They Were Running....

Jake and Jana decided to rock a 5k this spring. It was Jana's birthday wish. Now, my birthday wishes typically involve chocolate, travel or cute shoes...but Jana simply wanted her brother to run a 5K with her. We are very different souls...

Anyway, this was Jake before the race, looking very confident. It was his first 5k, and I'm uber-proud of his motivation and effort.



They (Jana, Jake, and their friend Don) then took off, giving me just enough time to walk around the park, step in dog doo, spend way too long being grossed out and trying to wipe it off my shoes, and then prepare myself to catch photos of these speed demons as they whizzed by the throngs of fan(s).

WARNING: WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO SEE IS NOT PRETTY...





Wait, it gets worse...




I've decided nobody really looks good while running.

They look great after, however.


Happy Birthday (a long time ago) Jana! Nice work out there.

Twins Kinda Summer

I think it's going to be a Twins kinda summer. My obsession with patio-season elevates to an entirely new level now that an outdoor stadium has been thrown into the mix. We previewed the new stadium before opening day (again, I'm so late on this it's not funny). Still, there are some interesting shots coming out of the whole thing...









That last one is from our shared-part-of-a-season-seats. Loving the skyline view. I can't wait for a night game with that...

Can I ask you to prom?

It's been more than a month since I went to prom, but apparently the minute the crimp washed away I lost my motivation to post photos from it. Alas, they're finally up. We had more than a bit of fun. Some (us) would call it an 80's prom. Others (most of the attendees of said prom) thought otherwise. Oh well. Their loss.

I had a hot date. I asked him all Sadie-Hawkins-like. He said yes.



And even danced with me! (swoon)



The other girls must not have used the line I ever so smoothly used to get Jake to go (and dress up and do that to his hair), because he was the only guy at our table. We definitely out-sleeved and out-scrunchied the other tables, though.



Katie posed with Jake, and lets just say that if there was any high school drama to be had, it's definitely because she stole away with my man and took better pics with him than I did. Total attitude. (WHAT-EVA)



It took awhile to perfect the 80's hair. I don't know how those girls did it everyday!



But it was worth it. We were definitely the hottest table at the prom. And we danced...



Boy did we dance...



It was a throwback prom for charity (which is about a million times more fun than running a 5k for charity...just sayin'...). I will definitely be attending this again next year. Who's comin' with me?

Winter Close-Up

Absolutely beautiful crystals on the trees the other day. Gorgeous.







I know this is all natural and beautiful and whatnot, but can we please agree that it looks like a bunch of Koosh balls?

Fantasy Land

Last weekend Jake celebrated his birthday along with a few other Aquarians at one of the strangest, most awesome apartments I've ever seen. The Party Wizard's place consists of 5 apartments transformed into one giant fantasy land of theme rooms riddled with secret passages and the like. Now, I don't think I'm alone when I say that every kid (big kids, too) dreams of having secret passages in their home. As far as I'm concerned, the Party Wizard is officially living the dream.

It was dark, and I didn't want to be crazy flash lady at the party, so I took very few photos. But here's a taste of what I saw.



Bourbon Street (above) was just a wall away from where the Rolling Stones tribute band played on stage (below).



There was a room devoted to the Party Wizard's favorite Twilight Zone episode. It was playing the soundtrack on repeat. The creepiest part was that the only way to get to it was by opening the brick wall.




Rooms that I didn't get photos of included the inside of the Genie's Lamp, a log cabin, a funky living room, an African-themed room, Elvis's Graceland and the inside of a plane. Even the bathrooms were themed. One had a guitar as the toilet seat. Another had mirrors everywhere (below).




And again, did I mention the secret passageways?



For more insight into this place, check out the news story on it here.

How to cut a mullet.

Meet Jake. A nice, charming young man...with a raging mullet. He's been grooming that thing for more than half of the time I've known him. The three of us are very happy together, as you can see.



I don't think the mullet had anything to do with his upbringing - his parents seem totally normal.



(PAUSE)

Ok. To be honest - and I'm telling you this in complete confidence - I've seen photos of his dad with a mullet in his younger years. It's possible it could be a role model/nurture thing. But I don't want to point fingers and so I'm pretending this is simply a coincidence and doesn't imply that Jake will also go through a pretty serious mustache phase in the future.

Anyway, there was a lovely little party for Jake's 30th and, more importantly, the cutting of the mullet. A nice crowd gathered to celebrate.





I got to take the first cut. I was honestly nervous - I had forgotten what he looked like sans-mullet and was a little frightened that I'd find myself thinking the unimaginable: "I want the mullet back." What if, after all this time, I was meant to love a mulleted American?! (Clearly I warmed up pretty quickly - look at that smile in the last one!)



Melissa (the pro cutter who took over the scissors almost immediately after witnessing my excessive emotions) did a great job. There were so many people there taking photos and video that I imagine it was like cutting Britney's hair, except without a razor or real paparazzi.





Well, RIP BIFPIB (Business in front, party in back), I guess. And happy 30th, Jake.




Oh - and great news- it's clear that I had nothing to worry about. I'm not abnormally attracted to mullets after all. (HELLO non-mulleted Jake...)