The Gopher/Hawkeye Showdown of 2010

After a fun and tasty Thanksgiving in Melrose, Flav and I wrapped up our holiday weekend with a day at "The Bank" to watch the Minnesota Gopher's take on the Iowa Hawkeyes.  Like most outdoor activities in Minnesota, the game was quite the frigid little event.

The Thanksgiving Turkey-tastic Blowout Spectacular Extravaganza of 2010

This week, Flav, Lucy and I made our way "over the river and through the woods" (and a nasty snow and ice storm) to my hometown, Melrose, MN, to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family.  After a less than pleasant drive from Minneapolis, and a night out with friends on Wednesday, I woke on Thursday morning to join my mom and brother in law, Aaron, in preparing our Thanksgiving feast.

Born to be Wild!!!!

After a two weeks filled with work at my new temp job, an ice storm and a Turkey-tastic holiday, I thought I'd get back to my blog to update everyone on our latest Minnesota related adventures.  About a week ago, Flavio continued his Minnesota indoctrination by going to his first Minnesota Wild hockey game at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

Snow Day in the Mini-Apple

Yesterday, Old Man Winter arrived in Minneapolis, along with about a foot of snow.  And, while most Minnesotans are not fans of Minnesota's notoriously long and harsh winters, I'm actually not that upset about the start of our longest season.  For one, I was able to test out my new teal wellington boots.  Also, winter clothes are much more comfortable and cozy.  And, best of all, I get to enjoy one of my favorite activities - watching Lucy (our pup) play in the snow.

Working Girl....Again....



Memo to File -
RE: My Shoulder Pads are Totally Awesome

 So after two months filled with Gilmore Girls reruns, elaborate dinners for Flavio and long walks with my pup, I've decided to re-enter the work force.

Weird...I totally thought that movie came out in 2005.

Remember the Summer of 1998, when the film Armageddon was playing at your local movieplex??  As an 18 year old girl, I thought the movie was great - it had humor, it had an asteroid, it even had dreamy Ben Affleck before he got all bloated and gross.  But as I sat at Main Street Theatre in Sauk Centre, MN, swooning over Senor Affleck, I couldn't help thinking, "Haven't I seen this movie before?"  In fact, I had already seen it....about two months earlier....and it was called Deep Impact.

This fall, Minnesotans have gone through a similar deja vu experience. Unfortunately, this deja vu did not come in the form of a Jerry Bruckheimer produced summer blockbuster staring Bruce Willis, Steve Buscemi and an asteroid.  (And no, it's not THAT Deja Vu either)  What I'm talking about, obviously, is the 2nd implosion of the Vikings at the hands of NFL Bad Boy/Prima Donna/Spoiled Brat Randy Moss.

Halloween 2010 in the TC

In years past, Flavio and I have celebrated a number of memorable Halloweens together.  On our first Halloween, in the Fall of 2003, Flav and I went to the annual West Village Halloween Parade where our view was obstructed for most of the evening by a paper mache Howard Dean.  We had another politically themed Halloween in 2008 when I dressed up as Sarah Palin, hands down my best Halloween costume of all time.  And most memorable of all, Halloween 2009 when our beloved Lucy won 2nd place at the Paulus Hook Pet Costume Contest with her adorable Princess Leia costume that was thrown together in about 10 minutes.  So after so many memorable Halloweens past in NYC, I wanted to make sure that our first Halloween in Minneapolis would be one to remember.

Reminiscing about Bullies in the MHS Class of 1998

Since I've moved back to Minnesota, I've been hanging out quite a bit with friends from high school.  And between spending time with old high school friends, catching a rerun of the movie "Clueless" on cable and the recent rash of suicides by kids who were bullied, I've been thinking alot about bullies in my class at Mel High.  Now, most people who went to high school with me may take issue with this post or may think I'm being a little harsh on some of our classmates.  But you know what - this is my blog, so if you have a problem with my opinions take it up in the comments.  Or better yet, get your own blog!!!

Rah, Rah, Rah for Ski-U-Mah!!!

A few weekends back, I had the pleasure of introducing Flav and our law school friend Alexandra to a real life Big 10 Homecoming Game!!!   Unfortunately for them, said Big 10 game featured my alma matter, the Minnesota Golden Gophers, arguably the most sorry football team in history of the NCAA.

An Afternoon at the Market

After a week or so of radio silence, I'm back to give you a report of my comings and goings in Minnesota.  Today, join me as I tell you about my day at the weekly Farmer's Market on Minneapolis' Nicollet Mall.

Burning off Some Blubber at the 2010 James Page Blubber Run

Welcome back all to regular postings on the Flaviana blog!!!  A few Saturdays ago, my friend, Adrea and I participated in the annual James Page Blubber Run.  And unlike other runs that I've done through NYRR, the Blubber Run combines two of my favorite activities: running and drinking beer!!!

Why I hate Comcast, in 1,000 words or less

Booo!!!!!!

So, as some of you may have noticed, there has been a bit of radio silence here at the Flaviana Blog.  Well, it hasn't been because I haven't been itching to post our chronicles in MN.  The fault lies with an awful, awful company known as Comcast.

Take me out to the Ball Game.....

After a fun filled weekend in Greenwald and Alexandria for my friend Amy's wedding, Flavio and I concluded our Labor Day Weekend with a day at Target Field to watch my boyfriend, Joe Mauer, lead my beloved Twins to victory over the Royals and one game closer to clinching a spot in the playoffs. (Suck it White Sox!!!)

My Best Friend's Wedding

Over Labor Day weekend, Flavio and I made the trek to Greenwald, MN for the hitching of my best friend Amy to Jim, an all around great guy who is crazy about her. 

An Afternoon at "the Great Minnesota Get-Together"

During our first full weekend in the Twin Cities, Flavio and I decided to take a break from unpacking to spend an afternoon at the cultural mecca that is Minnesota State Fair.  Joined by our friends Craig and Jill, we had an incredible deep fried time.

Getting Settled in the 'Sota

Since all stories have a beginning, I thought it would be best to start with the story of how Flav and I ended up in Minnesota.  Approximately six months ago, my college friend Jill (who has spent the past few years openly campaigning for our return to MN) sent Flav information regarding a job opening in Minneapolis.  Long story short, the company thought Flavio was the best thing since sliced bread and this June, he moved to Minneapolis to start his new job.  In mid-August, after wrapping up odds and ends in my former job as an immigration lawyer/refugee program supervisor/general do-gooder, I was able to join Flavio in MN and begin my stint as a 50's housewife.**

Then - Immigration Lawyer
@ 2006 CIR Rally

Now - You get the gist.....

(**Disclosure - staying home to raise young children is just as hard as being a lawyer, so shout out to stay at home moms.  I have no kids, so I'm a 50's housewife in the sense that my only job is to keep the house clean and have dinner on the table at 6:00)

Introduction to the "Flaviana in the 'Sota" blog

Well, much to my husband's chagrin, I have started a blog.  After leaving NYC to move to Minneapolis, I toyed with the idea of starting a blog to document our adventures as we became acquainted (or reacquainted in my case) with the fair Mini-Apple.  But what finally tipped the scales in favor of starting the Flaviana Blog was the untimely death of my beloved Nook (an e-reader that's basically Barnes and Noble's version of the Kindle), temporarily killing my dream of a September filled with reading novels.

NOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In any event, the silver lining in the demise of my Nook is that all of you is that you can now hear about all of our adventures as we settle into our new home in MN!!!