Cinco de "Drinko" & Walk for Animals 2013

WHAT a cray-cray weekend. I am barely able to function today due to the lack of sleep and abundance of fun.

 

Friday night for the Alpha Rev/Ben Rector concert - turned out to be a BLAST. Maybe a little too much fun with my girls Kinz and Kat, but we had a good time. Lots of dancing and laughing.

The concert was awesome. We met the lead singer of Alpha Rev who turned out to be a really nice and chill guy.

My only regret was not enough dinner and lack of sleep for the Walk SUPER early on Sat morning...

 

 

 

The 2013 Walk for Animals was awesome. The weather somewhat cooperated and didnt rain on us, although it was quite chilly out (39 degrees at 8am). We trooped it  with a group of 15-20 people and pups. Griffin did great but was pooped out so Brady and I turned around after about a mile and half, so we walked probably 3 of the 5 total miles.

Here are some fun photos from the day!

- The big boy, Windsor, is a Bermese Mountain Dog and totally resembles Griffin's coloring. "Dad?"

-  my friend, Lacey, raised over $1,000 personnally so I had to get a shot of her cool button!

- We all sported our awesome "Gunnie's Pack" t-shirts too!

- the little one is Maddie, she is Steph and Justin's niece and was sooo adorable. Like usual. :)

 

Gunnie's PACK!

Awesome ladies for margs after the Walk!

 

Saturday night we had people over and played the FUNNIEST game ever. "Cards Against Humanity" and ordered yummy pizza. This game - think a not "PC" dirtier version of Apples to Apples. Yep. I instantly went on Amazon and bought my own copy. TOO funny.

 

Buy it here: Cards Against Humanity

 

 

Sunday was SO beautiful outside - thank god - so some friends came over to sit on our patio. Enjoy "Strawbaritas" (Google that. Yum!) and eat some tacos. It was such a fun day! Brady and I ended the beautiful day with an evening walk with the pups and our Sunday night shows.

 

 

Anyways - it was an AMAZING and fun weekend with friends, who really are family! I loved every minute of it. And now it's Monday, but it's 75 degrees out so I will enjoy it!!

 

 

 

 



Sunshine and VEGGIE BURGERS!!! (13.2)

happy monday Tuesday! (What happens when you forget to finish your post)...

 I feel slightly like i have been hit by a bus. This past weekend has been the first time Mpls has hit the 70's in sooooo long, it was the first Spring/Summer weekend in over 7 months i think?

Yuck.

 

So, of course, I spent the ENTIRE weekend outside! First time my feet have been dirty and sore from flip flops in TOO long!

 

Friday, Saturday AND Sunday = GRILL OUTS!!

 

Friday was a spectacular little grill out with my hubby cooking up some pork chops, salad and amazing red potatoes!

Check out this spread!

Dash and Griff also enjoyed the sunshine - playing and fighting over their tennis balls in the yard...

 

 

On Saturday, Brady went camping with our friend, Brian, and took Dash along for the adventure. It was the first "Griffy-Mommy Day" and we took advantage.

First we went for a ride in Brian's HOT Infiniti with the sunroof open and cruised over to The Gregerson's for grillout #2 :)

 

 

Griff and Lola - their little rat terrier once again proved there is such thing as real love. See Steph's post here about their lovefest: Insert Classy Here

 

Griff did awesome over there. He chilled on my lap and got treats with Lola and Quincy too!

 

 

One thing I AM SO EXCITED about is a NEW food I tried and LOVED!

VEGGIE BURGERS!

For those who are new, I started this blog to document my "Thirty Before Thiry" and one of my #s is to try 5 foods I thought I would hate.. and yes, I am a picky eater, so veggie burgers definitely qualify.

This one was a gem! I am so proud of myself and also glad I have friends that feed me when I come over empty handed ;)

J grilled up some MorningStar Griller's Choice Prime - and I was BLOWN away!

 

Yay for a good weekend and double YAY for veggie burgers!

 

 

 

 

 

#13.1 Trying "Pho" for the First Time

da da da DA!!! I have officially crossed off an item on my 30 Before 30 List! This is just 1/5 of the task at hand though, but I am STILL excited!
Task at hand #13 = "Try 5 foods I thought I would hate."

Turns out, it is easier than I thought since I am a fairly picky eater... I have gotten extremely better over the last few years, but still I am not one to branch out of my comfort zone. So, for months, my co-worker and friend, Mike, has been trying to convince me to try "pho" at his favorite Vietnamese restaurant by the U called Bona. Usually when we go there for lunch, I stuff my face with their delicious cream cheese wontons and get a boring chicken and rice dish.

BUT, since this list has inspired my blog or my blog has inspired this list... (chicken or egg?) I decided to give "pho" a whirl.

In case anyone reading this is just as picky as me - here is a little 'ol definition of "Pho:"

 

Phở ( listen) is a Vietnamese dish consisting of broth, noodles made from rice, a few herbs, and meat.^[1] It is a popular street dish,^[2] and the specialty of several restaurant chains. The two main varieties are chicken pho and beef pho. There is also Saigon-style pho (sweetened) and Hanoi-style pho (no sugar). The word "pho" may be derived from French pot-au-feu (beef stew).^[

 

 

- It sounds fairly simple - so I gave it a whirl. I will say that the broth was VERY sweet with some Asian zing. I thought the chicken and hoisin sauce with the dish were very good. The noodles were good but pretty bland. The fact that I don't really eat beef at all anymore probably made the fact that it was "beef stock" not the best.

 

 

my Pho dish at Bona

 

 

Final Verdict: 5/10 - I probably would try it again somewhere else to get another experience of Pho. But, I may not be a new Pho addict. I am still proud of myself though for trying! :)

 

 

proud of myself for my "Pho Adventure"!!