Tin Man Friday??

Eme and I prepared for our delectably free lunch by bringing tin foil to work this morning. Tin foil you ask? Yes. You read correctly...tin foil. See, Eme and I have heard a rumor that Chipotle (one of our favorite eateries) offers free burritos on October 31 to those who dress up like a burrito. Hence, the tin foil! (If you have not been to this fine eating establishment, you MUST give it a try!)

So Eme roped in a couple of people we work with and drove to Chipotle for our free lunch. In the car we started to "dress like a burrito" by wrapping ourselves in tin foil. We were excited! We were nervous! We were...ready for our free lunch! We joyfully hopped into line that was extending out the door (like I said, the place is awesome!), but noticed no one else was dressed like a burrito. Strangely enough, people were dressed in strange suits and business attire...weird. But then a couple girls with burrito tin foil hats got into line behind us. We turned around and our burrito group had a moment of camaraderie with the girls behind us. After our "moment" we turned back around and realized we might be a little over dressed for the occasion. Eme was dressed like a futuristic Super Woman with tin foil around her forearms; co-worker #1 took the burrito dress alike to heart and wrapped tin foil around her torso and arms; co-worker #2 looked like a Virgin Mary trying to warm up after she fell into a freezing Dead Sea as her tin foil was wrapped around her head and upper body (you know those crinkly foil blankets that conserve heat?); And I discreetly folded tin foil around my wrist for a fashionable burrito double take (I couldn't put my reputation as a sane person on the line...even though it is Halloween).

So, there we were, standing in line discussing how there is a shiny side and a matte side to tin foil....

And then we saw the sign posted right in front of the burrito/taco shell warming press unit thingy. Those of you who have been to Chipotle before know what I'm talking about. They have 2 warming presses there but never use both of them. Anyway, we saw the sign that read...

"Free burrito, burrito bowl, or taco today, October 31, 2008 from 6:00 pm to closing"

If you noticed we dressed up like burritos for lunch and the sign read "from 6:00 to closing" realized what we realized as our hearts sank and our spirits tanked. I reluctantly stepped up in line and said with a downtrodden voice, "burrito...no beans...carnitas...chili corn...yes (to cheese and sour cream)...chips and guac...a small drink...these are together" pointing to Eme's burrito with mine. And then as a last ditch effort I said, so we dressed up like burritos! Is today free burrito day?!??! With a chilling, curt, and almost heartless tone the cashier said, "from 6:00 pm to closing! Come back and you can get a free one."

Ugh. We tried so hard and came up short. I would go back for a free burrito tonight but I don't know if I can do Chipotle 2 times in one day. We'll see...I am always up for a free meal!

BTW - In case you have an annoying urge to pronounce Chipotle with the "L" before the "T" (Chi-pol-tay)...DON'T! It is pronounced "Chi-pote-lay"!

Halloween and Hockey

The two just seem to go well together. Jon and I, instead of passing out candy this year, will be attending the Gopher Men's Hockey game at Mariucci Arena. Having only been to high school games, this should be a real treat!

Geocaching at Afton State Park

Saturday was a BEAUTIFUL fall day so we decided to explore the bluffs and rolling hills of Afton State Park along the St. Croix River with Pete and Heidi. Just before we left for the park I remembered Jeff telling me about a Geocaching program all 72 MN state parks are participating in this year and grabbed our Garmin.

We arrived at the Ranger station and inquired about the program. While the seasoned Park Ranger was trying to find the information a young bystander (and AVID geocacher) giddily jumped in with the correct coordinates to type into the GPS unit for the first geocache. As I wrote down the coordinates, he was so overcome with excitement he asked if I had a username online. To his disappointment, I said "No, unfortunately I don't." He replied with a downtrodden voice, "Oh, that's too bad. I could have said I met you online."

I should mention that, although this geocaching kid was a little strange, it was encouraging to see him so excited about being outdoors enjoying God's beauty rather than sitting inside playing video games.

Anyway, we successfully obtained the starting coordinates and we were off on the treasure hunt!

We found the first cache and we quite excited! On to #2!

In between #1 and #2 we came across this beautiful overlook. We had to stop and take a photo...High school prom (fall casual) style.

Geocache #2 was tricky, but we found it "on, under or AROUND."

We found out the official geocaching loop was shorter than we wanted to hike. So we took a permanent detour and traveled north to the lookout spot we overheard the Ranger telling someone else about.

We hiked along the river for a while and then climbed up a steep hill back to the real trail and headed up the bluff to the overlook.

The overlook was worth it as it looked south to view the river and sloping hills on both sides covered with trees. Unfortunately, we were about a week late to see the peek colors, but the browns and reds were still vibrant from the oak trees.



It was a fun day as the sun was out and was around 55 degrees. A PERFECT fall day! Sunday, however, turned bitterly cold as it snowed in the morning...what a contrast! Ahh, Minnesota weather! Eme and I wouldn't have it any other way! We love the 4 seasons...especially fall.

What's your favorite season? And what's your favorite outdoor spot in MN or western WI? Eme and I are always on the lookout for a great outdoor adventure!!

NKOTB

Many of you probably heard that I received free tickets, through work, to go to the New Kids on the Block concert that happened at the Xcel Energy Center downtown St. Paul last Tuesday night. It was ridiculously hilarious. I laughed pretty much all night. A bunch of my coworkers and our friends took over the company suite to step back in time to our youth. The Startribune quoted 13,000 people were in attendance with 95% of them being women in their late 20's to late 30's. They may not have been totally in my era but I remember them quite well. My friend Amanda and myself made sure to commemorate our time there with this self portrait.





Also, here's a little taste of what I experienced. (sorry for the rapid span of the audience)

Singing Step by Step, here are Jordan, Jonathan, Joey, Danny and Donnie...

Dome-Be-Gone

I can taste the hot dog and hear the crowd roaring already! I got a chance to go see the new Twins ballpark (Target Field) in progress today and it was fantastic! Besides all the cool construction going on with sequencing, it was awesome to see the park in motion. They are pouring the final concrete deck this month, much of the masonry is in place, exterior stone is in place, interior studs and drywall are being hung, one escalator is in, a few menchanical units and ductwork is in place and they had the first section of the "halo" in place.

Thank You!

We just can't say it enough... Thank You, Gracias, Merci beaucoup, Danke schön, Mahalo, Tack! We love our new popcorn popper. Thank you Gary and Nancy, it's the perfect addition to our new home!

It's the little things!

Jon and I, along with Margaret and Oliver, went to the arboretum on Saturday to enjoy the beautiful colors. Oliver was so good as he was buckled up all day, either in the carseat or the stroller. I got to sit next to him in the car and I just love when he does this (see video). It makes me smile!

And, for your viewing pleasure... My poor attempt at the modern day "Blair Maze Project". Pay close attention to the little boy crouched at a dead end. He scared me more than anything else!

Viewpoints

As Eme mentioned, we are settling into our new positions at Mortenson. It's funny, out of almost 500 people we are on the same floor of a 6 story building! Many people would not like working so close to their spouse and we have been told so by a few different people. But Eme and I don't mind. In fact we actually like it! Plus we get this great view of downtown...if I stand up from my cube and if Eme walks over to my side of the building.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Breakfast for Dinner

Last weekend we were blessed to be able to visit Grandpa Bill and Vi in Mankato. After visiting a while, Grandpa decided he wanted pancakes for dinner. We loaded them into the van and a couple of us started walking (we didn't have enough room in the van for everyone) and we had an early dinner at Perkins.

Couldn't have done it without you!

Thank you to everyone that helped us move, clean, and organize. We've already highlighted a few pictures below, but here are a couple extra that you haven't seen. (sorry to those I didn't get a picture of, I was not at the top of my picture taking game!)

New Hire Orientation

Thank you to everyone who has been praying for Jon and I as we began and now finished our first couple of weeks in the Mortenson Minneapolis office. It has been a good transition - adjusting to a larger office and new people. We both feel as if we are brand new to the company sometimes because of all the learning that needs to be done about the different operating group. At the end of last week we even sat through an abbreviated new hire orientation to get the Mpls facts straight. It's definitely different, but we are both enjoying it.

On our way

We're on our way to the apple orchard on a beautiful fall day in southern Minnesota!

shag

Eme finally found a good use for her shag rug we (we) got for our wedding.

And beef brisket...dinner!

Butter cookie

Shaved chocolate

Command central

Caraway

Palette

Today's special guest painter is...my dad! Just a little more paint and the upstairs will be IV pretty good shape!

Unpacking continues

We're on day 3 1\2 and we have the kitchen and family room painted and completely unpacked...almost. Our stuff seems to be everywhere but at least its our stuff in our home!

Our last dinner with...

The schneiderwind's :-( We miss you guys!

Refresh

We (Eme, me and others) have been busy making our new house our home. A fresh coat of paint does wonders!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Refresh

We (Eme, me and others) have been busy making our new house our home. A fresh coat of paint does wonders!