(#2) Top Gun Pedal Pub

 

 

Hey Justin! Thanks for being born and turning 30. Thanks for having an awesome wife who plans a surprise 30th Birthday party on a pedal pub. And for making it Top Gun-themed.

That rocked my socks!

 

 

AND!! I just completed #2 on my "30 before 30" list! Yahoo!

 

 

This was definitely in the "DANGER ZONE" for TOO much fun! So, I will just try and post some of my favorite photos from this hilarious 2-hour experience.

 

 

 

Top 5 Fav Moments:

1. Our driver, Destiny, was AWESOME ("D-Box" -- not "Chow-Box", J!!)

 

 

 

2. Justin, when you came into the apt and saw us... Priceless confusion. :)

 

 

3. The hilarity that was my husband, including his fast peddling when we all stopped and the fact that he told me later there was a "mystery shot" that happened. Loved when I saw this photo. Yes, yes there was.

 

 

 

4. Just this entire group in general.

 

 

The fact that our "outfits" were so random (Thank you Brian)

 

And that we had so FUNNY laughs!

 

 

5. The fact that it was noon on a Saturday and we were the CRAZIEST group of wackos in St Paul!

 

 

 

 

Steph... I think we mastered the "thumbs up" shot... (She was the best bartender EVER, and yes, I am wearing a helmet!)

 

 

 

 

 

 There are about 300 more photos of this whole wacka-doodle day! Loved it! Can't wait to hire D-Box and the Pedal Pub Twin Cities for my next party... Hmm... Now I just need a good theme!

 

 



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!

 

 

 

 

 

Spring, where are you??? The Weekend Recap

This sums up April in Minnesota..

Snow, sleet, rain, freezing rain, ice... 

Seriously, where are you SPRING!?

Anyways -- despite this awful weather, I had a wonderful weekend. Here it is - all summed up for ya! :)

Friday - We FINALLY got over to see our favorite new parents and friends, Emily and Cory and their little "muffin man" Cohen. I can't believe he is almost 4 months old!! They got to meet little Griffin who is the exact same size as their little dog, Bertie - the coolest sweetest one-eyed Cockapoo EVER! I missed that fluff ball. Even though it was snowing, a fenced in yard is pretty awesome for the pups. :)

Me and little Cohen. Look at that POUT!! Melt my heart. 

Saturday morning, the dogs wanted to go for a walk since it was literally the only 3 hours of sunshine in days... Griffin is getting SO big! He is 23.5 lbs this morning!!! 

On a second note, Griffin has succeeded in making it onto the bed... He uses his "orthopedic" dog bed as a spring and Dash has nowhere to hide during Griff's psycho playtime. 

Don't let the sleepy boys fool you, they have destroyed my bed. lol 

Ps - Has anyone heard of Vine? Well, it's my new obsession. It's like Instagram for videos. You can make them as random or funny as you want. They are 6 seconds long and play on a loop. Here are some of my awful attempts from Saturday. 

Note: I started drinking during Brady and my HUGE spring cleaning day -- Derrick and Lacey stopped over to meet Griffin, and we got the day started... early. Haha. 

Here are some Vine Videos... 

"Wresting"... They are OBSESSED with that ball.

"Ducks" on a walk on Saturday through Loring Park

Saturday night we had dinner at Nami with my coworker Kim and her husband Tim "the Siegels." See how excited Brady was for the picture?

After some sake and sushi, we then ventured to North Loop Wine & Spirits for my other coworker's 30th Birthday, Mike Gale.

Ps on Friday afternoon, his little peanut, Isaac stopped by work. Such a cutie!

This wraps up the "2 Hour Beer Tasting Event" -- we were a little wild. And yes, Kim, brought her own Belvedere and olives. Classy. 

And the best Vine video so far... "I think these people are too classy for me" -- Kim.

Sunday - 6am wake up call. Feeling awesome... NOT. Haha. But we ventured in the snow, yes snow, to Woodbury for our oldest nephew, Carter's, First Communion. He was so cute and proud. I can't believe how big these boys are. 

Brady's only sister has 4 boys 7 yrs old and younger... Cater, Kohan, Cameron and baby Karson. 

They all melt my HEART! 

Don't you agree they should be putting this baby in Gap ads?! UGH - that face. Karson - i love him!! 

Anyways -- THIS is a long "Weekend Run Down" but what a fun-filled time it was :)

Pic Monkey - I love you.

Just had to write today about my new OBSESSION - Pic Monkey. Thank you to my friend Steph Gregerson over at http://insertclassyhere.blogspot.com for introducing me. Now, I just want to edit photos all day! :)

My newest creation instead of cold calling at my desk... WHOOPS!

#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"!!





Soundtrack of my Life

As I try and get into the habit of blogging with my 30 Before 30, I like the idea of fun, easy posts as well! :)

If your life were a movie, what would the soundtrack be?
So, here's how it works:
1. Open your library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, etc)
2. Put it on shuffle
3. Press play
4. For every question, type the song that plays
5. When you go to a new question, press the next button
6. Don't lie and try to pretend you're cool...

[OPENING CREDITS]: how do you feel - jefferson airplane

[WAKING UP]: hold on loosely - 38 special 

[FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL]: soft serve - soul coughing 

[FALLING IN LOVE]: roxanne - sting & the police 

[FIGHT SONG]: stop stop - black keys

[BREAKING UP]: when i see you smile - bad english 

[LIFE]: bridge over troubled water - simon & garfunkel

[MENTAL BREAKDOWN]: dump truck - blind melon 

[DRIVING]: somebody told me - the killers

[FLASHBACK]: my wild love - the doors (eep! haha)

[WEDDING]: sword and shield - sister hazel (now THAT'S weird - brady and i used to sing this song to each other when we dated the first time :)

[SEX SCENE]: wonderwall - oasis 

[BIRTH OF CHILD]: you're my baby girl - 2together (BAHAHA - 2gether - now THERE'S a band!)

[FINAL BATTLE]: ghost - howie day

[DEATH SCENE]: wicker plane - state radio

[FUNERAL SONG]: let it be - the beatles (OMG! That is crazy!)

[END CREDITS]: hurricane waters - citizen cope :)