Strong is the new…no it isn’t.

Posted on February 19, 2013 by tosabarbell

There is a great interwebz myth going around that Strong women’s body types is the new something or other. Look, I’m not going to begrudge someone the chance to make some cute T-shirts. But the idea that strong looking women is new is just wrong and I’m getting a bit weary of the amounts of bathroom stall shots we see each day trying to prove the point that muscles are ok (with pouts. Why do the bathroom shots always include pouts?)

Kathrine Brumbach was born in 1884…LONG before the skinny ideal came into play. She set the tone for strong women and even did it without a bathroom shot.

The point is, looking like a Strong woman has always been in. If you or someone you know bought into the old “skinny” is good or even the now popular “strong looking with diet and self-photo” issues then chances are you’ll go ahead and follow the next cutsie trend that will emerge.

But Strong? Strong isn’t new.

Every step a fucking adventure.

Al Swearengen

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Monday Bacon: Bacon

Posted on February 18, 2013 by tosabarbell

We ventured down to the Harley Davidson Museum yesterday for some Bacon. Yes, Bacon. It’s was a local radio station’s annual Baconfest and Bigg’s brother was on the ball enough to get tickets the day they went on sale since they sold out last year in short time. We’ve been pretty excited aboot this for about a month now and it didn’t disappoint.

Our line started with some Patrick Cudahy BLT Dip and I knew I started with my favorite. It wasn’t fancy or especially pretty but the flavors were tasty and served up with tortilla chips. Something I hadn’t considered going into this is how much I’d be eating so I quickly put aside any feelings of guilt for what I was about to do to a mostly healthy diet.

We grabbed plain ‘ol bacon after that and after the boys went and grabbed drinks, we got things underway in earnest. I know I’m forgetting things but here’s the list…

Candied Bacon; Bacon wrapped brownies; Bacon tostada; Bacon and Wisconsin cheese sausage (another favorite of mine); Bacon Chocolate; Bacon donuts (Oz’s favorite); Bacon wrapped dates. Which brought us to these:

Photo: Bacon and egg bloody Mary's! Love baconfest!

Deviled egg and bacon Bloody Mary’s. Those were tasty. At this point, we stopped long enough to realize that a person may indeed have their bacon limits. But we didn’t come to quit so we ventured forward. From the drinks, we had…

Bacon meatloaf; Bacon chicken wraps; Bacon pizza; Bacon and chocolate ice cream; Bacon wrapped dates; and a snow scraper.

After a fun stop at the Blue Moon booth, I tapped out. I was able to force myself to taste the Bunzel’s  Bacon Mac’n’Cheese and their Bacon pulled pork, barely. The Bacon coma that came shortly afterwards was well worth it. As is the salt bloat I’ve got going on meow.

Now that we’ve got one of these under our belt, we’ve strategized on how to approach it next year. We’ll go at 1pm instead being there right at noon, the crowds had died down significantly by 1pm (about the time we were leaving) but there’s still plenty of food left. We can split it up and take a little break between sides (we actually missed half an aisle due to not wanting to fight the crowd.) This will be easier too with less of a crowd. Lastly, the day or two before Baconfest, I’ll water up to combat this salt intake. It’s good I can wear sweats to work cuz anything tighter than those will be a no go for today.

My first Baconfest was an absolute blast and we got some good ideas for new recipes. Special thanks to Bigg’s bro, TJ, who was on the ball enough to get us tickets right away.

The best way to cap off Bacon day? A hockey game, of course. My hockey Kid’s big brother plays for the Abbotsford Heat who were in town playing our Admirals last night. I got word late Saturday that Eddy’s folks were coming into town for it so we met them at the game and were able to catch up. It was a blast. The moment of the game? When the too drunk/too loud fans behind screamed “YOU SUCK 24!” Ya, that’s the elder Eddy and Papa Eddy started laughing as he was enjoying his ice cream. It was a good lulz.

Either you love bacon, or you’re wrong.

Bacon Proverb

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Goalie Angst

Posted on February 14, 2013 by tosabarbell

Well, it’s finally happened. A High School hockey goalie has finally gone off the deep end. No, he didn’t beat up his wife COUGH*rOY*COUGH but he clearly broke. The big sports story of the week went down in little ‘ol Farmington Minnesooooota where a senior goaltender gave one last F.U. to the head coach by scoring on his own goal, having Dad ready at the door to come off the ice and flipping his coach the bird all the way out.

And in current fashion…it’s on video.

I’ve read at least ten accounts of the incident and the only thing clear is… we don’t know what’s going on with that team. What I know is that anyone who dons the pads is cray cray. Pure and simple. The purpose of the game of ice hockey is to SCORE GOALS. Therefore; the five players coming at you have one goal in mind (heh) Beating YOU! At times (most times), your own players will be your worst enemies so you get to get them out of your way too. If you’re a very good goalie (yes, even at the high school level in a Hockey State such as Minnesota) there is an added element that the opposing coach will advise at least one of his players to take you out of the game. i.e. HURT YOU! The last little bit of the knife in the heart belongs to the hockey coach. Their “respect” and “coaching” of you lasts one save at a time. The game winning goal “you” let in means you’re shit. They let it be known that you WILL be replaced with one mistake.

All this is known and STILL these poor souls decide to put on the pads. I’d also like to give an honorable mention to the other hockey parents. Those who find it necessary to pick every moment of your play apart while turning a blind eye to the complete inept play of their own child. You people? You suck.

There are a lot of opinions on what went down. Some adults say that this boy will never get into a decent college or find a good job once his name is googled and prospective employers see this. (Ahhhh, settle down people.) Some believe he did the right thing sticking it to the coach. OH! And before you “what about the team” people chime in, there are reports that at least some of the players knew what he was going to do and supported him.

I’m torn. If Zandra wanted to do this to coach Fabel, in the moment I probably would have been game and said go for it or at least supported her after the fact (actually it’s pretty certain that anytime I now see coach Fabel when I’m visiting town I’ll flip him off myself.) But at the same time, something in it just doesn’t sit right with me. Mostly I feel sorry for this kid, who spent years and years playing hard and perfecting his game and being tossed aside. That’s high school hockey. That’s hockey goaltending.

I don’t fear stopping a 100mph slap shot. I fear not stopping it.

Roberto Luongo

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BIS

Posted on February 13, 2013 by tosabarbell

Over 10 years ago, I took the  Z’s and baby Oz  to a local dog show. We were looking for something fun to do and it was free, free’s good. That’s where we met Lynn and Connie and their crew of Kuvasz. We were looking for a guard/family dog. When I got home and started reading up on the Hungarians, I quickly realized this was the breed for us.

This was my first experience with professional breeders and the entire pro dog culture. And yes, many of these dogs are professionals. Many of them are sponsored. What?! Yup. Sponsored athletes. This is serious business. We went to a few shows with Lynn and Connie and they were a marvel. Have you seen the movie Best In Show? As hilarious as the movie is, it really isn’t too far off the mark of reality.

Last night was the Big Show, Westminster Kennel Club’s annual dog show. It started Monday night with four groups and our favorites (the Working Group) was last night plus the Best In Show award.

The winningest Kuvasz of all time, Tanner, was picked out of the group and we’re very happy about that. Since he wasn’t up for the big award, I was rooting for the Old English Sheepdog “Swagger.”

He was clearly the crowd favorite and ended up with the new Reserve Best In Show. The winner, an Affenpinscher, was pretty cute too.

The best part of these pro’s? At the end of the day they’re just the family pet who need lappies for happiness…

The most important single ingredient in the formula of success is knowing how to get along with people.

Theodore Roosevelt 

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