This Guy

The same day we got our TV, I went over to my sister's house to help my mom watch my nephew Colton.  My sister and the rest of her family were out of town watching her stepdaughter graduate from college.  Colton got to stay back and be entertained 24/7.

We played outside while I was there blowing bubbles, catching bugs and sliding down the slide.  I gave him a stuffed crab I bought for him the week before and he loved it.

How can this little guy be so cute and so devilish at the same time?

Colton with dirt on his face

Jamie's cat Bandit sitting on my mom's suitcase

Big Upgrade

On Friday, May 17th, this is what our living room TV setup looked like.  Our TV was old and outdated.  We got it in 2007 and it was used when we got it.  M bought it from one of his friends. It was HD ready but since we really don't have cable, only a few channels for reception, we couldn't take advantage of it.  It was 50 inches of big and clunky and ugly.

The next day, this is what it looked like.  Bring in 65 inches of HD beauty, a home theater system, new receiver and a TV stand for it all.  Love. 

The pictures aren't great but you get the idea.  We've been talking about getting a new TV since before the Superbowl and we finally took the plunge.  We also majorly upgraded our cable package so we are now in full HD with some premium channels for free so we're getting caught up with Dexter season 7 before it starts again in June. The quality is unbelievable for us.  We've been so outdated for so long that we will be happy with this TV for a long time.  

We got rid of the old one on Monday so no more big and ugly in the house. 

Thank you to M's brother Ray for helping us get the equipment from the store and spending the day putting everything together with M.  

Long Weekend

I hope everyone has a loooonnngggg, enjoyable holiday weekend.  The weather doesn't sound like it will be that great in Minnesota but we're used to it by now.   I'll be back blogging on Sunday or Monday.  See you then.

M and I  saw Alf attached to a truck last week

Charity Challenge- May

This month there were two different charities I gave to this month.  First was for the American Heart Association for the Heart Walk that was scheduled for May 4th.  I would have participated in the walk had it not been on the same day as the Animal Walk.  

The second donation went to Minds Matter.  Minds Matter opened a Twin Cities chapter last fall.  One of my co-workers and his wife opened up the chapter here but both were a part of the New York City chapter when they lived there.  

Here is the mission of Minds Matter:

Our Mission is to transform the lives of accomplished high school students from low-income families by broadening their dreams and preparing them for college success.

They're doing a great job at it too. 100% of Minds Matter students have been accepted into a four-year college.

On Thursday, May 16th, M and I went to the Spring for the Students Rooftop Bash for Minds Matter.  The party was held on the rooftop of the Else Warehouse in Minneapolis.  The restaurant on the ground floor, Borough, catered the event.  DJ Joe entertained us with music and silent auctions were lined along the wall.  One of the students from the Portland chapter came and told her story of success with Minds Matter and is attending college here in Minnesota.

M and I had a great date being fancy for a night while supporting a great cause.    

Upon leaving the party on the roof, M and I walked around the ground floor of the building. The majority of the building is apartments and wow, they're not cheap.  They have an apartment that is larger than our house.  Check out some of these amenities.  

May Conscious Box

May's Conscious Box was much better than the previous few month's boxes.  I think I just get happy when I see multiple full-sized products, including one called EarthPaste, a natural toothpaste.  If you've had Tom's, it's better than that but it's brown in color.  I also received a ticket that is for the drawing they're having all week.  Haven't won yet!

  

Monday Night Date Night

Monday night isn't the ideal day of the week for a date but last Monday, the 13th, M and I had a perfect date.

We started our evening around 5 pm at Acadia Cafe on the west bank of Minneapolis.  We ordered appetizers and M had a beer he wanted to try for beer week around the Twin Cities.  We had never been there before but after seeing multiple vegan and vegetarian options, I'll make my way back for sure.   It's a perfect little corner bar. 

After Acadia, we headed over to Town Hall Brewery for another beer and more appetizers.  Town Hall was another place with a beer release this day called Russian Roulette.  Pretty much everyone who was in there had one and it was delicious.  

It was about 6:30 pm before we headed about a mile west to the Guthrie Theater.  Our big date event of the night would be the unveiling of the new Vikings stadium.   

The Vikings called M in the beginning of May and asked if he would like to participate in the debut of the new stadium presentation.  Once we were there, we were among politicians, business people, media, coaches, athletes and Vikings fans.The stadium design unveiling presentation took about an hour and a half and featured guests like Governor Dayton, RT Rybak, Mark and Zygi Wolf, Bud Grant, Leslie Frazier, Rick Spielman, Phil Loadholt and John Sullivan while Paul Allen was the host. 

The big talk was whether or not there would be a retractable roof.  There won't be.  It will be a see-through roof.  As they sold it, they said "Clear is the new retractable."  I'm fine with that.  The design of the stadium was gorgeous and futuristic.  It's weird to think of that building as part of the downtown Minneapolis cityscape but it's exciting for it to be finally happening.  I just wish me turning 40 years old wouldn't be around the corner at the start of the 2016 season when it's expected to be ready. 

After the presentation, they had photos and models of the city set up with refreshments.

We walked "across" the Endless Bridge, the cantilever bridge and enjoyed beautiful scenery.  It was a perfect night to be out there and M and I even had time alone out there will no one else.  It was romantic. 

The Endless Bridge

View from inside Guthrie

Gold Medal Park

Yes, that is the moon in the upper left corner

Not a great pic for either of us but it was the best one we took

What a perfect night for a couple of Vikings fans!

At the end of the night, M had to get gas and I told him it was $4.29 a gallon and he said he didn't want to get it in the morning.  Good thing he didn't since it went up to $4.39 from 10 pm to 7 am.  It's now "back down" to $4.29.  Puke.