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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
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Weekly Thing Christmas Blogs

The random five winners of the Weekly Thing Christmas Blog gift have been selected!

A little Python to do the selection…

import random

# Define list of names
values = [
  "name", 
  "name", 
  "name", 
  …
]

# Shuffle the list
random.shuffle(values)
print("Randomly selected values:", values[:5])

And the winners are!

jamie@tangerine ~ % python3 ./pick.py
Randomly selected values: ['Marcos', 'Claudia', 'Jesse', 'Phil', 'David']

Sending notices to everyone now!

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One of my favorite activities for a Saturday morning is to enjoy a cup of coffee while reading a variety of emails and web pages I’ve received over the week on my iPad. It very specifically needs to be on the iPad, with no case.

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Making Old Fashioned’s tonight for friends.

Three Old Fashioned cocktails in rocks glasses with ice, orange peel, and cherries on a kitchen counter with bar tools nearby.
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The 2024 Year in POAP is out and I was proud to again (see 2023) have one of my POAPs highlighted — our Thingelstad Ireland 2024 was the family trip mention.

There are so many cool things happening in the POAP world and this annual roundup is a great recap. I 💛 POAP!