

Now that the business is out of the way...

So I have had some time to do cleaning (which I did yesterday), I took care of McKenna yesterday, and I have had time to do some more immigrations paperwork. Yup, in case you are wondering what kind of paperwork they need, it was time for me to fill out the Canadian Citizenship forms. Now before you get your gitch in a bunch, it is just a logical step in the process. I live here I might as well be able to vote against the idiots in power, or for the idiots in power, and with membership comes the perks.


Here they are...

I know that this might be a shock to some of you in the states who have always known me as Mr. USA and that one of my favorite quotes of myself, if one can quote themselves, is "USA Number one!!". I will always wear my USA hockey jersey during the Olympics. Which I have been ridiculed for by my friends and just the passer by. I can't even tell you how many times I have heard, "Yankee go home" from some friendly Albertan. And those are the people I know. I fly Old Glory in front of the house on every July 4th, Sept 11th, Flag Day, Memorial Day, and election day. I also fly my Packer Flag on every game day.


Go Pack Go!

Now you may say, "Why Chris would you want to be a member of that country that you have ridiculed so much in the past?" Yes I have made my share of Canada Jokes. I know one of my favorite was "Why doesn't the US just go up and take over Canada? Because it is just NOT worth it." Good one, I giggle at that one everytime I hear myself say it. Well let me answer that simply, I live here. And truthfully, it is not that bad. Summer only lasts about three weeks and we are a million miles from anywhere, but there really isn't anything wrong with it here. I have documented in the past that a fan of good television cannon recieve HBO, ESPN, and Comedy Central. And a fan of good eats cannot get Peanut Butter Cap'n Crunch, Dakota Kid Sunflower Seeds, Funyuns, and the KFC does not have mashed potatos or corn bread. MMMMMM corn bread. Oh yeah and Mountain Dew has little or no caffiene in it. Aside from that, which when I look at it on paper, is a lot, it is good livin. One thing up here is going to the doctor does not cost an arm and a leg, it actually is nothing. No deductibles, no HMOs no grief. If you have to get a new hip it takes a while but my hips are okay as of right now. I like the medical system up here. Donna got a whole year off work when McKenna was born. That has done a lot in her development.

I have the best job ever, and it pays me well. We have a nice house in a good crime free neighborhood. Knock on my wood, or prefabricated fake wood.

The cultural diversity is amazing. Lots of people from everywhere living here. The city is somewhat progressive. Lots of good sports and music. I gots Pearl Jam tickets for next month, I have never lived anywhere before that Pearl Jam played. The people have been good to me, well except the a-hole managers at 'a' channel. Karma will get them. I guess the most important thing about being here is Donna. She likes it here and I don't see me really lasting long if I decided to go solo, I need someone to keep me in line, so here I am.

Don't get me wrong this is not an easy step for me, I had a lot of soul searching moments while I was filling out the paperwork. I just think at this moment it is a good idea for me to be a dual citizen so I can live on either side of the border. McKenna is a dual citizen so if a three year old can do it so can I. I filled out the paper, payed the fine ($200), took the picture, and sent it in. This will not change me, I will still be the a-hole American. Not quite as big as the one in the White House, but still and a-hole.


Nice picture.

I have covered these citizenship ceremonies in the past and there is one thing that I plan on doing when the time comes. There is a part in the ceremony where you raise your hand and repeat. In the repeat part of the program there is a segment where you say something about "allegiance to the Queen". Ah hell no. I will mumble during that part of the speech. I have a problem with allegiance to a Queen, King, or anybody other than Ric Flair and of course my wife. Whooooooooo!!

So there you have it. It has been a long time coming and I hope some of you do not lose any sleep over this. I am not any different if I have more than one passport. I will still use the USA one and my USA hockey sweater will not get put away, in fact I may wear it more often now. Nick get over this now, because I will fight any extradition that you try.


USA NUMBER ONE

Thank you all and GET BACK TO WORK!!!!

Phoenix was nice....

Hello, this is a pic of Jordi and me when we were in Phoenix on Monday. Self Portrait. I love those. Yes I know there is a cactus growing out of Jordi's head but I meant to do that.

Before I get into the week that was I have an email to share with you. It comes from the Nordic Man who was also there when Marty uttered those infamous words....


Nordic One and me at the Vikes game.


"Chris,

I finally got around to reading the love for the last two weeks. I couldn’t help but roll on the floor laughing my ass off. To this day I still can’t play poker without listening to Dennis Leary “Asshole” on the way there or if it is at my house during the game. It is a must! to start it off. Also the Dee Snider comment haunts me every time I play cards. At one point that night I thought my lungs had collapse and tore every muscle in my gut. The timing for that comment could not have been any more perfect. Thank you Marty for scarring me for life! I really do miss cards with you guys. It just isn’t the same, no matter how many pretzels, dorritoes, funyons, dip, etc... you eat and drink.

NordicMan"

MMMMMMMMMM Funyuns. I had the opportunity to partake of a bag of the 'Man Snack' this week. It is like heaven on earth. Jordi passed on the Funyuns though. Wuss. Whenever I go to the states always at the top of my list is to hit a store and get Funyuns, Dakota Kids (if I am in ND), Peanut Butter Cap'n Crunch, and YoHoo. All things that I cannot get here in Siberia.

Funny thing though, the only one we haven't heard from about the "Dee Snider Incident" is Hauser. He must be really F'd up about that. Good job Marty.



In fact I brought two boxes home with me on this trip of PBCC. McKenna loves it.

Okay. Let's take care of the birthdays for may. First off this month is Sonya Heitsusan. A fine Reporter who works at a Dead Moines station called WHO.


Happy Birthday Sonya, May 8th

Second in line we have Derek Venckus Scmenkus. He works as a flack in Tennessee. Memphis I believe. Used to work at NBC 26 in Green Bay.

Venckus birthday is on May 24th.

Marty also has a May birthday, so Marty, on May 17th, I tip one for you pal. Happy birthday. Stay away from Dee Snider.

Last but not least, Jordi Weidman my partner in crime for the Score had a birthday on Tuesday, while I believe I spent the longest day travelling ever. Airline travel just plain sucks.


Happy Birthday Jordi.

So back to business. We went to Phoenix on Sunday, to cover the Steve Nash MVP of the NBA conference. It was very short notice and we weren't there very long but it was nice. We got to interview Steve Nash, and go to game one of the second round of the playoffs. Now, you may ask "why did those lucky bastards get to go to that?". Well I will tell you. Since Steve is Canadian, everyone in Canada really cares. There were almost more Canadian media there than local. It was kinda madhouse. Steve Nash was a nice guy, the weather was about 90-100 degrees both days, and I got to see the Phoenix Gorilla dunk. Very cool.

We stayed at my parents resort house. My parents 'winter' in Phoenix. Yeah, lucky. So that is basically why I went. If we would not have had free lodging, Chris would have stayed in Siberia. Lucky I have connections in the states. Let that be a warning for all of you in the states. If something big in the sports world is going on in your town, you better believe that I will be pushing to go because I can stay for free at your house. Believe that.

On our way back we had to fly to Denver, wait for almost two hours, fly to Calgary, sit for another two, and then fly to Edmonton. Bad enough we had to be IN Calgary, but we had to sit for two hours while they had 'mechanical' problems. I hate Calgary. Anyway, since it was such a wonderful trip I thought I would treat you to a slide show.

Without further ado.....MY TRIP TO PHOENIX....


Here is a pic of the plane we flew from Denver to Calgary on. If it isn't the smallest plane in the world it is close. I hate small planes.


Here is a shot of the Rocky Mountains near Denver. Looks like we are flying over Edmonton with all that snow. Snow Sucks.


Denver airport. Nice airport, but airports still suck.


Here is what I saw mostly from Jordi on the way down. He is a great conversationalist, when he is not sleeping.


Bank One Ballpark. Home of the Arizona DiamondBacks. Big park. Funny thing though they had the roof closed the day before and it was about 90 degrees. I don't understand that. If they had a roof on Lambeau (God forbid) they would open that sucker the minute it hit about 33 degrees.


Here is a shot of all the cameras at the presser for Mr. Nash's MVP. Most of the cameras were from Canada.


Here is Steve when he called his teammates up to the podium to accept the award with him. Okay, I am still learning how to run Donna's Digi cam. I know I am a photog, I should know how. I suck. Get off my back.


Here is one hell of a good looking guy and his camera. Wow. Jordi takes the pic and it works, I take it and it doesn't. Get off my back, I suck.


Jordi standing next to a big ass cactus.


This is the clubhouse at the place where my parents own a small house. There is also a par 3 golf course there and a really nice pool.


Gratutious Sunset shot.


Okay now to the game. This is a pic of the Mavs bench. The guy with the green shirt standing up is Mark Cuban the owner. He is yelling at the team. I took this from a long way away so, okay, I suck.


Here is the Gorilla's Harley. I believe that it is a OCC bike. Made by the Tutels. I wonder if they almost missed their deadline on that bike. Oh wait, that is what they do on EVERY bike. Discovery channel joke. I am really grasping at straws.


The Gorilla. Rick Reilley did a story in SI just a couple of weeks ago about him. One mascot that I do not mind.


This one is for the Fellas. The Phoenix Sunsations. Enjoy, if it wasn't so out of focus. I suck.


David Stern holding a press conference. The Canadian media can get hockey out of anyone. He briefly spoke on the NHL. Amazing how obsessed Canada is with Hockey.


Here is the media seating at the game. That screen in front had real time stats on it. Pretty amazing. Great seats for the game. Those lousy media scumbags taking up good seats that fans should have. I had a pass for the floor, but I did not use it because we had a early flight and I had packed the camera away. Loser.


We did actually work while we were there. Here is Jordi writing his story. No really. We did not pose this picture up, we actually did work.


Finally this is a pic of us in Calgary with Sean Fleming. He is the kicker for the Edmonton Eskimos. CFL. He hates Calgary also.

Well that is all I have for you today. I hope you enjoyed the pics. I certainlly had a good time taking them, even though I am bad at it.

Have a good day and GET BACK TO WORK!!!