House update!

We're cruising right along...the bricks have been delivered and the insulation went in yesterday. We went to the slabbery (preeeetty sure this is not the offish name) and selected our actual counter top slabby-dos. This was a very interesting trip filled with lackluster customer service and really heavy cranes. Very odd. I'm guessing they will start on drywall today, and the builder told us the brick guy is coming tomorrow. However, I'm headed to my parents' tonight for a wedding so we'll all have to rely on Joey for pics. Got that, dear?

I hope to have mega super ultra exciting update pics to show on Monday that include actual walls and a brick exterior. On second thought, I might still be hungover from the wedding, so perhaps we'll delay that until Tuesday. Mmmkay?

Snuggling is my most favoritest.

I love sleeping in. I love snuggling. Mostly, I adore lazy Saturday mornings spent in bed doing absotootely nothing. We do this a lot at our house.

Lucky for me, Alex also has this gene. He's the best sleeper--in bed by 7:30 pm and we usually have to wake him around 7 am. Joey, sadly, does not have this gene. Man can't sleep in to save his soul. More on that later.


Anyway, I hit the jackpot in that Alex loves to snuggle. He'll often ask in the middle of the day to snuggle or have me wrap him up "like a baby burrito" and just hold him. It's like drugs for Moms, I tell you.

Through all this snuggling, he's never really gotten attached to any sort of stuffed animal, but has taken a recent and adorable shining to MY childhood teddy bear, Mr. Snuggles. This bear has seen the world--from Thailand to summer camps--and now is enjoying the view from a certain 3-year-old's crib. Yes, he's still in his crib. I'm holding on as long as possible. Don't judge.

In the next issue of "Why My Kid's Awesome And I'm Not Sure What I Did To Deserve It," we shall discuss how the little man has basically potty trained himself. Yep. You read that correctly.

Pizza! Pizza!

I'm not what one might call a "chef". Sure, I like to experiment from time to time with fancy recipes and techniques, but for the most part...I fake it.

Last night, however, I NAILED IT.

Barbecue chicken pizza is one of my all time favorite things. I will order it 85% of the time when we're out and it's on the menu. It's also one of the few things that's equally as delicious in salad form. So, I gave it a whirl in my own kitchen.

The BBQ chicken itself is a staple in our house, mostly because it's so easy and mindless. I take 2 frozen chicken breasts and pop them in the crock pot for 3 hours (on high) or 7 hours (on low) with 6 (generous) ounces of Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Sauce, 1/4 cup italian dressing, 2T brown sugar and 1T Worcestershie sauce. Once the chicken is cooked through, I take two forks and shred it and let it simmer on low/warm for another 30 minutes or so. DELISH.

For the pizza, it literally took 7 minutes to make it. I bought the pre-made dough, available where you'd find the cans of Pillsbury rolls. We were feeling fancy, so we used the artisan wheat variety.

I followed the directions on the tube and pre-baked the dough for 6 minutes. I popped it out of the oven and added the chicken and sauce from the crock pot. Then I added some sliced tomatoes, avacado, fresh cilantro, corn from 1 ear, fresh and shredded mozzarella and baked it for another 8 minutes.

Joey said it was one of my top 3 meals, ever. Which isn't an accomplishment in and of itself, mind you, but the man does have tastebuds!

This was after we devoured half of it. I have reason to believe the corn was the MVP. Unexpected on a pizza, but SO YUM.

This face.

Get in my bell-ay.

So this 30 before 30 thing is really starting to have an impact on my waistline. For those new in town, I vowed in August of last year when I ate at my first EPIC food truck to eat at 29 more of them before I turned the dirty thirty. This happens on December 7 of this year, and I'm proud to say I've only got 10 more to go.

Minneapolis was a metropolis of food trucks. A mecca. A smorgasbord. However, when we discovered them downtown (literally parked 20 in a row down every street), we learned they are only downtown Monday-Friday for the business crowd. IT WAS FRIDAY. WE WERE LEAVING SUNDAY. Which meant my opportunity to consume all the goodness was slipping through my fingers.

So, we mustered up everything we had and went back to the hotel room to nap and prepare our innards for extreme consumption.

And then, two hours later, we did the impossible...

The sad thing is, looking back on those pictures just makes me hungry, when it should make me hurt. Hurt so good.

The next day was the wedding, and we got all fancy 'n stuff and had a DELIGHTFUL evening. I can't believe I didn't get a photo with the bride and groom, but whatever. We looked just as good.

In related news, I discovered a new and delicious drink that I implore you all to try. I call it "Tequila Ginger." It's tequila (duh), ginger ale (duh) and a splash of Sprite. I may or may not have had about 5 TGs by the time I took that last photo, which is why it may or may not look like I'm having a graaaaaaaaand time. Because I totally was.

And that, my friends, is Minneapolis in a nutshell. I promise we'll be back!

Bob's your uncle.

Nearly a month after the fact, I'm finally getting around to posting pics from our adventure to Minnesota. At the risk of sounding like an official tourism endorsement, I can't say enough awesomesauce about the city. We had a BALL. The transportation is easy. The food is delish. The neighborhoods are safe. The scenery is beautiful. The people are so nice. If they didn't have such crappy winters, I probably could be convinced to move there. (Don't tell Mark & Kelly.)

We started our 4 day adventure...where else? The Mall of America! We were definitely wandering around like a bunch of kids. We even rode the roller coasters (which, for those that know my Joey...this is accomplishment!).

The next morning, we ate at a little gem called Al's Breakfast. The place is literally 12 feet wide (carved from a former alleyway) and has something like 17 chairs. You wait for your seat in the 2 ft. behind the other chairs and the wall behind you. I don't recommend it if you're claustrophobic. And, picture Seinfeld's soup nazi - that's their head waitress. The food was greasy spoon and exactly what you would expect from a place like that.

After breakfast, we got MEGA touristy and opted to explore the city on bike via their Nice Ride program. Basically, every 2-3 blocks in the city, you'll see bike racks like this. You swipe your credit card and get a code to unlock a bike...and for $6 for a 24 hour period, you've got the best ride in town. We never took a cab - literally biked everywhere.

Oh, and it should also be mentioned that I was in the Motherland of Target. THIS CITY INVENTED TARGET, Y'ALL. I never wanted to leave...

Tomorrow we shall discuss my application form into Overeaters Anonymous, as I ate at EIGHT food trucks in one afternoon. Hey, this 30 before 30 business isn't going to achieve itself.

Silly Samuel.

It's been far too long since I've shared pics of my sweet nephew, Samuel. He's getting so big! (And so blonde! Seriously...where did that come from!?!).

This one is quite possibly my favorite photo of
him ever taken. The chins!

I see you!

If your ovaries are quivering, it's not my fault. Blame those wittle chubby cheeks.

Up, up it goes!

House updates, in fast forward...as it's been nearly two weeks since I was last around.

Gack! I know! This week we'll get visits from the HVAC guy, the plumber and the electrician. Then drywall, cabinets, finishes & floor and it will be home sweet home time!

Meanwhile, I realized I have most of the decorating done and hoarded in our basement, and it's time to turn my purchasing habits towards things that are actually needed...you know, like blinds, appliances and other boring things. Meh.