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minnesota update #13
March 20, 2006
Welcome to Update #13. As you can see, there have been a few updates made to the look of the site. I'm in the midst of learning a great deal about web development. (For the nerds out there, this includes CSS, PHP, MySQL and Javascripts). A few of the updates include the nifty menu on the left, small photo thumbnails and the ability to click on the picture to get a larger one. (requires Internet Explorer).
On with the update...
When we last chatted, it was mid-November, only 3.5 months ago. Last year at this time, we sent out an update after 8 months, so that's always encouraging. As you're about to see, so much stuff has happened it makes our heads spin. But before we get there, let's read the good stuff:
Hi friends! Welcome to the cozy couch in Sarah's Corner. It's a happy place. I can't believe that we have almost the entire winter season to catch up on. Here are some highlights.
Michael's sister Serena came to visit! It was so much fun having her in town -- which also happened to be when we got keys to our new apartment! She was our first official guest in the new place and we had lots of fun showing her around and getting her hair colored. She also was the first to try my new favorite gadget -- the quesadilla maker. She arrived just in time for the annual Grimsby Family Thanksgiving Dinner Chaos and Michael's "birthday pie." My family loved having her over. Oh, and she also had the privilege of getting dragged around in the dark early hours the next morning for all the "Stuff Day" sales -- of which we bought very little. She's a trooper. We had a girls afternoon while Michael got ready for Upper Room so we went to a movie and made dinner together. It was great to have time together.
We moved into our new apartment in early December. It's amazing how much stuff we had acquired since we had moved in a year and a half before (when we had to eat pizza off ripped pieces of a cardboard box because we didn't even have dishes yet). We had so many awesome friends who showed up to help us move and we are so appreciative. We rented the largest U-Haul they had and trucked it all over in one load. We're almost completely unpacked now. Our new apartment is on the other side of the Twin Cities, about 5 minutes from my new job and I LOVE it. My commute went from an hour each way to 5 minutes. I can even go home on my lunch breaks - which is part of the plan for the dog. It's the best. Michael's drive is really easy and since he typically commutes during non-rush hours it's still quite short. Definitely a win-win. I feel so much more at home here - especially now that all the computer stuff is in our office and not spilling out into all the other rooms. Our old apartment felt more like a dorm and this feels more like a house. Our house. Much more space, great windows, vaulted ceiling and even a fireplace. It's great and I'm super happy.
Almost immediately after we moved we went to the airport to pick up Michael's dad who was visiting on a long layover between flights for a business trip. However when we got there we couldn't find Michael's dad and where completely absolutely shocked to find Michael's friend Dave Boyle there instead. Turns out Michael's dad was a decoy and Dave's visit was a combo birthday/Christmas present from the McQuades. How cool! Dave got to spend a few days with us in our totally unsettled and chaotic apartment (which is exactly what it was like when he was here right before the wedding in our old place), go to Upper Room and, of course, Dave Feil's house. It was so random and super fun. Thank you to Janice, Art, Serena and Molly for such a fun gift! And also thank you to the Boyles for a fabulous dinner.
My job at Internet Broadcasting (IB) is the same. I coordinate national advertisements on our 70+ local TV news websites across the US. I'm still happy and doing my best to learn everything I can so I know what I'm doing. There are lots of small moving pieces so there's a lot to know. I'm doing well and very happy I made the switch. IB ran the official Olympics website for the US, NBCOlympics.com. It was a huge project for the company, got a lot of great exposure, and was an excellent success. Even though I wasn't directly in on the project, I still get excited about it.
In November Christa Hill and I embarked on an adventure I had been hoping to have for years and years. We went to an Aerosmith concert. She and I both have a very special place in our hearts for Steven Tyler and we were so excited. The concert itself was not quite as great as the excitement leading up to it though. Our seats were expensive but still quite far away, we sat next to a really strange greasy "creature" guy who bought us weird stuff, and for several days following I was extremely worried that I had permanent hearing damage. It was so loud that I literally couldn't hear anything at all out of one of my ears and it hurt like crazy. I'm 100% back to normal now, but I just don't understand why they have to make it so loud -- it's not fun for anyone. Other than that we had a really great time and I'm happy we went and saw our friend Steven Tyler.
A major part of my life lately has been a group of 5 women that meet on Tuesday nights. We all go to the Upper Room together and realized we didn't have many close girl friends. We decided to have dinner together every Tuesday night to support and celebrate our lives together. It's been an amazing thing and we've become great friends. Last month we went for a long weekend in Chicago together and had a blast. In May we'll be welcoming our first honorary nephew since our beautiful friend Harmony and her husband Brent are having a baby boy. Life is changing and I'm so happy to have these women in my life.
I had heard quite a bit about Myspace.com so I decided to check it out and see if I knew anyone on it. Turns out I have lots of long-lost friends from college, etc. on the site so I signed up. It's been super fun catching up with all my friends and sharing pictures. I'm also really enjoying my blog. My best installments so far have been about my adventure/disaster as a chameleon chauffer and my brand new funky chunky punky hair. Check out my page!! www.myspace.com/ilovemynosering Sign up and be my myspace friend!!
Krysta Lowe came to visit us from Vancouver for a whole month and is officially our longest Canadian visitor (aside from Michael who came to "visit" but decided to stay). I'm sure Michael will tell you more about it and what she did with Upper Room while she was here. Aside from that she got to see a lot of the Twin Cities and especially the inside of Dave Feil's house. We were there every single weekend. Seriously. And she bore witness to our Great American Tradition of Superbowl Sunday. We had a huge group of mostly Upper Room people over at Dave's (of course) with awesome food and surprisingly attentive football watching. It was great to spend time to Krysta, get to know her better and show her our world. Now we're Myspace friends -- it's special.
A few weeks ago I finally got a sweet camera. It's a digital Canon Rebel, which is a fantastic SLR camera. I've had my eye on this camera for about 6 years and I'm SOOOOOOOO excited!! I got a great discount on it from a coworker who bought it new 6 months ago but it's too small for his man-hands. Since God graced me with tiny little paws it's a perfect fit. I have the camera body, an extra battery, battery charger, remote, cables, memory card, and a camera strap. Michael and I went out and bought an awesome zoom lens and a camera case. Fabulous photos to come!!
We went to the airport a 4th time and finally it was Michael's dad for real! We weren't sure what to expect, but there he was. He had a long layover while flying to Argentina for a business trip - just enough time to whisk him over to our apartment for a 2-hour whirlwind lunch / tour / family time. It was so great to see him and catch up on all that's happening with the McQuade family and our Vancouver friends. Next time hopefully will last a little longer.
We had some really big events with my brothers! Stephen, a senior in high school, was on Snow Court. Scroll down for pictures of my handsome little brother in his tux. We went to the high school pep rally coronation event and cheered him on. We then attended his high school band POPS concert. He played trumpet, sang, danced and performed skits. We're so proud of him. He graduates in a few months and is deciding on a college. Jonathan, a senior at Gustavus Adolphus College, had his senior trumpet recital. We went down to the college for a very formal and fantastic musical weekend. His girlfriend Erin had her senior flute and voice recital right before his and I was shocked to hear him play flute with her. He is going to be a great band teacher. The following day my family and I attended a Gustavus music showcase event at Orchestra Hall, in which Jon and Erin also played. Like I said, a very musical weekend. The next update will have photos! Jonathan and Stephen will both be graduating from their respective schools soon so it will be a very busy spring. I'm so proud of my brothers and super excited to see where life takes them.
We're getting very close to Puppy Time! We got to visit the two litters at our breeder's house about a month ago and in a week or so we'll know which one is ours. We're getting a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel puppy of the whole-color ruby variety. He'll come home with us in late March / early April depending on when he's physically and emotionally ready to leave his mother. The Baillies are also working on housebreaking with him which is SO awesome. That's the one thing that I'm worried about is housebreaking a puppy in a 3rd floor apartment, so the more prep he has before coming here the better. Down the hall, down the elevator/stairs and out the front door to 100 yards from the building is a long way for a little guy to hold it. It will be good discipline for both the puppy and the McQuades... :) We're super excited and starting to get our apartment "puppy proofed." We haven't made a solid decision on a name yet (more accurately, I haven't made a solid decision on a name yet). We have a few ideas that we like but I think we'll have to figure that out once we know which one is ours and what his personality is like. The Baillies are amazing and we're so very happy to have them close by in case we have any questions. We'll keep you posted and take lots of pictures for you to see. Yay!
Nov. 12, 2005
Jon and Anne Abbey are the first couple in our small group to get pregnant. They win a prize. Anyways, we went over to their home to help prepare the baby room by doing some painting. Unfortunately, Corey rolled a bit too hard and "broke" the ceiling.
Nov. 16, 2005
As you might recall our video had won the Hex 168 contest. Well, our Xboxes arrived a week before launch (unfortunately with no games), but the machine sure did look good.
Nov. 19, 2005
After working with the travel agent, the Upper Room staff and production replacements (Sarah and Katie), the boys were off to take part in one of the coolest experiences ever. On Saturday morning we flew out to Los Angeles as part of our contest winning.
When we arrived in LA, all we were told (by way of a small postcard) was to find the rep with the "Green Monster" logo near baggage claim. As we descended down the escalator, there was the Green Monster who then checked us in and told us to wait outside for a bus.
The bus took us to a nearby hotel. There, we each got our own hotel room, some spending money and an afternoon to relax or explore....
...We chose the latter.
Us five gus walked down the street and rented a car. From there, we cruised around, walked along Venice Beach, drover over to Pepperdine Univeristy, cruised through Rodeo drive and returned to our hotel in the evening. So far, our day had begun wonderfully.
Nov. 20, 2005
Sunday morning. When we awoke, we went downstairs to load into the Orange Team bus. Once again, we knew very little of what we were doing, or going.
The bus ride took just over an hour, which was quite tolerable considering it could have easily been 6 hours without us knowing... We arrived in a small town called Palmdale where we were checked into yet another hotel (again, with our own rooms). We were also each given a package wrapped in plastic called a "Survival Kit". Inside were some useful items (toque, hand warmers, powerbars) and some rather humurous ones (caffinated gum, caffinated soap and a energizing gel(?) ). Once we got to the event, it was going to be 30 hours of gaming mayhem, so were equipped with everything we needed to stay awake that long. Of course, we were going to come back and sleep like somewhat-civilized people.
At 4pm, all the contestant winners gathered around outside the lobby to await our buses. As we did, 3 large stretch hummer limos pulled up. At first we couldn't believe that we might, in fact, be able to ride in them, but we quickly discovered that inside were the European contest winners. I guess since they had to suffer through a 12 hour flight, they deserve it.
Once in the buses, we were finally on our way to the Zero Hour event.
We didn't know what to expect, but when we got there, we were continually blown away. The production elements, and the entire setup was incredible. The whole event was geared around the idea of people hanging out, playing video games together. Outside the airport hanger doors was where we waited before the doors opened. Scattered around were hundreds of white beanbag chairs (which was a nice touch considering no one would be confortable sitting on the ground). We were also treated with a free memory card and a free Zero Hour hoodie (since the desert nights can get cold).
After only a short time, the festivities began. J Allard and Peter Moore (Xbox division heads) gave a brief intro followed by the doors of the hanger opening.
As the doors parted, inside was a world of green lights and tv screens (as far as the eye could see, it seemed). The inside of the hanger had been transformed into a gamer's paradise. There were hundreds of low tables with 4 gaming stations setup. Simply grab a white beanbag, plop down in front of a console and play your heart out.
As you can see from the photos below, it was a wild time. I, personally, loved every minute of it. Too bad it was only 30 hours long and not 30 THOUSAND hours long. I think everyone who was there would agree, too (except for the lady in the last picture).
Nov. 21, 2005
Monday was much the same as Sunday. Dave and I returned to the gaming Mecca after only a few hours of sleep... and we stayed there until the bitter end. During the course of the day, Mike snatched a photo of Johhny and I with Frodo himself.
I could probably go on and on about the event and all the things that happened, but I'll spare you. Instead, feel free to check out these videos to see all that happened during out Zero Hour experience.
Zero Hour Experience (Quick Glance)
Zero Hour Experience (Director's Cut) - PG13
Nov. 22, 2005
On Tuesday we began our journey home which could have been long and painful, except for one fact: for some reason, our group had been given 1st class seats for the plane ride home. There were a couple of other groups from Minnesota who got stuck in coach. Who knows how that happened. Regardless, we made good use of the comfortable seats, more leg room than you can imagine, and so much in-flight service that it almost got annoying.
When it was all said and done, it was an awesome experience for all of us, and was great to share it with the other guys, getting to know them and just having a blast.
Nov. 24, 2005
If you thought my November couldn't have gotten any better, you are terribly mistaken. The day before my birthday, my awesome sister arrived in Minneapolis to visit Sarah and I for a week. Right after picking her up at the airport, we made our way straight to the Grimsby's where we had a Thanksgiving/Birthday dinner with the whole family. It made for a great night.
Nov. 25, 2005
Ahhh! What better way to celebrate my birthday than with Stuff Day. That's right - they day known to a select few as Stuff Day is back. For those of you who are unfamiliar with term, it's really known as the Day After Thanksgiving (i.e. Boxing Day sales, early mornings and mad rushes).
We awoke at the break of dawn once again for no apparent reason but to say that we did. And, like tradition, our first stop was at Best Buy where we didn't really need anything, but milled around for a bit. Although, I did pick up Seasons 1 & 2 of Arrested Development for $30. Which, if you don't know is (a) a great deal and (b) a VERY funny show.
The rest of our Stuff Day adventure included a stop off at McDonald's, some dress up time for me (it's an annual thing) and the chowing down of some very yummy Cinnabon's.
Some miscellaneous photos from that afternoon: [Serena looking on as we play with some dry ice and Serena and I (probably having fun because we were playing with dry ice)].
Nov. 26, 2005 - Nov. 29, 2005
The remainder of Serena's stay included many awesome times. Such times included...
...seeing a litter of puppies from the breeder we're getting our dog from (just not our litter)
...going mini golfing for my birthday
...eating quesadillas and hanging out after Upper Room
...spending the day at Camp Snoopy
,,,generally hanging out with Sarah and I
...and last, but not least, getting her hair streaked.
Phew! It was a very busy week, but very enjoyable. Thank you Serena for coming out here and spending time with us... It was tough to see you go, but the memories were grrrrrreat! Love ya sis!
Dec. 3, 2005
In the evening, we met the family up at Gustavus College for their annual Christmas in Christ Chapel. The coolest moment by far was when one of the conductors didn't show up on time. There was a period where it seemed like time stood still, wondering if he was going to show up. Jonathan (Sarah's oldest brother) had almost completed his orchestra conducting class for the year and felt prepared enough to take the reigns. Rather than moving onto the next piece, Jonathan got up and conducted his first piece (one he'd never seen before). It was a very cool and very proud moment for all of us. He did a fantastic job, too.
And, in case you were wondering, I did not play. :)
Dec. 6, 2005
There are many things that Sarah and I do not agree on. One of which is Aerosmith. She's a huge fan, while I am not. Since we first started going out, I had heard her say on several ocassions that if she ever had the chance to see them in concert, she'd go. And everytime I'd say a quick prayer that I'd never be put in a situation where I would need to go. Thankfully, Sarah and Christa share the same passion for the aging rock band, so when they came to town in December, the two of them had a ladies night and rocked until their ears bleed. I'll let Sarah fill you in on the details.
Dec. 9, 2005 - Dec. 14, 2005
Well, as many of you already know, Sarah and I moved. In preparation for the puppy and a need to find a spot closer to Sarah's job, we signed a lease for an apartment in Inver Grove Heights. The move went well, although somewhat overwhelming (we've got a lot of crap).
On Dec 10th several of our friends helped us with the big move. To makes things as easy as possible, we rented a UHaul so that everything could get moved in one trip. The truck we ended up getting was HUGE, disel and a stick-shift, which was an nerve-wracking adventure for me. But, as I became more and more comfortable with it, I began to apprecaite the hard work it must be to live the life of a Trucker.
Many thanks once again to our friends who helped us move.
And our new apartment has a wood-bruning fireplace which we're very excited about!
Dec. 15, 2005
My dad was coming into town. He had emailed me several weeks earlier asking if Sarah and I were going to be in town today. He had a business trip and worked the air travel so that he'd have a one night layover in Minneapolis. We were home and excited to see him.
We arrived at the airport 5 minutes late (which seems to be a common theme with Sarah and I) and began wandering around the baggage area looking for a tall, grey-haired man who looks like me. As we walked through, Sarah commented that I should take my toque off so that he could recognize us. When I did, my hair was a mess, so Sarah dilligently began trying to comb my beast of a hair. Over our shoulder came a voice stating: "Your hair looks fine, dude".
I looked up at the voice, saw who said it, thought to myself "Thanks, Dave" and then lowered my head again. My brain suddenly began to put the pieces together. Dave + Minnesota = somethings-not-right.
I did a classic double take an saw Senor Stinkface standing right there! How could this be? What's going on?
It turned out that for my brithday/Christmas gift, my family flew Dave out for a long weekend. What an awesome surprise!
Our time spent with Dave was not only fun (we had some great times hanging out), but it was also good to spend qulity time chatting, getting caught up and discussing the more serious issues of life.
I'll let the pictures do the talking, because I've been doing too much so far in this update. Thanks mom, dad and Serena for a wonderful (but stinky) gift.
Dec. 21, 2005
Christmas is quickly approaching. This year Sarah's parents gifted us with a two night stay at Gunflint lodge. If you're an avid MN Updates reader, you'll recall that I've been there once before with the Grimsby's. Anyways, this year Sarah and I were excited to be there for pseudo-Christmas. By that I mean we had to be back for Upper Room's Midnight Christmas Eve service.
Our time at Gunflint was awesome! It was great to just kick back and do some serious reading. Plus, we also were given dog sled rides, incredible food (the pictures below don't do it any justice) and as much hot chocolate as you can drink.
Thank you Carl and Sherry for having us!
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Oh! I can't forget this picture, since at this point there's a new addition to the McQuade family!
Dec. 25, 2005
Yet again, people still come out at midnight for an Upper RoomChristmas Eve service. Thankfully, Sarah and I got to sleep in as much as we want Christmas morning.
Speaking of which, our second Christmas of marriage went incredibly well. We awoke whenever we wanted, padded around in our PJs, worked on our puzzle and watched a LOT of 24: Season 4. It was a great Christmas (even if our apartment still wasn't completely in order)!
Oh! And I finally got a new wallet, which, as you can see from below, was probably well overdue.
Dec. 27, 2005
Sarah dusted off her flute for the first time since her college days to take part in Dan's second annual musical recital. Sarah and I made the short trip to St. Cloud for the event and I was proud to listen to her play!
Dec. 31, 2005
The last day of 2005...ever. Our morning was spent doing the last run-through of the old apartment. If you recall, due to leasing issues, we had a one month overlap of both apartments. While we tried to do as much as possible before moving out, we realized quickly that there's a LOT of stuff that's needed before leaving. We found all sorts of stuff in closets and cabinets (including most of our bakeware) that we'd over-looked. And, as is typical of us, we waited until the very last moment to do the final sweep.
When it was all said and done, it was a bit sad to be leaving our first "home". Granted, the new place is so much cooler, but many cool memories were spent there (including, but not limited to, having 11 Canadians staying there at once).
Our apartment on Cahill was a marking moment, and I made sure to leave a legacy behind. Mike and Dave with either be pleased or ticked that I hid the ancient Elven ruin they gave me in amongst the rocks outside the old place. I think it's fitting and represents the treasure of memory created there (besides, the "engraven image" was faded and the rock chipping apart).
In the afternoon, we had the opportunity to see Sarah's college friend Corey. We spent a few hours together catching up. He's still working hard in Jacksonville as part of the YWAM base there.
In the evening, our small group got together to bring in the New Year. We had good food (not pictured), played spoons (pictured), cleaned the fireplace (not pictured), watched an aging Dick Clark (not pictured) and had a great time (not pictured, but a given).
And in the afternoon, our small group Corey helped me move some stuff in his truck. In the morning he had rented a scuba-duba diving watch. I put it on and officially had a larger watch than Dave. YUH!
Jan. 2, 2006
Happy New Year! Wow! It's already 2006... I can't believe it. It's most exciting because we're only a few years away from flying cars... right?
Kicked off the new year by getting my haircut. I tried to grow my hair long like Dave but (a) I didn't need a rats nest on my head and (2) my attitude seems to suffer when I have long hair.
More Ikea furniture! We're continually adding to our Ikea collection. In an upcoming Update, I plan to take you on a tour of all our stuff that's from the furniture Mecca. I'm such an Ikea-building stud!
And since there's not enough pictures of Sarah and I together...
Jan. 4, 2006
We got an unexpected call from our friends Rory and Becca. They had two extra tickets to a Timberwolves game. We jumped at the chance! Not because of the game, but because we like hanging out with them.
And it shows because we didn't even really watch the game (I'm sure the T-Wolves won). It was great hanging out with them for the first time since.. well. Ever. I think. A good time was had by all and we're looking forward to the next time we can get together.
Jan. 7, 2006
Finally finished our puzzle (that black sky was brutal). For those of you not aware, this picture is of the exact same Ice Palace Sarah and I visited the night we got engaged!
Unfortunately, there was a piece missing. Which, I guess, is symbolic because if my life were a puzzle the missing piece would be Sarah... or something romantic like that.
Then we destroyed it! (which is where the relationship symbolism ends!)
Jan. 14, 2006
We had a really cool night tonight. It was an impromptu get-together where we made an awesome chicken dinner (a-la Chef Burrows), salad and other tasty treats. Our friends came over and we just hung out. It was great. Even Alexis made the trip down!
Jan. 17, 2006
I finally got my XBox back from repair. There was this long saga over it, too. For those that care, here's the scoop:
My console mysteriously scratched one of my discs. I called in a repair and they said they were going to send in a box for me to ship it back in. No box. Called back a week later and they resent a box. Sent my Xbox away (*sniff*) and the game in a separate package. Two days later I get the replacement game back. Unfortunately, it's in Spanish. Sent it back. Wait. Call in a couple of weeks later asking where the console is. It was delivered Dec 24th and signed for at the office. I don't have it. The office doesn't have it. File a missing console. Cursory investigation begins. A week later a replacement console arrives (today). Yes! Back in business. Still no game. Call in again, they send me a new replacement. Package arrives. Right language, wrong game. Send it back. Wait 2 weeks. Now it's February sometime (I'm jumping ahead of this update, I know). No game. Call back in, they send me a replacement. I get the game two days later. Yes! Everything back the way it should be. Two days later, I get another package. Same game. I have two copies now. Three days later I get ANOTHER package. Another copy! So, now I have 3 copies of the same game sitting at home. Each copy game with a pre-paid shipping label to send it back. Should I do it? It's probably the right thing to do, but I can sell them on eBay pretty easily. Hmmm.
Jan. 20 - Feb 19, 2006
This could get confusing because things might overlap here. Anyways, on Jan 20, Krysta arrived in MN for a 1 MONTH STAY! How awesome is that?!? The idea was to have her be an Upper Room intern for the four weeks and teach her as much stuff as I possibly could. And Krysta's a quick learner, so it was a lot.
It was an interesting dynamic to try to think about what it would be like to have someone from home here for a month. A whole month seems like a long time, but once it was time for Krysta to head back home it felt way too short.
Our time with Krysta was awesome. Before this the only time I had really hung out with Krysta was in the context of camp. But here, we had many opportunities to catch up and get to know each other more.
As Sarah points out in her corner, Krysta's time here was spent in one of 4 places, it seemed: Upper Room, our place, the Cullison's (who were kind enough to have her stay there the whole time) and Dave Fiel's house. All of which, I think, are great ways to spend your time in Minnesota during the winter.
What happened during her time here? Well, let's see:
Where's all the proof to this great time? Here you go... A ton of pictures for you to pour through.
...but before you do, don't forget to watch this informative video that Krysta and I did about her time here. Correction: that I held the camera for and she did everything else...
Jan. 28 - Jan 30, 2006
Sarah and her ladies group (which you can read about in her corner) made their way to Chicago for a weekend on the town. They shared some crazy memories and had an awesome time. Meanwhile, I crashed at Dave's house overnight and played Xbox. What else is new?
Feb. 2, 2006
Sarah and I went to Edina High School for a one hour "Snow Court" coronation. Basically, the student body gets to nominate students to be part of the annual Snow Court for their winter spirit week, culminated in a Valentine dance. Then, a king and queen are picked out of the nominees. Coming from a land made of snow, I didn't quite get what was going on but it was school tradition and Stephen was nominated and was on Snow Court so it made it all worthwhile :)
Sarah says: We're super proud of him and man did he look handsome in his tux!!!
In the evening, Sarah and I went to visit our puppy litter. This time, one of the dogs will be coming home with us at the end of March. Thankfully the breeders hang on to them just a bit longer than usual which is fine by me because that means they're just that much more house trained.
Feb. 4, 2006
Using some of the many spa gift certificates Sarah has collected, she treated herself to a hair coloring. Something different - something that stands out. I love it!
Feb. 14, 2006
Ahhh. The day of romance. The day that all males in a relationship sweat bullets trying to figure out what on earth to do. I decided to make dinner for Sarah. Since I'd have no idea what to make, I let her pick any two recipies from our cookbook library. She picked a lettuce wrap dish as well as a ricotta chese and spinch stuffed pasta shells.
I was up to the challenge.
Digging deep within me I unleashed the buried culinery expert and cooked up one heck of a meal. Granted, I used every dish in the house it seemed, but I did pull it off. I even had time to set the table AND get dressed into something other than jeans.
I also bought Sarah a print of her most favorite painting ever. So, all-in-all it was a very sucessful Valentine's Day. My only problem is going to be trying to top it next year. :)
Feb. 20, 2006
We finally got ourselves a lens for our newly aquired Canon Digital Rebel camera. (see Sarah's corner) We've been taking random shots to get used to using such a fine piece of equipment.
Feb. 25, 2006
Edina High School's annual POPS concert. Since it's Stephen's senior year (i.e. Grade 12), it was the last pops performance by the Grimsby kids. And what a fun show! Awesome job Stephen!
Mar. 4, 2006
And last, but certainly not least, Minneapolis saw it's 4th Vancouver visitor in 5 months. My dad... for real this time.
His latest business trip to Argentina allowed him to make a few different layovers, one of which was here. Granted, it was only 3 hours, but still gave us time to have lunch with him, show him the apartment and get caught up. Ever though it flew by it was great to see him.
Stunning Conclusion
I really shouldn't need to say more. Thanks for readiing (or scrolling really really fast). To reward those who made it to the end, here's a link to Update #13 photo album. I realize clicking on all those images can be incredibly tedious... enjoy!