What I'm Loving Wednesday!

 

I like this Link Up. Here are few things I am loving about today!

 

1. Yesterday, I posted about a Zach Sobiech and his inpirational story (here) - Well, I just found out his song, "Clouds," just surpassed Justin Timberlake, Macklemore, Pink and Daft Punk to be

 #1 on iTunes!!!

That is just SO cool. A story about him here

 

 

I am also loving that it's almost Memorial Day Weekend which means a LOT of fun things:

 

2.  I am taking my parents and my 7 year old nephew to a Michael Jackson Tribute Show tomorrow evening at a local theatre. Jack is OBSESSED with MJ. He knows more dance moves and songs than I do at this point. I am so excited for him to love it. Here is a promo for this show:

 

 

3. It's my friends' Steph, Kinzie, Justin AND Caroline's birthday this week!!

LOVE YOU ALL - Can't wait to celebrate with you :)

 

 

4. I get to FINALLY go to my cabin and even if the weather is shit, I will be with my family for raking, drinking, and games!!

(Photo taken from my yard at my cabin. Silver Lake is heaven.)

 

5. My final thing I am LOVING right now are my GOOFY puppy children.

This is Griffin "wearing" my Havianas.

And

Dashel with a bone hiding in his mouth. Making sure noone could take it.

 

 

Happy Friday! Letters and Jams

Steph at Insert Classy Here - You have the best link ups. Thanks for being so cool and letting me be your shadow. :) Love you and our awesome HH last night. Your mom is AWESOME!

Dear Griffin - aka GriffyPants. I love you little man. You are 17 weeks today. And 33 lbs. And you were SUPER annoying this morning when you were terrorizing your brother, the yard, me, my couch... BUT I seriously am in love with you. You are growing up SO fast. from 6lbs to 33lbs in 11 weeks pal. WOW!

 

 

 

Dear Dashel - Thank you for being the most patient and amazing first born puppy. I love you more and more each day and your ability to be the gentle giant with your hyper little brother is unbelievable. You are my lazy 100lb lap dog and make me smile when I wake up with you spawled across the bed.

 

 

 

 

Dear Emily, Cory and baby Cohen - Thank you for making my Wednesday evening PERFECT! I love you guys and this little man gives me baby fever! Thanks for being awe-inspiring parents and amazing friends. Cohen - I love that you were wearing the "Locally Grown" onesie we bought you little monkey man. You are precious and I can't wait to watch you grow up!

 

 

Oh and you and your Daddy are ADORABLE!

 

 

 

Dear Jack - You are an awesome nephew bud! I miss you a LOT. I am so excited to see you tomorrow and also for our Michael Jackson theatre show datenight next Thursday! I love that you are my mini-me and had so much fun in Harry Potter World. I can't wait to go myself and take you with me!

 

 

 

Dear Kline Nissan - I love you guys. As a customer, I am so happy I bought my car from you guys. And as a partner for business and marketing, you guys are a DREAM client! I am glad our business meetings accomplish very little business and we end up laughing the whole time! And your approach to "pet customer service" makes me happy!!

 



 

 

Dear Minnesota - I am proud of you this week. The passing of this marriage law is SO awesome! Thanks for being a state with people and people running the show that I can be proud of! Oh, and the weather has been better too!

 

 

(Source)

 

 

 

 

And not to forget, my FAVORITE thing about Fridays - - Time for my daily JAM! This pumps me UP and is my favorite song for the traffic I will inevidably be stuck in after work today. :)

 

 

 



 

 

 

Rave Run and other Weekend Happenin's

I haven't had time to catch up and post since a VERY fun and busy weekend. So I will try to do that here...

Ps - It's 8 months today that Brady and I got married!

 WOW! Pretty much every month on the 15th I forget to post anything so I am glad I rememebered today. I married an amazing man and I am SO PROUD to call him my best friend and my husband!!

This past weekend was a BLAST!

Friday night - I participated in my first real "race"! It was exciting and pretty good time. My friends being there made it though, as the Rave Run was pretty unorganized. I am a little sad it wasn't the full "5k" but I am SO stoked to know I can definitely accomplish a longer race in the future.

The rest of our fun and busy weekend FLEW by! Lots of fun friend time and family time for Mother's Day! Took my parents to Pizza Luce - their first time ever! So yummy and fun!

On Saturday evening, Brady and I went to Anthony Bourdain "No Guts No Glory' show at the State Theatre! He is SUCH a bad ass and it was awesome to get a unfiltered 2 hour story time with him :) 

my 10.5 month old nephew Karson trying to figure out this whole "walking thing"

On Monday, I bought my FIRST real "commuter" bike - a Trek 7.3 Fx hybrid. I feel like KINDA a big deal now... Already got two rides in :) 

EXCITING!! 

AND the best part? It's SUMMERtime in MN! I am loving this warm and even hot weather! No complaints from me!! :) Bring on the heat! 

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!!

 

 

 

 



2013 Walk for Animals - PRE Walk (#9.1)

I may be at work right now with hot chocolate I found in the work kitchen that may or may not be from the 1990's... but damn, it's still good!

BUT, nothing  - not even the fact that it's MAY today and it's snowing out - can squash my mood for the Walk for Animals this Saturday benefiting the Animal Humane Society!

 Our Team, "Gunnie's Pack" is in 6th place overall! We are walking in honor of our friend's yellow lab, Gunner, who passed away suddenly last year at a very young age. Dash and Gunner were friends and this was a hard loss. If anyone has "furbabies"- it is like a child loss...

This was part of my "Thirty Before Thirty" list as I have a goal to raise money for a variety of charities, and I am SO proud about this one!

We are SO happy to help other "furry friends" in need with our team this year - we even have TEAM SHIRTS! :) (Pics to come soon!)

We walked last year with Dash and had a blast - we raised $250 in 2012 and this year I set my goal at $500!


And last week we met that goal!! Now we even are OVER our goal!
You can still donate! Click HERE
 

 



 

Here are some fun photos from our team last year!

 

 

Last year, it was such a FUN day even though it was chilly and wet! AND it just so happens, that is the forecast for this Saturday's 2013Walk is pretty much the exact same - 44 and raining. Wet dogs anyone? :)

 

Either way I am SO excited!! Can't wait to take Griffin to this and see all of the furbabies of every shape and size! Yes, people even put cats on leashes and put rabbits and birds in wagons and strollers... there is something of an art to "people watching" at the Walk for Animals! :)

 

I will update after the Walk next week!! Thanks again to everyone for your support!!

 

Catch ya later,

Kelsey

 

My Fur Baby Boys

What a fun link up today! I am going to take inspiration from my friend Steph and get to "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly" with my two little men.

 

Meet Dashel Xavier Sells...

aka Dash, Dashy, Bash, Dash Bash, Dashman, Bashel, Big Pooper

 

The Good:

1. Dash is the abolsute sweetest dog on the planet. He is the cuddle with you when you are sick, lay by you when you are scared, lick your face when you need it kinda boy.

2. He has the cutest, most expressive eyebrows EVER and it literally makes people wonder if he is a human and understands your thoughts.

3. He also "smiles" and people on the street will think there is a 100 lb lab walking down the street, SMILING!

 

The Bad:

1. My Dashel baby boy is also just that - a baby - and tends to express himself verbally with whining. Sometimes he is a genious and it means "Mom, I gotta go pee," but other times it is for a reason completely unknown. On the other side though, he is SO cute when you get home as he "whine greets" you with a wiggling tail and tells you "stories" about his day.

2. The vet tends to call him "big boned" but basically our 100 lb boy is a little on the heavy side during the winter so he can always stand to lose a couple... BUT hey, so can Mom! lol

3. Dash is an amazing watch dog but sometimes his thunderous bark can be at friends, so we have to tell him to calm down and stop growling/barking at his friends and family!

 

In Lieu of Ugly - I will go with "The Quirky"...

1. This big boy is a COUCH/BED dog... and he loves to go on his back and do his "roll" and sleep like that for hours. Upside down. Legs in the air. Overbite. It is priceless. Sometimes I wake up and think Brady is in bed, but nope it's Dash. Sleeping like a human.

Meet Griffin Chadwick Sells

aka: Griffy, Griff, Griff Pants, Grifferson, G Baby

The Good:

1. This little 15 week old man is our little blessing. We rescued him from a local shelter at 8 weeks (see post here: Meet Griffin)

He is a FAST learner and potty training, walking and sitting have been a BREEZE!

2. Griffin is a funny little boy too. He looks at you like a little human like he really understands you! And it is SO funny when he watches TV!

3. Griffy is also the sweetest when he snuggles up - sleeping Griff is the best. He lets you hold him while he snores quietly. Ugh, this one is my little baby.

The Bad:

1. Griffin is a puppy so there are some things to work on... Like biting us, his brother, the rug, etc. But he is a good listener so hopefully that will be a phase LOL

2. Griffin also is a little barker when it's time for his kennel during the day. I have even taken to "Go Pro" filming his barking to find out poor Dash has to listen to him whine and bark while we are at work.

3. He doesnt really understand boundaries yet. AKA trying to jump in the shower, licking the toilet..while you are on it! haha. Chewing on your sweat pants strings. Licking your eyes, hair, mouth, teeth, LOL pretty much anything...

In Lieu of Ugly - I will go with "The Quirky"...

1. One of the cutest moments with Griffin is when he is sleeping -- he positions that kids find himself in crack us up. He will be on his back on the couch stretched out with his head hanging upside down off of the couch -- like THAT is comfy? Just a nut.

 

Basically these two boys have my heart. My first borns. My fur babies. My life is complete with them :) Wouldn't have it any other way!

 

 

 

 

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 :)

Newest Addition to the Family!

First off, I need to keep up with this whole blogging thing! Definitely realized I haven't blogged in a while so I am going to try and keep at it better.

Although the point of this blog was to chronicle my "Thirty Before Thirty" achievements, I need to post about the BEST surprise I should have had on my list! Brady and I adopted a puppy from a local rescue last week!!!

Meet: Griffin Chadwick Sells

Born on January 11th, 2013

He is an Australian Shepherd/ Golden Retriever Mix

 

 

We rescued him from Second Hand Hounds - This awesome organization in the Cities that does SO much for animals and saving them. Griffin (called Forrest online) and his siblings were in Mom's belly in Lousiana when "Sophie" the Mom was going to be killed. SHH went down  to save and transport pregnant Mama back to MN. On the way, 7 puppies were born! All of them were adorable and shared either the Labrador or Australian Shepherd coloring.

 

These are pics I found on FB through the resue. Sophie is SO cute! The arrows point to our baby, Griffin!

 

 

After I found the listing for Griffin "Forrest" and his siblings online, I started the long process of convincing Brady that we NEEDED to adopt him. I filled out the application for him, and didn't even realize until the Foster Mom contacted me that this litter was a HOT ticket. Our application was the 5th one received in less than 12 hours of posting the litter. The Foster lived in Mankato, and told us that we shouldn't waste our time and gas that night unless she called that he was still available.

8:00pm that night, Griffin's two brothers were pending adoptions, but he was still available.

After an hour in the car, and 30 mins of meeting him and cuddling with him, we spent the rest of the night and with NO sleep, deciding what to do.

 

At 8:15am the next morning with no concrete decision, I drove to work. Seconds in the car, I got a call from Brady saying "I think we should get him!"

:):):):):)

 

Once we decided, the Rescue did a vet check, reference check, and a home visit with a volunteer to make sure we were legit. We were approved and told we could pick Griffin up from his required neuter appt on Sat March 9th in Owatonna. He was 8 weeks old and we now have him, he is healing right up from his surgeries (he also had to get a hernia repaired that they found). He is hilarious, and has the funniest personality. He is picking up potty training and crate training pretty well.

 

 

The best teacher, his big brother Dashel, is getting used to him too. Griff just LOVES Dash... as you can see here.

 

 

 

Dashel says "cheeseeeessee"

 

 

 

Griffin doing AWESOME on his first walk! He followed exactly what Dash did :)

 

Here is a good one - the playful and sleepy sides of Griffin!

 

 

 



LOVE OUR NEW LITTLE BOY!!!!