Phew...It's Been Busy Around Here!

Although I started out with the best of intentions, I've obviously let the ol' blog get away from me. Already. So, there is a lot to catch up on!

First of all, shortly after my last post, I bought a sweet-ass bike helmet. I've never been overly thrilled with wearing one, but being that when I do bike to work I ride on a busy road with lots of semis, buses and potentially inattentive drivers I thought it might be a good idea.

Sooooo...here it is:

It kinda reminds me of the Rocketeer or something...but so far it's doing the trick, because my skull is still intact.

The purchase of this helmet also had an additional benefit, as you can see here:

Rosie was a HUGE fan of the box the helmet came in.

   
      Fast forward to two weekends ago...it was our friend, Jon's 40th birthday.  Holy cow - he's old.  We celebrated by going to Canterbury Park to watch the horse races.  Horse racing holds my attention for oh, about one race.  There was WAY too much time in between the races, and no one came out a big winner, but it was pretty fun.  After Canterbury we went to dinner at Nye's Polonaise Room in NE Minneapolis.  Nye's has been around for sixty or so years, and I'd always wanted to go there, but I think that it is one of those 'try it one time to get the experience' type of places.  The food was good, but kind of spendy, and the atmosphere was...interesting to say the least.  I don't think they've done much remodeling since the place opened - I think this is supposed to add to the "kitschy" appeal, which it definitely did.  I wish I had some photos from inside the restaurant, but no such luck.
     The plan for after dinner was to bar-hop around NE, but we ended up staying at Arone's, the first bar we went to, for the rest of the night.  It was a blast.  If you're ever in NE and looking for cheap beer, pool tables, and a jukebox, Arone's is the place.  Plus, you'll get to meet Donna - I think she's pretty much there everyday from open to close.

Jimmy - the only one who really knew what he was doing betting on horses.

And the lovely Betsy and Brad even made an appearance!  Betsy brought one heck hell of a birthday cake for the occasion.  (See what I did there? The cake was so good, I changed heck to hell for extra emphasis on its deliciousness.)

Me with two of my favorite people.

The boys were playing pool for awhile, but then Sara started playing, and they didn't wanna look bad, so... 

They figured being wallflowers was the best way to go.

I even got a pic of the old man himself!  And, as Jimmy would say, look at those two "hot bitches" he's sitting with.  Jon leads a charmed life - the best life EVER, right Jon?

Sunday was Paws on Grand, so I volunteered to take Lucy and Herb.  Cici had to stay home to take care of her mom, who was recovering from the night before.  The dogs had fun, I think - except when Herb slipped out of his collar while trying to avoid some giant Golden Retrievers.  Luckily I used my lightening-fast reflexes to grab him before he ran out into the street. 

At the begninning of the afternoon

At the end of the afternoon

Yeah, they're pretty much the same in both pictures.  But they were sad at the end because we didn't get a chance to make hats like a lot of the other dogs were wearing...  Oh well, there's always next year.