A few highlights from the Twin Cities trip:

At Friends 2B Made (yes, that's what it's called), I made a little doll (like this) for Jersey for Christmas. I dressed her in this outfit, which is almost identical to one that Jersey wears, and I even picked out a pajama set so Jerz could change her. Anyway, the girl who worked there? Totally psycho. She grabbed the doll out of my hands and started making it dance! And gave it a creepy voice. Then she talked to it. There was more weirdie things, but I can't remember. Kristen and I were quite disturbed and kept giving each other wide-eyed looks.

Our first night at the hotel, we decided to order in room service because it was already dark out and we didn't want to try to maneuver through an unfamiliar city. After I ordered (I lost rock/paper/scissors against Kristen), the guy on the other end of the line goes, "Are you eating all of this yourself, ma'am? *snicker*" har har Then he assures me it'll be up in 20 minutes. The menu insists that if the dinner isn't served within 30 minutes of ordering, the meal is free. Almost an hour later, the food finally arrives. The girl delivering the tray strikes up a conversation about where we're from--like unusually interested. She presents me the bill, which is around $45. I mention the hotel guarantee about the free meal. I point out the statement on the menu and reiterate that I'd called 50 minutes earlier. So we got ourselves a free meal. With cold fries and a gross dessert.

In the parking garage at the Mall of America, Kristen parked us in an area designated as Hawaii.
Kristen: Can you remember that we parked in Hawaii 15?
Me: *singing* It's not Hawaii Five-Oh, it's Hawaii One-Five!

Coupled with driving in an unfamiliar city, we had to negotiate detours due to the I35 W bridge that had collapsed a few months ago. We drove past one area where you could see wreckage that had been carefully removed and stored in order to later inspect. I was in charge of reading our mapquest directions while Kristen drove.
Me: Oh, look. You can see the wreckage from the--
Kristen: *yells* PAY ATTENTION!
Me: Oh, yeah. Take that exit. Sheesh.

At Urban Outfitters, I got myself a cute business card holder:


I also got a cute purple and silver wallet that was 50% off because a sticker had peeled off the silver in one one-inch square on the inside. Also got some adult Mad Libs for general merriment.

At LUSH I was bombarded by at least five different sales girls in the 10 minutes I was there. Argh. Just let me shop in peace! Anyway, I did end up buying three different soaps: Sultana for myself, Rock Star for my mom, and some rose stuff for myself, sister and someone else I can't name in case they happen to read my blog. Let's hope my sister doesn't read this before Christmas, either.

And dudes, I had the most delicious iced Nesquik chocolate drink at this little booth in MOA. So awesome. I crave it now. Crave. It. Must go check to see if there's a recipe online.

Also? Did I mention? At our fancy hotel, Kristen totally walked so hard into a set of automatic doors that she knocked them off the track. Yeah. It. Was. Awesome! I laughed a lot.

Tonight we took Jersey to see Santa at the newspaper, where they were taking pictures. Santa had on the rattiest costume ever, with a yellow-gray (and real) beard, cracked gloves that looked like they'd been in storage for 30 years, and matted, grayish fur on his suit. For shame, Santa. For shame.