Roller Coaster, Favorite Ride

Ok so we went up to Cedar Point last weekend with Katy and Mike and it was amazing. There is nothing like Cedar Point during Halloween, but more about this later. I was a little bored studying for my midterm tomorrow so instead I made a list of my top ten coasters. As you can see it was too hard so it became a top 12 (the last 2 mostly for sentimental reasons). I will try to comment about this later, but this is how I feel. Would love to hear from you if you don’t agree. I know number 9 is Melissa’s favorite, especially in the dark.
Top Dozen Roller Coasters

1. Maverick – Cedar Point (Sandusky, OH)
2. Millennium Force – Cedar Point (Sandusky, OH)
3. Kingda Ka – Six Flags New Jersey
4. Superman: Krypton Coaster – Six Flags San Antonio
5. Kumba – Busch Gardens Florida
6. Nitro – Six Flags New Jersey
7. Kraken – Sea World Orlando
8. Bizarro – Six Flags New Jersey
9. Magnum XL – Cedar Point (Sandusky, OH)
10. El Toro – Six Flags New Jersey
11. Dueling Dragons – Island of Adventures Orlando
12. Montu – Busch Gardens Florida

Birthday Weekend

I thought I would write a little post about the weekend. As I mentioned earlier all the weekends in October are extremely busy and so was this one. We started with Ellie’s second birthday party, which was a blast. Went to a farm in the morning to do the hayride and apple cider thing, very nice. Ellie loved to climb on the pumpkins, which was hilarious to watch. After the farm we went back to Ellie’s house to eat some good hamburgers and pasta salad. There was also a great selection of cakes. One was an Elmo cake, which was cute, but also a little disturbing to see the children eat their hero. Ellie got some really nice gifts too. Many of her aunts and uncles from both sides were there and it was nice that Tom was able to get out of the house and come.

At about 9:30 it was time for the second party. Melissa and I went to celebrate Melissa J’s birthday by going to one of the haunted houses down in the brewery district. Lots of fun at that party too. The house was long and had a good scare level. After a couple of bars we ended up at Tee Jay’s for some delicious breakfast.

Thanks Brent, Stephanie, Melissa and Jim for a pair of great birthdays!

A Busy Weekend

Finally October, what a wonderful month with great weather and good fruit. It will be a jam-packed month with something going on every weekend. The first weekend we were invited down to PAIGE’S PRODUCE , the farm who we have done our CSA program through. Six months of going down to the Circleville farmers market are now over. At the farm we picked out pumpkins, gourds, apples, mums and acorn squash. We also enjoyed corn fresh from the grill, corn bread, apple butter, 2 second old apple cider, and a variety of excellent cookies (the apple cookies were particular scrumptious).

On our way back we had two options for lunch. Option number 1 was THE THURMAN CAFÉ, which is supposed to have the 6th best burger in the U.S. after living her for so long it is a shock that neither one of us has been there yet. Option number 2 was The Ohio Deli, known from the show MAN VS. FOOD where one can tackle the Dagwood, which Adam calls the easiest challenge he has ever done. Unfortunately neither I nor Jim were able to. It was a big sandwich, but it was not the size that was the biggest problem it was the poor quality meet. It was truly awful and so was Stephanie’s and Melissa’s food. I very much recommend people to skip this place and next time we will go to the burger place! If you want to see Adam beat the Dagwood please click HERE.

After the disappointing lunch it was nice to go into a food coma and watch the Buckeyes beat Illinois.

Sunday was more of a work day when a lot of homework got done and also some work on the car with new tires and an oil change. Need to get some new headlights and then both cars are ready for the winter.

Check back for some pictures!

Working Out

With the stress of moving and new jobs and new school one thing that has been forced to take a back seat is working out, which is very unfortunate, but true. Now finally I feel like we are getting into a routine and there is time for working out. Melissa took me, as a guest, to the Denison’s workout facility. I have to say that Wittenberg’s facilities are much better, but it is nice to have an indoor track at Denison. Hopefully this will improve our health and shape, we’ll let you know how it progresses.


Now it is time for some dinner and TV. Castle is on soon!

It’s just another Manic Monday

Nico complained via facebook, I know stick to one social media, that we haven’t posted anything for a while and he is right and this needs to be corrected. After a busy weekend (more about that in future blog posts) it is now a new week, the first one in October already. This is a busy Monday, like most Mondays are, but thanks to Timmy H I think I will get through it. Melissa is driving all the way to Kent State and back for a site visit, last week of those so she will be more in Granville starting next week. I had the pleasure of babysitting little Ellie this morning. She woke up early which was not great for my plan getting some studying done, but we had fun eating yogurt and watching Sesame Street (for the Swedish crowd it is a slightly inferior version to five ants are more than four elephants). After sitting I went straight to the mall to pay my bill for Melissa’s engagement ring (almost fully paid now) and then to OSU for class and study. When I was In the mall I saw that they are opening up a Teavana there, which is pretty exciting! Now I have to study some Micro Economics (Nico’s favorite subject) before class in policy implementation.

Ohio Apples are good

One of the best things with fall in Ohio are the apples. I don’t know what more to say. They are delicious!

Meghan's and Steve’s Wedding

Since we alluded earlier to Marta’s and Kevin’s wedding I thought we should briefly mention the other beautiful wedding we went to this summer. On July 26 Melissa’s friends Meghan and Steve got married. It was held at the Franklin Park Conservatory . and really beautiful. The reception was in the palm house, which made it special and it was cool being surrounded by Chihuly glass. Karyn took this picture of Melissa and me at the event.

Griffin House at Station

After sitting through a long and grueling orientation session at OSU all day, where the only highlight was that I got to know a Finish Olympic hockey player, I had a nice evening in Springfield. Conor, Criste (his gf), and I went down to Station to hear Griffin House play , which was awesome. Too bad Melissa was in Granville and couldn’t go with us. She likes hearing him play as well.

The St. Michael’s Festival

Last night the Jackson clan went to the St. Michael’s Festival. This was apparently an annual highlight back in the day when all the kids worked different stands; Joe, Scott and Brent all had fun memories from the lollipop tree. The highlights this year was, I think, different for all of us. Ellie and Addie loved the youngest Beatles Tribute Band, they danced to the music all night long. Their parents and grandparent loved seeing them enjoy themselves. I loved all the little small games. I managed to win an octopus for the kids by shooting a cork riffle, well Scott and I managed to win one together. Melissa’s favorite was of course the funnel cakes. For the Swedish readers who are not familiar with the St. Michaels Festival it is easy to explain what it is with two words: Skanninge Marknad (although a little more innocent, it is a church fundraiser after all.)

Right now we are getting ready for Breakfast. Jim is cooking up something delicious and we are just waiting for Su-Ann, Joe, Claudia and Jessica to get here and the feast will begin.

In other news it is raining for the first time in ages, which is actually very nice.

Gallery Hop

The first Saturday of every month the Short North District in Columbus has something called Gallery Hop, where all the galleries are open until 10pm. This is always a fun event and when the weather is like it was yesterday it can’t be beat. Melissa, Emily, Addie and I went yesterday. We enjoyed some of the galleries, but also some very nice clothing stores including a second hand store with some awesome deal. Of course we finished the night with some Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream. It was exciting to try some of their new seasonal flavors like cucumber-cantaloupe with cayenne and the red beats which I have now forgotten what it had with it. I think we all liked it, but Addie probably enjoyed it the most. She also loved all the street musicians and danced all the way back to the car.


Now we are leaving to go to Old-Time Pottery where we will hopefully find some centerpieces for the wedding.

Wish us good luck!

Babies

We spent the weekend with Melissa's sister Stephanie and her husband Jim. We had a good time with them and their daughter Ellie, who I babysat on Monday. Good times with lots of Elmo so now I know my ABCs. On Monday evening the Jersey people: Scott, Emily, Addie and Porter showed up to enjoy the beginning of Buckeye season in Columbus. It will be fun hanging out with all the kids.

Today I will have to go down to OSU to "check-in" make sure I got off the plane ok and some more lame things. Melissa and Emily will go with me and we will go for some Jeni's ice-cream and then go see Thomas in the hospital.

Thinking about making some homemade salsa with dinner, but it will be hard to make it in a spicelevel that wil please everyone I think.

Blog Color

A bridesmaid, Holly McHugh, just commented to me (via another social media (called facebook, maybe you have heard of it (nice double parentheses, love it))) that the brown is too dark as a background – and I agree. I wanted a more sandy brown so lighter, but now when I look at it my background is green. Weird! What do you think? In the meantime here is a picture of Hol Bol and the bride from their trip to Cape Mae. Maybe I should write a little introduction about everyone in the wedding party – project for the weekend!

Witt Wednesday

Since I don’t have a place to stay in Springfield anymore I usually end up at my buddy Conor’s This will also be true tonight. Thanks Conor! Conor has also agreed to be one of my groomsmen, which is really cool. Conor also gets underlined red in my word processor maybe that is why his dad thinks his name is Conner, or is it Conononer? Not sure. Anyways, about to get some dinner and then off to Witt. Hopefully Melissa has a good night in Granville reading Harry Potter.

Look Photography

Our friends Marta and Kevin got married on August 15th. It was a wonderful wedding up in Chicago with around 100 people so probably pretty similar to our. The Church was beautiful, the food was great and so on. Everything was really perfect including the wedding. I will put up some of my pictures from the wedding, but for now please go to LOOK PHOTOGAPHY to see Vicki and Tom’s beautiful pictures of the event. Vicki and Tom has over the last year become great friends of ours. It is wonderful to see them work and their great daughter. Currently they have an exhibit at the Westcott House that I encourage everyone to go visit.

Melissa’s old Job

I have to have a meeting with Melissa’s old work friends at the Wittenberg Community Service Office now. I am sure that will take longer than I planed. But, I like to talk to them and I’m sure they want know how Melissa is doing. And I have to be nice to Cindy since her husband makes the second best cabbage rolls in the world. My aunt Irith makes the best, but then again Hungarian and Swedish cabbage rolls are completely different. Still don’t get why Mike makes Hungarian though when his last name is Larson.

First Granville – Springfield Trip

I had my first morning commute between Granville and Springfield today and I have to say I thought it would have been much worse. It only took an hour and 15 minutes, which is really not all that bad. I could not help to think how wonderful it would have been if we had a fast train going parallel to I-70 with a couple of stops. That would have allowed me to do some work on the train or relax more than what you can/should while driving. Oh well maybe that will come some day. My drive was made easier with some good NPR and 50 cent delicious coffee from Whit’s. I have to say that the coffee from there makes everyone take pride in their community and say hi to each other in the morning. Very nice indeed. Melissa is traveling all over the state these next two days for site visits so she has the good car. I have to go get new tires on the old one today. Money I don’t want to spend, but have to.

Nice Bottle of Wine

Melissa and I just had dinner and enjoyed a nice bottle of Merlot that she got me a couple of months back. Wine is a nice gift by the way since usually you get to enjoy it too. Anyways it was a Woodvale Estate Merlot from California and it was very nice indeed; tasted just like a nice Merlot should. It was complex with many different fruits when it first hits your month and then a nice smooth finish. I read somewhere that nice California Merlots almost have a black tea/cigar box quality and I think I have to agree.

Tuesday Farmers Market

Melissa and I just got back from the Granville Tuesday farmers market. Lots of good things, but we already had corn, cucumber, squash and tomatoes so all we needed were some potatoes and a sweet onion. Now we need to cook something delicious with all this. I was thinking of making a homemade salsa since I also bought some peppers. Anyone have any good recipes? We also found the Pizza Pi Company, with delicious sauces and crusts!

First Dinner in Granville

Last night Melissa and I cooked our first dinner in Granville together. We got tomatoes from one of my volunteers (thank you Phyllis) and we got great mozzarella down at Jungle Jims the day before so we decided to make a tomatoes and mozzarella salad with balsamic vinaigrette. We also got a nice steak from Jungle Jims that we cooked and some red potatoes that we roasted in the oven with sea salt and rosemary. All and all the meal turned out great. The steak got a little overcooked, but that was mainly because we discovered that even the smallest amount of smoke sets off the fire alarm here so we had to talk to the fire chief (nice guy) while cooking. After dinner we went to WHITS for some frozen custard. Delicious!

Sunday at IKEA

Well Melissa has started to move in to the Rose House next to Denison Campus, where she will live for the next year while she works as an AmeriCorps Vista. The House is beautiful, but her apartment is a little small, really just a tiny bed room and a little living room. To do the most with the space Melissa and I decided to go down to IKEA to get the sleeper sofa SOLSTA. As always when you go to IKEA you buy more than you first planed, but I think we got some good deals. First we enjoyed a 99 cent breakfast with free coffee. Very tasty. After that Erik ran to Aisle 38 Bin 24 to get the last of the Solsta sleeper sofas, but once he got there he saw eight of them so it wasn’t necessary to get up quite that early in the morning. At IKEA we also got two very nice rugs, I am especially a fan of HULDA VILSE . We also got the nice computer table DAVE and some nice silver lanterns and buckets that we might create center pieces with. Before the day was over we also visited JUNGLE JIMSfor some international food and of course enjoyed 20 meatballs at IKEA. On the way back we did not stop at the Outlet Mall at Jeffersonville, let’s be honest neither one of us need more clothes.