see ya

Vikings lose, but I WIN!

boom.

HELLO WEEKEND!

birthday boy oh boy!

HAPPY belated BIRTHDAY to JAMES!

Yesterday was James birthday....which we celebrated with Pizza Luce, cupcakes, presents, wine and a great documentary. Yes kids, that's what happens when you have birthdays beyond your mid twenties. documentaries.  

YES, I serenaded him!

mmmm! his very own pizza! I hope he made a good wish!

(that was my niece's advice: make a good wish. ha!)

I woke up extra early (pat myself on the back) and made the Birthday Boy fresh beignets and donuts for breakfast, and packed his cooler with cupcakes to share with coworkers. I hope he felt extra special on his big day! or at least slightly embarrassed...I'll take either.

the other day i spotted something interesting, yet gross. for anyone who knows me, i despise crocs. they embody all that is wring with america. they are the lazy shoe. the grungy shoe. the lame excuse for a shoe. a shoe that tries to pass itself off as more than what it truly is. here is what i assume to be the latest attempt at being a fashionable shoe...

repulsive! just because they are pink 

does NOT make them cute or fun or even interesting.

at least they don't have those stupid charms on them!

seriously, folks...what is up with these things? if you're wearing crocs, you may as well throw on a pair of pajama pants or zubas and tie your hair back with your favorite scrunchie. please america! let's stop the Frumpy Movement! I don't even want to know what kind of bacteria flourishes in these spongey things. naaaaasty.

so, hate to be a brat, but....guess i just am.

that's all for today...now we're off to cheer on the Minnesota Vikings (...speaking of outdated and questionable fashions such as Zubaz)!

Are you ready for some FOOTBALL!!!!!!! yes.

say hello to my little friend...

hello there, my friend Friday! you sure got here in a hurry this week - thanks for that hustle! 

wow this week flew by! busy at work, busy at home - good things! saturday will be a fun time out in northfield for James' football game, then we're having folks over at "the farm" for food and a bonfire. should be great. 

i have definitely seen some crazy things this week. I tried nabbing a pic of a Rascal with RIMS, but my camera app was just not 'with it' quick enough, so i missed out. I did, however, see the cutest and funniest thing while i was walking to target one afternoon -

view from the skyway overlooking the intersection

this lady is walking across the street with her kids - 2 of whom must have gotten new chairs at Target...and this is how they were carrying them! on their heads! it was so darn cute and funny i couldn't resist snapping a pic! I was definitely the crazy lady giggling in the skyway that day... so worth it though. they were even cuter in person!

dangerously delicious. do not buy them. 

ok buy them. 

but have a few and ditch the rest, 

or find it on your hips and bum next week!

have you heard of these? candy corn M&Ms. yes. it's like heaven+rainbows, but in my mouth! they are amazing. i am going to make pumpkin bars and put them in the mix - should be delicious! and definitely worth gaining weight over...well, maybe not...but I am certainly going to be playing with fire on this one.

on my way home from work the other day i saw something so funny i almost laughed my way through a great photo opp! do you see what i see? .....

on the corner of Lake & Blaisdell, which is White Castle...

thats a Minneapolis Fire Dept. truck (duh) parked in front of White Castle. normal, for the most part - firefighters gotta eat too! - however...HOWEVER!!!....note the "Heavy Rescue" labeling on the truck! haha, get it? heavy rescue called to the White Castle! Must have been their new Jalapeno popper burgers! whatever they are called - i had one, maybe three, and they are delicious. and they definitely made me heavier!! oye!

lastly, for dinner last night, James and I got a little experimental - in the kitchen!! we took a crack at making up our own BLT-zza! and we were pleased with the end result. pizza crust + smidgen of BBQ sauce + B (baked in the oven, even! and grease blotted OFF! YES!) + L + T = no leftovers!

bakin' bacon!

mmmm. BLT, Pizza, BBQ all together? Yes PLEASE!

tonight should be a low key night of prep for tomorrow (think i am making a few desserts and possibly even Bushwhacked Jello shots! mmm!), a relaxing yet sweaty workout, and maybe even a movie... I am thinking Snow White & the Huntsman on the couch or Argo! decisions, decisions! guess i will let time and James decide.

happy weekend! friday is my new BFF.

busy busy....quick update!

back again. let's be honest. it's been made clear to me that blogging-on-the-regular is not my forte, if you know what I mean.

things that have been happening lately? let me tell you...my house finally made one giant step forward by recently acquiring not only INTERNET, but also, and more astounding, APPLE TV. YES. it's so cool... I don't know how it works, but it does. and it works in my house, on my TV, which might be the most magical thing of all.ever.and ever.amen.

ok so maybe that's a little overkill, but for those who know me, I am not the most technologically advanced person (but I DO have an electric toothbrush at least!), so having the WWW is pretty awesome and the Apple TV is just plain impressive! I've so far seen tons of TV shows I never even knew existed!! isn't that exciting? it's like adding mental clutter to my brain. just what i need!! 

another very exciting thing in my life - something that I love way more than WWW and Apple TV goodness - OrangeTheory FITNESS. oh my oh my gosh. First, thank you to my lovely neighbor Jill (ok, and Rick) for turning me on to my new favorite addiction! I highly encourage you to check out OrangeTheory Fitness (OTF) if you're into working out, sweating, pushing yourself to your limit, being awesome, kicking butt and getting your butt kicked. It's a super fun and intense workout that involves getting you into your fat-burning heart rate zone ("orange zone") and pushing yourself to -and beyond!?!- your known limits. The class is one hour quick and consists of a rowing machine (your booty will thank you!), the treadmill (half of the class time - hope you like HILLS! and bring a sweat towel!), and floor exercises (i love when it's referred to as "the floor" and "floor exercise" because it makes me think, just for a second, that I'm a gymnast!) which really are abs, weights, Bosu ball, medicine ball, resistance training, etc... Anyway, it is a fabulous workout and so far I'm in love. lust. love and lust. I want to go all the time and when I'm not there, I am thinking about being there. so, whatever that means, that's where I'm at.

one more very significant thing going on partially in my life involves my two very great friends, Kristin and Scott.... you would now refer to them simply as THE GOOLSBEYS! Congratulations on a B-E-A-utiful wedding day and marriage! Kristin and Scott "tied the knot" on Saturday, October 13th in St Paul, Mn. What a glorious day!! everything went as perfectly as possible and i am very certain that every single person had a BLAST! I am so happy for Scooter and KG....now they will head to FIJI (YES,  FIJI!!!) for ohhh, you know... a couple WEEKS! how awesome. I'm so happy for them both and slightly jealy of Fiji....ok, completely jealy.

Kristin and Scott G!

me and James...after a few drinks (and I think he's chowing on Jimmy Johns?)

Monique, me, Meredith and Kristin...pretty!!

James and Monique....something on their face??!

so that's it. next up I have to brainstorm a great halloween costume for myself (and James). I've just been so consumed with tons of other things that i've had almost no time (and brainpower) to come up with something great. Might just be another year of the Cat or Mouse or Bunny or Mummy (I love all those costumes, so I don't mind!!). we will see. James already shot down my Mickey & Minnie proposal, so I guess I've got to do better than that. but seriously, how funny would it be to see James as Mickey Mouse!! haha!!

tonight's agenda includes: baking pumpkin chocolate cookies for James to share at work, a workout session (likely a run outside), and hopefully kicking around a few new -and improved- halloween costume ideas. tomorrow morning will be another 5:30 AM workout at Orange!!!! go check it out!

cheers to a happy wednesday and here's to a speedy thursday and friday!

i still have a pulse.

oops. wow, i've been a little bit, umm, absent lately. so much has happened in the last couple weeks/since my last post... yet everything is still the same.

I've been so busy with work and at home and have quite simply been too tired to write or to even think of what TO write. I know this comes as a surprise because my life is just so thrilling, it would seem as though i have endless adventures to log, blog and clog. ha, maybe not.

so what have I been getting into lately? well, i had another anniversary of turning 21 years old, i will say that much. so we had a little "fall party" in slight conjunction with the ol' day-of-birth celebration, and it was a great time! we had folks over to our house (failed to snap any pics of the simple yet effective set up/bar) then scooted to Gasthof's for Oktoberfest!! let's see... at the house we had spiked warm cider, vodka soaked gummi bears (delicious), plenty of food and a rather impressive (brush yo' shoulder off) boozey table/bar spread. i may have over done it, again. I cannot help myself! I have an extreme personality, meaning i cannot do pretty much anything in moderation. therefore, we had about 5 different flavors of schnapps, oodles of mixers, pumpkin, caramel, apple, vanilla flavored everything, jagermeister (yeah, I know!!), and even glow in the dark Kanye West glasses for party favors. anyway, it was a really fun night and i think the only pic i have is of the vodka-bathed (BLOATED) gummi bears. which were delish - incase i failed to mention (which i know i didn't).

other than the party, we've just been enjoying Carleton Football (go knights!) on saturdays and then "whatever" else on the weekends. maybe going out, maybe staying in watching college football... we hit Town Hall Brewery for brunch to celebrate my dad's birthday (and mine) and James and I went again last Sunday (YES, that is 2 Sundays in a row! blushing...) and had more delicious food and a fun time.

My yummy beer + Olivia's chapstick 

(found it in my purse) 

= hydrated lips and happy belly!

anyway, this is all i've got for right now because I have a few other tasks to get finished. no major news to report...just a speedy HELLO and I AM STILL ALIVE.

Oliva's picture day 2012!

Olivia being a back seat diva while 

driving to James football game last weekend.

I really love spoiling her.

Shopping in Target... 

more or less consisted of buying sh!t 

we don't need and playing hide & seek 

in the racks with O-girl. so mature, I know.

oh, i guess this is something awesome and pretty much worthy of posting on the interwebs:

friggin awesomely delicious and FULL OF SUGAR!!!

i ate one and was more than satisfied. will share the rest.

worth the $3. buy them.

ok, time to run and watch the presidential debate. haha, just kidding. my mind has been made up for the last four years. catch my drift?

happy wednesday.