Kee-Nee-Moo-Sha

Just got back from Kee-Nee-Moo-Sha on Woman Lake in Minnesota. Kee-Nee-Moo-Sha is a perennial retreat for the Smallings. This year I was fortunate enough to join in the festivities for a few short days. I had a blast swimming, swinging, sliding, sleeping, kayaking, kicking, catching, tossing, throwing, hitting, heaving, hopping, dining, diving, flipping and flopping.

Strange Brew

"My brother's a genius, eh. He hooked up our stereo."

Al Bundy

You know a good shoe salesman when...

...he tells you what pair of shoes you have from across the room the second you walk in the store.

I wanted to get new running shoes and therefore went to The Running Room in Uptown. I brought in my old pair of Asics to show what I am currently using. Before I even could speak, and from across the room, he told me the brand and model. I looked down at the show in disbelief and saw that he was absolutely right. Two minutes later I was trying on a new pair, and five after that I was checking out. And there you have the fastest shoe purchase known to man (ok, just me, but it was a really big deal considering how indecisive I am). Now to find a fun 5k...

Blogger Backlog

So I've been backlogged on blogging (and flickrizing). I hope to change that soon. Still need to recap New York and our good ol' friend Affordable Dentures...

But in the meantime, which of the following does not belong?:

1. Laser Tag
   
2. Chocolate Fondue
3. Work
   
4. Bowling
5. Hot Wheels

Hmmm, this is a difficult one you say? That's because it's a trick question. None belong together. However, that's exactly what my company provided for our IS new hires, interns, and social buddies tonight. I can't say that I ever expected to eat chocolate fondue at a bowling alley. I just wish someone would have covered their ball in liquid chocolate and thrown it down the lane. Now that would be cool.

You Dim Sum, You Lose Some

Just got back from a fabulous week in New York (the city so nice they had to name it twice). Lauren and I didn't get to do everything we had hoped for, but it was an excellent trip overall. A recap will follow shortly...

Guess Where I Am

How to Build a Cedar Fence

1. Talk a lot about what you want the fence to look like
2. Invite your parents to visit for a long weekend
3. Go on vacation
4. Your fence is now complete

Ladies and Gentlemen, Stuart Davis

Last week my friend Jason (or you can call him Steve or Jo Jo - whichever you prefer, he doesn't mind) and I went to the Varsity Theater in Dinkytown, Minneapolis to see a Stuart Davis show. It was his CD release party, so we knew a lot of new music would be mixed into the set.

It was a decent show but turned to great when, with four songs left to go, Stuart invited the crowd up on stage with him. He played his more up-beat songs and the crowd (especially those on the stage which he lovingly called the "Minneapolis Tabernacle Choir") went nuts. One of the randoms up on stage even grabbed a cowbell and started playing along. It was a perfect more cowbell moment.

I was happy to discover the Varsity Theater -- my new favorite venue in the cities, and I was happy that spleenboy from Flickr was there to take pictures of the show.

Red, White, and Blwuahhhhhh

July 4th is all about patriotism. And what could be more patriotic than buying a bunch of cheap crap made in some other country? So being the model Americans that we are, Lauren and I spent this past July 4th shopping at IKEA and the Mall of America. It almost brings a tear to my eye just thinking about it.

But our patriotic festivities didn’t stop there. That night we joined up with Robbie and Amanda and headed out to Maynard’s on Lake Minnetonka in hopes of getting a table outside along the wharf so we could dine and watch the fireworks.

It was fun watching fireworks shoot up over the lake – the reflection on the water was extra-cool. In fact, it was almost as much fun as staying up till 3 in the morning that night thanks to Maynard's giving Lauren (and me) food poisoning. I won’t go into any details, but I’ll just say that fireworks weren’t the only projectiles of the night.

And speaking of projectiles, if you haven't watched this Beer Cannon Montage posted on Brad's blog I suggest you do. It's sweet.