In 2010 I ... lavished in deep-fried indulgences

The title of this post is in total avoidance of having to use "In 2010 I ... attended The Great Minnesota Get-Together." I really hate that phrase. And honestly, let's call it like it is - I'm not going to the Minnesota State Fair to "get together" with anyone. Everyone I'm "getting together" with rode the bus there with me. I'm attending the "get together" for a much higher purpose: to eat deep-fried craziness and moan about how terrible I feel afterward. (Which consequently tends to discourage others from wanting to get together with me.)

Having missed thousands of calories by not attending the 2009 MN State Fair, it seems that my teaming up with Morgan and Jake for this year's deep-fried tribute became an attempt to compensate, as is evidenced by this photo review of ingested items:

(image from The Hot Dish)
Deep-fried cheddar bacon mashed potatoes

(image from The Hot Dish)
Deep-fried french toast

(image from The Heavy Table)
Wine ice cream

Chocolate-covered bacon

Cheese curds

Scarily, that doesn't even cover it all. M & J shared a turkey sandwich, we all chowed on French Meadow's delicious fried risotto balls (so good), there were Sweet Martha's cookies in the mix and, of course, lots of beer and a bit of wine.

The icing on this coma-inducing fat fest? None other than Boyz II Men. We managed to take a face-stuffing break long enough to hear quite a few classics and covers by a group that was certainly a huge deal my youth. Starting their set with my fave, Motown Philly, among literally thousands and thousands of people clustered at the fair's free stage, I have to admit that I actually enjoyed the get-together part of this Minnesota tradition just a little bit, too. (Thousands who remember the same 20-year-old lyrics I do - and belt 'em out loud - will do that to me, I guess.)

In 2010 I ... had an epic 24 hours

It was a Saturday night that started simply enough. Text from Jason: "Any plans for the evening? Drinks?"

Twenty-four hours later we had over-indulged at The Bulldog with Morgan and a friend, gone tubing w/M and friend at Canon River (Agaaaain, I know. But it was on the summer must-repeat list!), continued the evening with 2 games of bowling and 4 rounds of pop culture trivia all fueled by countless beverages, of course.

I should have a lot to say about this, like how much fun we had, how beautiful the weather was, how I've begun to suddenly nod-off at work struck by flashbacks of this ridiculous day ... but frankly, I'm still too tired.