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I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to make a POAP — created Weekly Thing Christmas Blogs to send to the five people that got a year of micro.blog under their Christmas tree this year! 🎄🎁

Open Christmas gift box glowing with light surrounded by candy canes ornaments and holly with an orange star badge icon
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We all went to Mufasa: The Lion King tonight at Edina 4. I’ve always enjoyed the Lion King movies and this was a great one as well. 🍿

Movie poster for Mufasa The Lion King by Disney, featuring a lion, baboon, meerkat, lioness cub and bird, in theaters December 20
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I spent some time this morning doing analysis of our electricity usage. I was pleasantly surprised by how easy XcelEnergy makes it to retrieve your historical data at frequencies as low as every 15 minutes! Related — we use a lot of electricity… ⚡️

Bar chart of combined daily electrical usage in kWh for Magic Pines and Knox Ave properties from July to December 2024.
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Tyler and I decided to redeem the Pokemon 2014 #69 M Charizard EX card that we bought via Collector Crypt. Collector Crypt stores the graded card securely and you hold the NFT as proof of ownership. We burned the NFT and withdrew the card. It arrived today and is great!

PSA graded 2014 Pokemon XY M Charizard EX Flashfire card number 69 rated NM-MT 8 in clear plastic slab case
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Rides!

Four kids seated in yellow restraint seats on a drop tower ride inside Nickelodeon Universe at Mall of America.
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We completed the Cosmic Crisis room at The Escape Game in the Mall of America. 15m 19s remaining on the clock and no clues! Room 59!

Four people in Christmas sweaters and holiday shirts posing inside a sci-fi themed escape game room with neon lighting.
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Fun family selfie with delicious family brunch at Porzana.

Four people in Christmas sweaters and shirts smile at the camera during a restaurant brunch, with an exposed brick wall behind them.
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These cakes from Paris Baguette were incredible.

Paris Baguette mousse cake with a caramel center, chocolate collar, and decorative wafer on a white board Paris Baguette holiday cake topped with a miniature snowy bakery storefront, strawberries, chocolate path, and a Happy Holidays topper. Paris Baguette round cake coated in shredded coconut, topped with piped cream rosettes and fresh berries and mango chunks, on a marble surface Three Paris Baguette cakes on a white countertop including a chocolate mousse cake, a Happy Holidays winter village cake, and a white fruit-topped cake.
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Two full Wagyu Tenderloins came out incredibly delicious. 3 hours in Sous Vides with a finish on Big Green Egg at 450 °F.

Man in a Christmas shirt slicing a cooked Wagyu tenderloin on a cutting board while a woman holding a mug smiles beside him Man in a Christmas shirt proudly holds a platter of sliced medium-rare Wagyu tenderloin in a decorated kitchen.
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Bottom starting the Big Green Egg and hoping I left enough charcoal in it to thaw the gasket so I can open it up. Finishing beef tenderloins on here for early Christmas dinner with my family today. 🤞🔥🧊

Big Green Egg kamado grill covered in snow smoking in a winter backyard patio