Chester's September BarkBox

Chester's first BarkBox came a few weeks ago. It's a subscription gift box that is shipped every month on the 15th. This is the first time we've tried it as I had a coupon code for $10 off (normally $29/month) and money would be donated to the MN Pug Rescue (the group we adopted Chester from).

He was really excited about this box because it smelled good to him.

"Give it to me, mom!"

"Open it!"

After lots of frantic pawing, "What's this?"

"Smells good!"

And right after this photo was taken, he ran off with the black toy (Aussie Naturals Tasmanian Devil toy).

Our small BarkBox included
- Aussie Natural Tasmanian Devil stuffing-free toy with rope inside
Chester loved shaking this and running around with it, but the material shed all over and we had to take it away for supervised play only.

- Wagatha's Tuscan Pizza flavored dog treats
Chester LOVED these. They aren't grain free, but they are wheat, soy and corn free. They're pretty big, 

- Vetracare Pet Spray on Bandage
Chester's never had any cuts or scrapes that I would need to use it on, but I guess it's nice to have around.

- It's Purely Natural Chicken and Brown Rice Biscotti
We haven't opened these yet, so we'll see. They're really big but soy, gluten and wheat free.

My overall thought on BarkBox is that it's a cool concept but I didn't really love any of the contents. I went to cancel, but they offered another $10 off the next month if I stayed. I'll give it another shot and see what we get next month.

My New iPhone 5S came!!!!

It came, it came, it came!!!

After the initial ship date of 10/21-10/30/13, I got a new e-mail last Saturday that my new iPhone had shipped and was being overnighted. Delivery was set for 8 pm on Monday night.

That night, Adam was at a Twins game with work (lucky guy was in a suite!), so it was just Chester and me at home. I eagerly checked the front and back doors every 20 minutes from the time I got home until 8:30. No phone. I rechecked the FedEx site, and the delivery date had been changed to NA. WHAT?!?

I went from angry that they didn't have any on launch date, to really angry when the ship date was a month out, to happy that it was coming on Monday, to disappointed and angry again when it didn't show up. I've gone through so many emotions over a stupid phone!

FINALLY on Wednesday I checked the status and it was set to be delivered that day. They left it at the front door around 2, so I was a bit nervous it might get taken. We pulled up, Adam stopped, and I raced up the lawn to grab it. Who knew a new phone could be so exciting?!

I had to call to activate it, and then sync it with my old phone. Thanks to iCloud, everything was backed up and transferred to my new phone such as all my photos, notes, contacts, apps, and even the order they were in the screen. It's awesome.

I'm loving my new phone! It's so pretty.

My favorite new features are -
- finger print reader to unlock
- Siri (my 4 was the last model without it, and it's really handy I like to use Siri to make new note)
- Way better camera (photo quality is much improved!) with filters
- iOS 7
- AirDrop (quickly share photo, notes, etc) via bluetooth with phones/contacts nearby you
- swipe up for commonly used items like wireless on/off, airplane mode, screen brightness, flashlight, alarm clock, calculator and camera

LOVE IT!!!

2 WR's: New Apple products, garage door updates & a visit to Rushford

End of world. I'm behind on my blogging. As such, I have not one, but TWO awesome Weekend Recaps for you.

Weekend Recap #1: New iPad & Stripping the Garage Door

It's been almost two weeks, I have no recollection of what we did on Friday night.

Moving on....

Saturday we went out and ran some errands. Adam picked up supplies to change the oil on the Terrain. He was bound and determined to do it himself, so I went with it. We also picked up a few things at Target, as well as garage door stripping and painting supplies at Home Depot. Adam didn't care, but I refused to spend another winter looking at that peeling garage door. 

For lunch, we had Smashburger. We saw the new AT&T store across the way, and decided to drop in to see if they had any new iPhone 5S details and to switch our plan in anticipation of getting new phones. Long story short, we did switch our plan AND I walked out with a new iPad. I'm so excited! You may wonder why I didn't just wait for the new one to come out in November. I have no answer for you. I'm impatient.

Back at home, Adam gave the Terrain it's first oil change ever while I played with my new toy. Chester was not impressed and thought I should be playing with him. 

I also cut the flowers that were still alive from the Farmer's Market and put them into a little vase. It was cute.

That night, we watched Oblivion. It's a SciFi flick with Tom Cruise and Morgan Freeman. It was actually really good and I would recommend it. Adam even enjoyed it.

Sunday was our wonderful garage door project day. It turned out being a much bigger project than I anticipated. We started work stripping off the old paint around 10:30, took a break from around 1:45-3 to watch the rest of the Vikings loss, and then were back at it until 5. It was frustrating. That's all I'm going to say about that.

Chester was a very good boy and sat on his bed by the back door all day. We kept the door open so he could watch us through his lower window in the screen door.

Weekend Recap #2: New iPhone(s), Girls Trip to Rushford and MORE Garage Fun

On Friday morning, Adam and I got up early to head over to AT&T for the iPhone 5S launch. The store opened at 8, and Adam arrived at 7. There were only 9 people in line at that time, but in the next 15 minutes, it had doubled. By the time I got there at 7:30, the line was pretty long. Apparently the people at the front of the line had been there since 4:30 am (!).

We were 10th in line when the store opened. Adam had decided on the space grey, and I wanted the white/silver. While we were in line, it was announced that they (and ALL AT&T stores across the nation) had only been shipped ONE of the three available colors due to low supplies (and they didn't even have many of that one). Really?!? Nice launch, Apple. Lucky for Adam, the one color they had was the one he wanted. Inside, Adam got his new phone and I ordered mine in white/silver. There was no ship date given, but the guy estimated a 3 week minimum. I was pissed. I was even more pissed when I got an e-mail confirming my order that stated it would be shipped between October 21-30. Completely ridiculous.

Then we both went to work, Adam with his new phone, me with my old one. I was pouty. At work, I got a Yapta alert that flights to Tampa went way down in price for February. An hour later, I tried to book over my lunch break and they had jumped over $80 each. The flights are practically empty still, so I'm going to keep watching. But I was really irritated. After work, I tried to cheer myself up with a little retail therapy. It kind of worked. That night, we watched half of a movie before our BluRay player overheated and started skipping. I was so frustrated with technology, that I went straight to bed!

Saturday was our planned girl's outing to go see Laura's new house. Caitlin picked me up at 10, and after some trouble getting out of town thanks to road construction, we were on our way to Rushford. We made a brief stop at Trader Joe's on the way. Once there, we got the tour of Laura and Ethan's lovely new home. They've already done a lot of work on it including painting most of the second floor, and staining the decks. It's looking very home-y and nice.

(I photoshopped out her address numbers)

By then it was lunch time, so the three of us had burgers and a drink at a local restaurant. It was fun. We then went up to the Scenic Overlook and enjoyed beautiful day and the views of the bluffs, town, and country.

Back at Laura's we chatted, and then watched her wedding video! It was fun to watch even if my dancing was awkwardly hilarious. And then my point and shoot camera decided to quit working. The shutter won't open. Obviously technology was not my friend this weekend.

Around 7:30, we headed to the supermarket to grab supplies to make dinner. I made everyone cheesy stuffed shells. We didn't get on the road back until 9:30, so it was midnight by the time I got home. Luckily, Adam and Chester were waiting up for me!

On Sunday morning, we worked on getting the last of the paint off, making the door smooth, and cleaning off the stripper residue. Adam hosed it down, while I made nachos for lunch. Then we watched another Vikings epic fail.

After the game, we headed outside and put the first coat of paint on the door. We bought a painter and primer in one, but it's definitely going to need more than one coat. Unfortunately, it needed 4 hours between coats, so we only got one coat done that night. So this is how it looks. Not great, yet, but much better than before!

Next we have to put on another coat and do something about that brown trim...

Celebrating Chester's Adoption Day

Last Wednesday, we celebrated Chester's Adoption Day. Can you believe this sweet little boy has been with us three years?

To celebrate, we made sure to spend a lot of time with him. First, we went on a "family W."  "W" is our code word for walk because he knows what "walk" means. Usually either Adam or I will take him on our own. Adam in the morning when we carpool, and me at night. Since today was special, we all went together.

Back at home, we made dinner. Of course we shared some baby carrots with him as we prepped.

Then we relaxed on the couch so Chester could snuggle up (another one of his favorite things to do).

Of course Chester got a gift as well. I wrapped it because he LOVES ripping open presents.

And seconds after the above photo was taken -

A piggy Tuffy Toy!

Too bad Chester was still more interested in destroying the wrapping paper!

He seems to like his new toy though!

We ended the night by letting him sleep in bed (how unusual... not).

WR: Farmer's Market & girl's night Twins game

My fam left not long ago after a fun spontaneous visit involving pizza from Savoy's. My mom and dad were up here to pick up Christine for the weekend, and decided to stop by and see us. It was great!

Last week was the longest short week ever. We were both feeling sick with colds, so relaxing was high on our list. Friday evening we watched "The Candidate" from Netflix. It had it's funny moments, but wasn't great.

On Saturday morning, we headed over to the St. P Farmer's Market. We hadn't gone since May, so a visit was well overdue. We picked out broccoli, leeks, kale, and basil. Then I picked out a bouquet of beautiful flowers. I was really excited to get them home. They're beautiful!

I also rearranged my flowers that Adam had given me a week and a half prior. They lasted a while, but by Saturday only the baby's breath and carnations were still looking good. I rearranged them into the adorable little vase my mom gave me. They looked perfect!

That afternoon, I headed to the other downtown to meet up with a few friends for a girls night Twins game. I met Caitlin at 3 at Rosa for drinks. I had a delicious pomegranate margarita. Too bad the service was terrible! Laura had some light rail issues, so she didn't arrive until 4. We headed over to the Twins game 2 hours before the game started at 6. We had plenty of time to get the giveaway (Twins ear-buds, the same giveaway as when we were in Seattle!), shop in the team store, and walk around to get food.

Our seats were in the 7th row in right field, which actually was much closer as the section is at an angle.

We had so much fun at the game even though the Twins played miserably. We were surprised at how many Toronto Blue Jays fans were there, and joked it was because all of Canada was there to cheer on their only team. These fans were so obnoxious.

Laura left at the top of the 9th to take the lightrail, while Caitlin and I stayed until the bitter end. Twins lost 11-2. It was pretty clear they weren't going to win when Kevin Correia gave up 5 runs in the 1st inning...

Sunday was just a relaxing day at home, which is always appreciated.

Chester's Adoption Day

Today is Chester's adoption day! He has been with our family for 3 years now. It's hard for us to remember what life was like without him; he's such a part of our little family.

Here's a photo of him from the last 3 adoption days. 

We plan on spending a lot of time snuggling and hanging out with him tonight.
Happy Adoption Day little dude! We love you!

Here's a few more photos I took of him last week out on the porch where the lighting was perfect. I call it The Chester Photo Shoot. Isn't he darling? Enjoy!

Big yawn!

WR: Fishing and State Fair

Since I was sick with a cold or something last week and over the weekend, we didn't do a whole lot. Friday we had a delicious grilled dinner that included our favorite blue cheese grilled potato salad. so good.

On Saturday, we spent a lot of time deep cleaning the house, and then relaxed. I also called my mom to wish her a very Happy Birthday!

That night, we finally watched The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, which was delightful. However, my other two family members did not feel the same. Chester barked at every single horse, goblin, creature, etc, and there were a lot of them. Adam thought it was boring. Whatever. I loved it.

It finally cooled off on Sunday after all the extreme heat we've been having. We took advantage of the break in heat to go fishing. We went on Demontreville Lake and the adjoining Olson Lake. It was a really fun time.

Adam caught three large bass, which I helped him net. It was great.

I spent most of my time reading.

I contemplated fishing, but I didn't want to hurt any fish for my amusement. Instead, I put my feet in the water and was delighted when bluegills started nibbling on them. They were so cute!

After a few hours we headed home. Then I went over to my sister's dorm room. We worked on putting up Command Strips for her wall art, and then headed back to our house for dinner. Chester was so excited to see her!

Adam made homemade dough and we grilled pizzas. It was a little chilly but fun.

I took her back and walked her in so could hang up the wall art. Most of the Command Strips worked this time. Good thing too, because I was ready to lose it if they didn't!

Monday was our big State Fair day. We left our house a bit after 10 am and headed over to the State Fair Park and Ride lot. It worked out really well and we were to the Fair by 10:30.

Our first stop was at the French Meadow Bakery for the famous dough-sant. It was a croissant prepared like a doughnut. The line was long but moved quickly, until you realized you had to wait in a second line to pick up your food. It was pretty good but a bit dough-y inside.

Next, we headed over to the DNR building to check out the new fish tanks. Adam enjoyed pointing out the different fish types to me.

We stopped at Australian Potatoes and split Australian Fries with cheese and ranch. Adam enjoyed them, but I thought they had too much batter. I remember liking them better in a previous year. We split a root beer to wash it down.

Then it was on to my favorite, the Miracle of Life barn. I love all the baby animals. It's usually the only animal barn Adam will go to.

The little piglets were my favorite. So darn adorable! I could have watched them for hours.

At the Ag/Hort building we checked out all the displays on Brewing Beer, as well as flowers, the crop art,

and the giant pumpkins. The adult winner was 881.5 pounds! The next closest one was 331.5 lbs. Wow.

Around noon, we headed over to the Education Building so I could get my UST bag at the 12:30 giveaway.

I had been texting my sister, so we headed back to Axel's at the Food Building to meet up. Adam got his usual deep fried slider and very much enjoyed it.

There we met my sister and her friend Ali. Ali is one of Christine's good high school friends, and now they go to college together too.

Christine got the Cocoa Cheese Bites also from Axel's. They were cheese curds coated in Cocoa Puffs and then deep fried and served with a chocolate dipping sauce. I tried one and thought it was really weird, but Christine liked them which is all that mattered.

Adam wandered off to find beer, while Christine, Ali and I went to get dessert. I got a red raspberry Hawaiian ice, while they both got the Mini Donut Batter Crunch ice cream by Izzy's from the Hamline Dining Hall.

We visited for a bit and then said our goodbyes to the girls. We headed off to the north part of the Fair where we wandered around and checked out various displays like the Buick GMC and Toro ones. We did a fair amount of people watching as well.

On our way back to the main part of the Fair, we encountered the parade and Adam grabbed another beer. Then we split a wild rice cheeseburger from Wild Rice Specialties. It's greasy, but one of my favorite things to get! I also grabbed a fresh squeezed lemonade.

We were pretty full, so our last food stop was at Heritage Square to get a candied bacon cannoli at Ole's Cannoli's. I actually really liked it!

We tried to see the giant swine, but the pig barn had just closed at 3. Bummer. Maybe next year.

Before leaving the Fair, we stopped in the Dairy Barn to check out the butter sculptures. Since it was the last day of the Fair, there were a lot of sculptures to see.

Other foods on my list that I got too full/sick of fried foods to try were

- Philly fries

- Ciccheti cone

- Craft beer onion rings

- Idaho nachos

- Pork belly sliders

- Fudge Puppy

Back at home, we crashed. We were so tired! Chester kindly woke us up a little after 6 to remind us that he needed his dinner.