Rants, Raves and Randoms

Yo!

2009-04-14T18:26:00.004-05:00

The days just fly by so quickly…it’s unbelievable. When I last checked in I was 12 weeks pregnant (or so I thought...more on that in a minute) and due on September 13. Here are a few belly pictures. We haven’t been so great at remembering to take them, and in the beginning there was no point because there wasn’t really a belly to take a picture of! Read on to find out why there are two different timelines.

13 weeks/14w4d

15w2d/16w6d

17s1d/18w5d

18w2d/19w6d (Today)

This pregnancy has been going amazingly well. I’m so lucky to have had it easy thus far and we hope everything continues to go well for the second half. I won’t bore you with every single milestone and detail, but I did start feeling little flutters of movement a week and a half ago. When I first felt it I told Bryan, “Um, I think I feel the baby. But really, I have no idea if that’s what this is.” My parents came over later that night and I described the feeling to my mom. She started jumping up and down and yelling, “Oh my gosh, that was the baby! You felt the baby!” And then I started jumping up and down and my dad and Bryan looked at us like we were crazy. Whatever, they’re just jealous.

We had our first ultrasound (no reason for any before this point) on Monday and it seriously was the most amazing thing ever. Really breath-taking and tear-inducing for both of us. The tech and the doctor both said everything looks absolutely perfect so far and to hear that just lifts this huge weight off of your shoulders.

The pics are scanned in and a little hard to see here. The first one is the classic profile shot, the second one is the (kind of freaky looking) 3D image of the face, and the bottom one is a shot of a foot!

We still don’t want to find out the baby’s gender, so the tech had us look away while she checked out that business. It’s kind of weird that there are people out there who know what we’re having even though we don’t. I asked the tech what the ratio is of people finding out/not finding out and she said it was about 50/50. I was really surprised to hear that because every time I tell someone we’re not finding out the sex, they look at us like we’re crazy. Our reasoning is that there are so few true and real surprises in life, why would you willingly take such a big one away from yourself? Just to feel more in control? But, to each his own.

Oh, and when the tech was taking the baby’s measurements, she asked us how sure the doctor was about our due date. I didn’t really know how to answer that since there was really no way of knowing before this except to go by the date of my last period. She said we were measuring ahead of the 18w1d we thought we were on Monday. By the time everything was said and done, we walked out of the doctor’s office being 19w5d! So holy something Batman! We’re way closer to the halfway point than we thought. My weeks used to turn over on Sundays, now they turn over on Wednesdays. So Wednesday I will be exactly 20 weeks and halfway there!! That is really just insane. I actually feel kind of cheated out of 11 days of development. Which obviously isn’t the case and kind of silly, but oh well, that’s how I feel. So now my due date is September 2, which, coincidentally, is also my MIL’s birthday!

After our appointment we spent the afternoon touring 3 different daycare centers and my head is still spinning! That stuff deserves its own post.

Also deserving of their own posts? Cloth diapering and maternity clothes. See, I have lots of stuff to talk about (even if it is all pregnancy/child related…you should probably just get used to it). It’s just that the days don’t have enough hours in them.

Whoosh

2009-03-10T16:06:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was my second OB appointment and the first visit for Bryan. Bryan is amazing and has already said he wants to be at every single appointment even if it’s the same boring thing every time.

My first appointment was 4 weeks ago and I met with a Nurse Practitioner for a Pap and medical history. Mandy, the NP, also said we’d try to hear the heartbeat with the Doppler, although at 9w1d, it probably wouldn’t happen. But Mandy must have magic hands because 5 seconds into it we heard it! It was seriously the most amazing thing I’ve ever heard in my entire life. I started crying right away, but mostly because Bryan wasn’t there to hear it also. When I called to make the appt. I asked if Bryan should come with and they said there was no reason because it would just be the Pap and the medical history.

But this time around Bryan came with and we got to hear that beautiful sound again. The really cool part was that you could also hear my heartbeat going a bit slower and quieter in the background.

Side note: We are not finding out the sex of the baby. We both love surprises and can there be a better surprise than that? I don’t think so. With all the things medical technology can do for you, why not savor one special secret until the very end?

Anyway, because we’re not finding out, we’ve been trying to think of a nickname for the baby so we don’t have to keep saying “It.” Peanut is overused and overrated in our minds and nothing else really fit. We finally decided on a name after hearing the heartbeat again yesterday. The baby’s nickname will be Whoosh. Kinda strange, I know, but when you hear the heartbeat through the Doppler speaker it’s just this quick and quiet whoosh-whoosh, whoosh-whoosh, whoosh-whoosh. And what better symbol than the baby’s heart? It’s all cutesy and cheesy and almost too much. But isn’t that what having a baby, especially your first, is all about? I plan to fully embrace the cutesy, the cheesy and the almost too much!

So there you go, we’re having a Whoosh.

Mmmm!

2009-03-06T10:06:00.003-06:00

Last weekend my aunt dropped off the Girl Scout cookies I ordered from my cousin's troop and it has taken every drop of will-power I have not to eat all three boxes since then.

The thin mints went into the freezer right away, because there is no better snack than a frozen thin mint. I have already eaten one whole foil-wrapped tube.

I also bought a box of the Lemonade cookies--best Girl Scout cookie ever! They're shortbread cookies with a layer of tangy lemon frosting and they make my mouth water just thinking about them.

I also got ones called Daisy-Go-Rounds and they're a low fat cookie for those days I would like to eat a whole box of cookies but don't want to gain 10 pounds. For being low fat they taste damn good too.

Oh, and because of my sweet tooth and that of my family and others, my cousin was the top seller in her troop for the second year in a row! All she gets for that is a patch, which is weird because I thought I remembered there being all kinds of prizes you could win for that kind of stuff. Maybe I'm thinking of school fundraisers. Ah well, at least she has bragging rights!

And with that, I'm going to break in to my next foil tube of thin mints--yay!

From the saved posts

2009-03-05T10:40:00.000-06:00

I wrote this on the morning of January 8th. Warning--it's looong!

How do I know I'm not ready for a baby? These are the things I talked to Bryan about last night when I vented to him about my fears and worries.

A. Money--I don't think we'll ever get to the point where we don't worry about this. I, unfortunately, tend to be a little materialistic. I need to get over myself and truly stop worrying about what people think. Plus, Bryan and I both know other families through work and other places who have multiple children and a much lower income level than we do. If they can make it work, why can't we?

The main thing I'm worried about here is debt. The only debt Bryan and I have is due to the mortgage, one car, and our student loans. To me, those are all good kinds of debt. Not to mention the interest on our student loans is about 1% (seriously). I had some serious money management issues in college and I hated going to my parents for help. They gave it lovingly and never showed any disappointment or anything. They knew it was a learning experience for me and they were right--I never want to be in that place again. So I'm worried that we'll find ourselves in a downward spiral because of a baby and all the expenses he or she will come with.

But just the fact that I'm worried about and aware of it, means a step in the right direction, right? I just have to keep thinking about that awful feeling I had in college and I'll keep right on driving past that Starbucks, or put down that really cute sweater I just have to have.

B. The house--there is still so much that needs to get done. But really, the more we talked about it, the more we realized it's just cosmetic stuff. When I have a beautiful baby will I really care what people think about my old dirty carpeting? The only thing that would need to get done is the installation of new windows in the room we'd use as the nursery.

C. Our friends--out of our immediate group of friends we are the only married couple and we are the only ones who would consider TTC. My biggest worry here is that we'll lose touch with our friends. Will we have anything in common anymore? Will they want to hang out with us when the baby has to go to sleep at 7pm? Will I even care about these things once the baby is in my arms?

Another big thing here is that I'm afraid I won't have any one I can relate to anymore. Like I said, none of our friends are anywhere near the baby stage. Who am I supposed to talk/vent to about my pregnancy, about my fears and worries, about all things baby related? I think people would get sick of that stuff pretty quickly.

I know this sounds stupid, but I've always wanted a "pregnancy buddy." A good friend who is pregnant at the same time or close to the same time I am. We can share stories and compare notes. I'd have someone who just knows what I'm going through. Bryan is a terrific listener, but he just won't get some of it. Argh, and just talking about a "pregnancy buddy" makes me feel like a 12 year old. I don't know what it is, I've tried typing 5 different explanations but nothing sounds right. I guess part of me thinks I should be mature enough to handle it on my own. And not that I can't, it would just be nice to have that person who is going or has very recently gone through the situation.

D. I have no idea about anything! Seriously, as a woman, I feel like I am way under prepared for this. I just do not know much about pregnancy. And it is definitely something I'm ashamed of admitting.

E. Me--more specifically, my mindset. I do not feel like an adult. I do not feel 26. What is it even supposed to feel like? Bryan laughed a little at this one. With a mortgage, full time jobs, bills and our own dog, how can I not feel like an adult?! I don't know, but I don't. Just thinking of going to the store to buy a pregnancy test makes me all anxious. I feel like the cashier is going to look at me and think I'm 16. I mean, hello Katherine! You do have a wedding ring! You really don't look that young! So this one is totally all in my head and while I know that it's absolutely ridiculous, I just can't help it.

Why all this ridiculousness? Well, I think I'm pregnant. There, I said it, er-typed it. It even feels weird to say! But, so did saying I'm married and calling Bryan my husband. My period? She's 6 days late. I'm never late. I'm still on the pill! And yes, I know you can get pregnant while on the pill. I know several people who have...multiple times. My mom's cousin even got pregnant 3 times even though she had an IUD! So, obviously, nothing is 100%.

I'll be stopping at the store after work to get a HPT. One other thing...tonight is Grey's Anatomy night. All we do is gossip, eat and drink wine! If I don't have a glass of wine (I'll admit, I'm kind of a wino...red only, please!) they're going to know something's up! Luckily it's just 3 girls--my best friend, my sister, and my sister's best friend, who is also a really good friend of mine. So it wouldn't be out of the question to tell them this early. Along with our parents and other siblings, those are the people we'd tell right away anyway. The extended family members and other friends would have to wait a little while longer I think.

So really, the only reason I'm typing all this (because I am not publishing it...at least not yet) is just to get it all of my chest. I needed to tell someone! Anyone! I was so close to stopping a random person on the street to tell them I think I might be pregnant. That would have made a funny story!

Argh! The mental vomit keeps coming! What if I'm not pregnant? Why didn't I get my period? Is something wrong with me? I am generally a worrier by nature, but I'm starting to think I have some kind of anxiety thing. My mind just automatically goes here. It starts to think, hey, maybe you have something terribly wrong with you and that's why you haven't gotten your period. Did you ever think of that? Gee, no I hadn't, but thanks for that!

Ok, I'm ending it there. Enough's enough!

So there's all of that. Yes, I was on the pill when I got pregnant. At first I was really worried because we figured out that I was still taking the pill for the first two weeks I was pregnant. I told that to my doctor and she let me know that there is no evidence connecting the birth control pill to any dangers. That made me feel sooo much better. The ironic thing is that I only had one more pill pack to go before I stopped taking BC and we started trying to have a baby. I guess this little one was just truly meant for us!

I should also say that the second I saw those two pink lines later that day, all of that stuff vanished and I haven't thought about it since. And now when I go back and read that, I just want to smack that version of me and tell her to grow up and get over herself. Does she not realize how wonderful and amazing it is going to feel to be pregnant? Can she not imagine the even more amazing feeling of holding her little baby in her arms for the first time? But I realize it's only natural to feel those things and I'm glad that I just don't care about them anymore.

Ok, I lied...I do miss it!

2009-03-03T10:33:00.005-06:00

I just wanted to say thank you to those who have kept my family in their prayers. So far so good! My uncle had a full body MRI last week and the cancer did not spread to any lymph nodes! That is hugely great news and we are so happy. He has his first round of chemo this Friday. After his second round they'll do an MRI again to check the size of the cancerous growth. From there they will either do one more round of chemo or go right to surgery (surgery would happen either way) to remove the growth. Things are looking quite good right now!

So in my last post I mentioned that I did have one thing in particular about which I could post a million things, I just wasn't ready yet. Well, I'm ready. And really, this is the main reason I haven't been blogging lately--because it's been so hard to talk about other random things when all I really want to talk about is this...

It's very faint in this picture, but that second line is really there! So for those of you that don't speak pee-on-a-stick-ese, that, my friends, means me = bun in the oven!! The bun has been in there for 12w2d and is due to arrive on September 13th!

And aside from not blogging because I didn't want to spill the beans, I am also exhausted non-stop, and the last thing I want to do after work is get on the computer and write a blog post. All I'm good for these days is keeping the couch warm.

Speaking of which...I am about to fall asleep here, but I'll definitely be posting a hundred million things from now on! Oh, and as a side note, if we're Facebook friends I would appreciate no one post anything on my wall as I haven't had a chance to tell some out-of-town friends. Thanks!

Checking In

2009-02-23T14:08:00.002-06:00

I realized something the other day--I don't miss blogging. My postings have become so infrequent that most of you probably forget I even exist until a random post pops up every few weeks. And you know what? I'm ok with it. Yes, I really do enjoy blogging and it provides a great release sometimes. But other than that I don't feel very compelled to blog all that often.

There are some things (1 in particular) about which I could easily post a million things, but I'm just not ready yet.

However, I do have a specific reason for posting today. My family could really use any prayers/thoughts/whatever you can give right now.

Last Sunday we had a going away party for my mom's youngest cousin (my extended family is super close). Paul left for Iraq on Thursday, February 19 on his third tour of duty. He has 3 boys under the age of 5 and a beautiful wife already anxiously awaiting his safe return. He's part of the 32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team and his group is the largest to be deployed from the state of Wisconsin at one time since World War II. You can read a little about them and the send-off ceremony here.

Paul works as a Military Policeman and is usually charged with some of the most dangerous posts. This time around, he's not even allowed to tell anyone what he'll actually be doing. That right there tells you how dangerous his job really is. A lot of people are speculating (based on experience) that he'll be guarding convoys of diplomats and the like. If you've even read one article about the war, you know that the bombing of convoys accounts for a large percentage of troops killed.

Of course, we try not to think about that sort of thing, but it's hard not to have it floating around in the back of your head. So please send some extra prayers and thoughts Paul's way.

And while I don't want to hoard all of your prayers, there is one more thing I'd like to ask for.

On Valentine's Day I found out that my uncle has lung cancer. The good news is that the cancer was caught very early and completely by accident. My uncle got a new job and had to have a physical. One thing led to another and they discovered the cancer. The doctors are very optimistic because of his overall health and complete lack of symptoms. I know he and my aunt have met with various oncologists and surgeons, and while my uncle is not in a great place right now emotionally, the diagnosis thus far does look to be on the better side of things.

And yes, my uncle was a smoker. A pretty heavy smoker for 40 years in fact (he's 55). He also worked in a factory as a welder for about 35 years, and the doctors say that probably has more to do with it than the smoking (although the smoking definitely accelerated it).

So please, anything you could send my family's way would be much appreciated.

Sucked In

2009-02-05T16:23:00.003-06:00

I can't believe I gave in. I swore up and down that I wouldn't do it. Didn't want to be like the rest of sheep.

I started reading the Twilight series. Baaaa.

I started the first book Monday night after work. Now, I'm more than halfway through the second one. Bryan calls them my crack books. "Pay attention to me!" "Put down your crack!" I just ignore him and keep reading. I can tune everything out, I'm good like that. But, seriously...it is like crack. Somebody find me a DARE officer.

I'll be seeing the owner of said books tonight. She'd better have the other books ready for me.

Sigh.

Honesty really is the best policy

2009-01-26T10:11:00.005-06:00

Here we go!

I'm the happy recipient of the Honest Scrap award from Andrea (which she gave to me, like, 1,000 days ago--or at least it seems that way).

The rules:

1) Choose a minimum of 7 blogs that you find brilliant in content or design.

2) Show the 7 winners names and links on your blog, and leave a comment informing them that they were prized with "Honest Scrap." Well, there's no prize, but they can keep the nifty icon.

3) List at least 10 honest things about yourself.

Well, here we go....

1. I know whether or not I'm going to like someone/get along with him or her within the first 10 minutes of meeting them. I'm really good at reading people and figuring out their true intentions. And if I know I'm not going to like them, I'm not exactly subtle about it. I'm not mean or anything, but I don't go out of my way to be super nice to them. I'm cordial, but not a fake friend.

2. I'm a self-proclaimed grammar nazi. Please realize that there is a difference between chose and choose. And I hate when people use me instead of I and vice-versa. Any bad grammar or excessive spelling errors just makes my skin crawl. I'm not saying I'm perfect in this area, I try very hard to be :)

3. I have body image issues. I have for most of my life. Over the past few years I have made huge strides in just getting over it, but I think it will always be something I deal with. I'm pretty sure that when I look in the mirror, I see something completely different than the rest of the world. I think it's good that I do realize that, though, and that I am able tell myself to snap out of it.

4. I don't think I should teach my children how to drive. Even though I am a fantastic driver and parallel parking queen, I have some serious road rage. I'm an impatient person to begin with, and driving definitely brings that out. That being said, I don't think Bryan should teach our children how to drive either. He is the exact opposite of me. When he's driving, I call him grandpa.

5. We've decided that Bryan is going back to school for his MBA. This is terrifically exciting and terribly scary at the same time. He's been looking at both Madison and UWM and likes both. They're both 2 year programs, but UWM has a little more wiggle room should something come up. The future payoff is pretty damn appealing, but we plan on having kids in the near future, and dealing with a newborn by myself while Bryan is at class or studying is just a tad daunting. But, hello! My immediate family is a 15 minute drive away. So I really don't think it'll be that bad. (right?)

6. I am very OCD about my closet. I have a hanging shelf thing for sweaters(winter) and basic tank tops(summer). To the left of that go my dress pants from lightest to darkest. To the right of the shelf are my shirts. Far left starts the black and it goes darkest to lightest from there. Within the colors, the shirts are further organized by sleeve length. And the shirts all face the same way, with the front facing left. Yes, I'm crazy...but I love it.

7. I wish my blogging was more consistent, but lately I just don't have the urge/motivation to do it. It's definitely something I want to keep doing, but I'd hate for it to become a chore.

8. I once got dumped via email. That's what I got for dating a townie.

9. I don't understand the fascination with reality TV. The only thing I watch is Project Runway. Shows like Survivor, ANTM, The Hills, The Bachelor, etc just make me want to vomit.

10. Bryan and I try very hard to be "green" people. Among many other things, we buy a lot of Seventh Generation or Method products, we do organic gardening in the summer, we try to buy local for most things, and we just spent way too much money on no-VOC paint. Being green can be a little more expensive, but we think it's totally worth it.

Whew! That was a lot harder than I thought it would be! As far as giving the award goes, well, if you feel like doing this, go ahead and say I gave it to you!

Take it off!

2009-01-13T09:06:00.002-06:00

No, wait, put it back on. That's not what I meant! I'm getting my hairs cut tonight, and while that's usually not that big of a deal. It is for me.

See, it's been 7 months since my last hair cut. I know--I'm disgusted with me too. For a while it was no big deal, but in the last week or so, it's just gotten unmanageable. Totally frizzy, doesn't look good up or down, just gross.

And really, I have no excuse for not going sooner. I just never called for an appointment. But now I am reminded why I don't let my hair get this long. My super fine hair looks terrible at this length. Just lays there like...like....like something that just lays around.

I'll try to post before and afters later tonight or tomorrow!

Sir Mix-a-Lot was on to something...

2009-01-07T14:42:00.002-06:00

A little background--my sister and I both have what we call "bubble butts." And my sister's is actually a bit more pronounced than mine. (Sshhh, don't tell her I told you!) And while many men have very flat/non-existent bums, Bryan is known as "ghetto booty" in these parts. So needless to say, our children will definitely not be lacking in the caboose.

Bryan just forwarded me an email from a friend letting him know big bums might be a good thing! You can check the original article out here. It says that those of us with most of our body fat in the rump and hip area are less likely to develop Type II Diabetes. Woohoo! Go us!

Randomness

2009-01-06T14:24:00.003-06:00

I have a cold and it sucks. Started on Sunday as the worst sore throat I've ever had (and I've had some doozies). Then moved to my chest yesterday, and today it's in my nose. Meaning I'm snotting all over the place (you're welcome for that visual).

Here's the thing about that--I hate blowing my nose in public, in front of people, in front of anybody except Bryan and the dog, and I guess my family too. And the kicker? I have a training class of new hires this week. They probably think I'm insane because I run into the hallway or into the bathroom every 5 minutes to blow my nose. Whatever, if any of them said anything, I'd tell their supervisor they were doing a horrible job. Well, no, actually I wouldn't. I'm too nice like that.

And it's not like my nose makes crazy goose noises or anything like that. It's just the squishy sounding-ness of it all that makes me cringe. Whatever, I'm just crazy. Deal with it :)

Because I also like to reminisce.

2009-01-02T11:30:00.004-06:00

Saw this on Kritta's blog, thought it might get me back into a bloggy mood for the new year.

1. What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before?
Bought a house! Even though it was totally anticlimactic because we'd been living in said house for 2 1/2 years. But in February it became legally ours!

2. Did you keep your New Year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I don't usually make resolutions as I've discovered I'm not very good at keeping them. But on January 1, 2008 I vowed to quit smoking by the end of February. I tried off and on throughout January, and then at the very beginning of February I came down with a really bad bout of the flu. When I was finally feeling better, I realized I hadn't had a cigarette in the 5 days I had been deathly ill! I said to myself that if I could go 5 days without one, then I could go even more. And to be honest, I have had just a couple since then, but otherwise I succeeded! Go me!

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
No, which is a shame because I love babies and I am an excellent face smoosher!

4. Did anyone close to you die?
No--and thank God for that one. 3 grandparents in '07 is all I can handle for quite a while.

5. What countries did you visit?
Zero--boo to that one. But in all honesty, I'd rather explore my own country first. I've never really been to too many places even in that one!

6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?
I don't really know how to explain it. Maybe a better attitude toward things? I feel like 2008 just kind of coasted by with not much to show for it. I guess more of a go-getter attitude is what I'd like to adopt for 2009.

7. What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
Hmm, this is a tough one. Like I said, 2008 just kind of coasted. But the date that pops up right away is October 15th. My 3rd wedding anniversary. Another fantastic year of loving and growing together!

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Becoming a home owner!

9. What was your biggest failure?
Not finishing everything on my home to do list. And yes, I do realize how much I have to be thankful for if that was my biggest failure!

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Nothing too big. Just the flu that caused me to quit smoking!

11. What was the best thing you bought?
Hmm, probably our new TV. Or really, anything that was purchased for the bathroom remodel!

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Am I supposed to pick someone close to me? Or someone in the public eye? Hmm...I guess I'm not really sure on this one. I'll go with any one person who did anything to help someone less fortunate. That type of behavior will always merit a freaking ticker tape parade in my book.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
I have to agree with Kritta on this one: "People who didn’t approve of Barack Obama because 'he’s black' or 'he’s a Muslim.' Idiots." I mean, if you disliked him for real, valid, political reasons, that is absolutely fine with me, but come on people, get a clue.

14. Where did most of your money go?
The bathroom.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Seeing Eddie Vedder at his solo show and finally finishing the bathroom

16. What song will always remind you of 2008?
Umm, my mind is so terrible at putting an event/song/anything with the year in which in happened, so that's hard for me to say.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? Much happier.
b) thinner or fatter? Probably the same.
c) richer or poorer? Probably the same, because even though we now have a mortgage, we both got multiple raises and paid off one of our cars!

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
I wish we had travelled more, or gotten more work done on the house.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Arguing, being stressed out, and worrying in general.

20. How did you spend Christmas?
Christmas this year was wonderful! All three of them! Christmas Eve was spent in New Glarus with 36 people from Bryan's immediate and slightly extended family (just aunts, uncles and cousins) crammed into a 700 square foot location--it was so much fun. Christmas Day was spent in Milwaukee with my family. Day after Christmas was spent in Rockford with Bryan's immediate family.

21. Did you fall in love in 2008?
Not really, but I stayed in love and that love grew leaps and bounds. To me, that's more valuable.

22. What was your favorite TV program?
Project Runway, fo sho.

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
I hate the word hate. So I never really hate anyone. But I do strongly dislike people. But those individuals haven't changed one way or another.

24. What was the best book you read?
Hmm, I read a lot of books this year, but nothing stands out as being fantastic. Nothing stands out as being terrible either, though.

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
The Into the Wild soundtrack.

26. What did you want and get?
Health and happiness.

27. What did you want and not get?
A winning lottery ticket.

28. What was your favorite film of this year?
Hmm, I'd say it's a tie between Sex and the City and The Dark Knight.

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 26 on July 28. It was a Monday and Bryan and I took the day off of work to bum around and go to the Brewers/Cubs game.

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Money is always nice, but would it have made things more satisfying? I doubt it. I'm pretty happy with the way things are.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?
Same as always. Classic. No crazy fads or anything.

32. What kept you sane?
Bryan and Libby. While at the same time causing much of the insanity.

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
You're right Kritta, Barack Obama is pretty damn fancy.

34. What political issue stirred you the most?
I think the election as a whole did a pretty good job of that.

35. Who do you miss?
Anyone and everyone in my family who is no longer with us.

36. Who was the best new person you met?
Definitely the blogging ladies. I wish we would have had more get togethers. Maybe this year??

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008.
Hmmm, don't sweat the small stuff. Not something I learned in '08, but it's always been my motto and it still holds true.

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
Oh my gosh, I wouldn't even know where to start here. Sorry, got nothin.

Chicago!

2008-12-16T19:45:00.008-06:00

Last weekend the man and I took a trip down to Chicago. (Side note: I hate it when people call it Chi-town. It sounds so smarmy and greasy to me. Do you know what I mean when I say greasy? I think of "that guy" with his slicked back hair and shiny shirt who thinks he's the epitome of coolness, but really, he's just a lounge singer.) Anyway, the trip was Bryan's birthday present. Even though is birthday is in the middle of November, this was the first weekend we could get away. We only stayed one night and had to leave early on Sunday, so really, we spent less than 24 hours there. But it was a nice getaway and 2 days down there gets damn expensive.

Since it was Bryan's trip, he got to choose our plans. He decided we'd take the train into the city and he was beyond excited for that. Seriously, like a little kid jumping up and down excited! We drove to Skokie (heehee, don't you just laugh when you say that? No? Well, I do.) And hopped on the train, hopped on another train, and headed into the city. The whole thing probably took about 45 minutes longer than just driving straight into downtown, but it was waaay cheaper. Overnight parking at our hotel was $51. Parking in Skokie was $2. Then between the two of us, we spent $8 on train fares. So if you're not in a hurry, I definitely recommend the train. Plus you get to see a lot of cool areas of the city.

We dropped our luggage off at the hotel, but check in wasn't for another 5 hours. The first thing that popped into Bryan's head was the Field Museum. It's the only major museum in Chicago that I've never been to, so that was fine with me. Let me start out by saying that building is huge. Like gianter than giant huge. We spent a good 4 hours there and still didn't see everything. Here's a quick tour of what we did see.

When you walk in past the registration desk, you're greeted by these guys:

And then these guys:

And then this pretty lady. Yeah, it's kind of an imposing place!

This is Sue. She is ginormous. She is the largest, most complete and best preserved T. Rex fossil ever found. And this is me and Sue. We're best friends now.

We also saw some mummies,

Some giant bugs (seriously disgusting). I couldn't get closer than this. Even if it is just plastic.

More old bones:

Ok, talk about thunder thighs!

We had no idea what this thing was when we started walking toward it. Mutant beaver? Giant squirrel? Any guesses? It's a Giant Ground Sloth. At least you know you could outrun it if you ever got sent back into Giant Ground Sloth days. (Right? Sloths are supposed to be slow...I think)

And I thought I had big feet! I could have laid down in this dino footprint.

And one last view of the lobby from a 2nd floor balcony.

After the museum we headed to our hotel and unpacked and took a mini nap before heading out to dinner. I loved our hotel! We stayed at the Allerton Hotel on Michigan Ave and it was gorgeous. Really friendly staff and modern, sexy atmosphere. The view from our room was also fantastic. We had a suite and it was 'L' shaped so we got a couple different views. This was the best one! Right on Michigan Ave!

And that building on the left? With the illuminated doorway?

Woohoo! A view of Tiffany's from our hotel room. Lots of hints were dropped, but alas, no jewelry purchased. Maybe next time.

For dinner we went to a place called Pizanos. Bryan wanted deep dish pizza and our concierge recommended this place. "Not touristy, all locals," (then why are you telling us?). "Right out of the Godfather." Well, it wasn't really all that Godfather-ish, but it was damn delicious.

Even though it was raining, we decided to walk up and down Michigan Ave. We stopped in a few places, including the Hershey store. Heaven!! And who wouldn't want a 5 lb chocolate bar for Christmas?

We also stopped to marvel at the giant Christmas tree at the Hancock Building.

And then we tried to get a picture with it, but our aim was a little off. I absolutely refuse to ask a random person to take our picture. I have this insane/unfounded phobia that they'll run off with my camera.

We eventually got all shopped out and were sick of the rain, so we headed back to the hotel. Where I began to make out with my Hershey store purchases!

Mmmm, strawberry Whoppers!

We had to get back early on Sunday for a brunch date, but it was a nice trip while it lasted!

Apparently I was on hiatus...

2008-12-12T14:55:00.005-06:00

...I just didn't realize it at the time!

Question:

Were you travelling on 94W near the Moorland Rd exit yesterday at 7:45am? No? Let me tell you what you missed.

My husband driving down the road to work...doo doo doo doo doo...just riding along. When all of a sudden, out of nowhere, every single car in front of him slams on the brakes. So does he, of course. But do those brakes slow him down? Oh no, they do not.

Instead, they decide to "lock up" (whatever that means) and send the car and it's very handsome passenger into a graceful 570 degree spin. ACROSS 3 LANES OF TRAFFIC!!

Since you weren't on the freeway at that time, you also missed the car flying backwards into the ditch, not stopping until it slammed into a pole.

Ok, so really, I make it sound a lot more dramatic than it really was (maybe). But the above did happen. I have no idea how he's not hurt. Or how he didn't hurt anyone. I mean he literally spun across 3 lanes of rush hour traffic and did not get hit by or hit anyone. How does that happen?!?! We really want to see the traffic camera footage of that one.

It's probably hard to tell, but there's a big dent to the left of the wheel. After the car got towed out of the ditch, Bryan was able drive it to work. He said it shook a little bit, but not too badly. But then he tried to go home for lunch and as soon as he hit 45 mph, the car started shaking uncontrollably. It's sitting at the body shop and we're waiting to hear back from them or the adjuster.

I was in meetings yesterday morning when it happened and when he tried to call me, so I didn't know until a couple hours later. Needless to say, hearing the voicemail that said, I'm sitting in the ditch, I was in an accident is a little unnerving. But I'll admit I did kind of lose it when I heard the whole story. And while I know I shouldn't, I keep thinking about what could have (and realistically should have) happened. I'm just so grateful that everything turned out ok, and the only thing we have to deal with is the $250 deductible.

On a completely different note, I'm hoping to be back to my regular bloggy self soon. You'll be seeing some Christmas/winter decor and you'll get to hear all about our trip to Chicago this weekend!

Thankful Lady

2008-11-28T10:52:00.003-06:00

Ummm, so yeah, it's been over 2 weeks since my last post! But there really hasn't been much going on to post about, plus work has been insanely busy.

So even though Thanksgiving was yesterday, I'm thankful for lots of things every day. Here are just a few...

First off, my family. They are so much fun to be around and I'm so thankful that we all live so close and get to see each other whenever we want. We're all a tad on the crazy side (just ask Bryan and my sister's boyfriend...the outsiders :)) but it makes for great fun and great stories.

Of course, Bryan. He is my rock and the absolute best partner I could ask for. He puts up with so much from me and deals with my craziness better than anyone else could.

My friends. I have an absolutely terrific group of friends. We have so much fun together. My best friend Emma (who yelled at me for not posting in forever. Hi Emma!) is the bestest best friend ever. As a side note, I'm also thankful for Advil for helping me out the mornings after all those "fun times", like our annual tradition of going out the night before Thanksgiving! (Man, Thursday morning was r-o-u-g-h!)

My Libby dog. She can be a brat at times, but when she's snuggled up on the couch with us at the end of the day, all that naughtiness is forgiven.

Our jobs. In these times of economic uncertainty, I am immensely thankful that Bryan and I both have very secure jobs.

The roof over my head. Of course, that roof and everything under it have flaws, but to be a homeowner at my age is truly a blessing and I love having a warm, comfortable place to call home.

Last, but certainly not least, I am thankful for my health and the health of all my family members and friends. I really hope I am thankful for this same thing for a long time!

I am thankful for lots of other little things...cars that run, a car that is paid off, Alterra coffee, Diet Coke, chocolate and plenty of other "stuff."

Here's hoping that I'm thankful for all of these things for a long time to come!

Happy Birthday to My Love!

2008-11-12T10:24:00.002-06:00

That incredibly handsome husband of mine turns 27 today!

We'll be hitting up a newish restaurant in Bay View called Cafe Centraal. It's beer heaven for Bryan the Beer Snob!

Awesomeness

2008-11-06T13:35:00.001-06:00

Just wanted to let you all know how much I love Kohl's. I went there last night because I had a 30% off mailer thing. Well pretty much the entire store was 50% off! I got a pair of knee high black boots, 7 shirts, some socks, and boxers for Bryan (couldn't leave him out) for $86! When I got home I totaled all the "regular" prices and they added up to $240! That is an insane deal. I don't know if the 50% off sale is still going on today, but I still have my 30% off coupon, so I just might head back there after work :0)

Hide!

2008-11-06T13:25:00.002-06:00

It's the devil car! Bryan just emailed this picture from his phone (explains the blurriness). The Civic was a devil car for one whole mile!! Mwahahahahaha.

Omaha, Somewhere in Middle America....

2008-11-05T11:42:00.004-06:00

Ahh, yes, the Counting Crows. America's band of the 90s. Or something.

Aaanyway, Bryan and I, along with a few friends, are heading to Nebraska this weekend for the wedding of their high school friend Isaac to his beautiful bride Tessa. Normally, this is where a loving, romantic picture of Isaac and Tessa would be inserted, but I have no such picture because I've only met them once...at my wedding.

Now normally I wouldn't be all that excited about going to Nebraska....

But, Isaac and Tessa are getting hitched here....

It's a castle people!!!! How awesome is that? I think it's pretty damn awesome. Joslyn Castle is absolutely gorgeous--I just spent some time at the website and I'm even more excited now! We're hoping there will be haunted happenings while we're there. Don't really have any reason to expect any, we're just kind of assuming a large castle will have ghosts!

It'll be a short trip though. Bryan aka The Research King, decided it would be most cost effective to fly. We'll be leaving Milwaukee at 9:05 Saturday morning and returning early Sunday afternoon. So it will be a quick jaunt, but I love weddings (even when I barely know the couple) so it'll be worth it! I'll be sure to take lots of pictures to entertain you all with when I return!

A New Era

2008-11-05T09:22:00.002-06:00

This is the third presidential election I've voted in, and the first time I felt my vote was truly counted. There is not much more I can say that hasn't already been said. Obama has a very tough time ahead of him, but I strongly believe he is the candidate most able to take on the challenge.

I would like to say that while I don't agree with John McCain's politics, I think he is a great man. His concession speech last night was genuine and compassionate. Every time an audience has booed Obama (and they did that often) McCain has asked for respect from his constituents.

I truly hope this country can stand behind its next President, because, while a cliche, it is true when they say "United we stand, divided we fall."

Hi!

2008-10-31T11:28:00.003-05:00

Well, apparently there was nothing wrong with the blog. Just my work computer acting up. One of these days I will update the background though.

I finished reading Pillars of the Earth and I highly recommend it! I had no idea what to expect when I started it, so I was taken aback by a few things.

The story itself spans about 50 years or so and is based around the building of a cathedral in Middle Ages-England. Ken Follett does not spare his readers from the way of life in those Middle Ages. There is lots of raping and pillaging and killing to get through. At first it was a little tough, and felt kind of gratuitous at times, but then you realize that life was really like that back then. Those scenes serve their purpose by transporting you fully into the era.

It's a very long book (973 pages), but I'd definitely recommend it. Especially if you like historical fiction.

I finished that book on Wednesday night and picked up Atonement on Tuesday. I just can't do it. So far it's pretty much identical to the movie. Which I obviously realize is the movie's fault. When it comes to books adapted into movies, I like to experience both, but I also like for there to be some differences. But aside from that, the book is just so....boring. Maybe I'll pick it back up eventually, but who knows.

So up next is a book I bought earlier this summer, Water for Elephants. Even though it's been around for a few years, it seems to be enjoying a resurgence. Or maybe it's popularity never waned, I guess I don't know the answer to that one. But I've heard great things about it, and I'm excited to dive into it.

Oh, yeah! Happy Halloween!! My best friend and her roommate are having their 2nd annual Halloween party and it promises to be lots of fun! I don't have the picture available, but last year's party involved a 3 foot tall bottle of wine, with no glasses. Good times!

Question mark?

2008-10-28T13:42:00.002-05:00

Ummm, so sitting here at my work computer, I head on over to the old blog hoping that along the way I'll be inspired to write about something. I type in the address, hit enter and the page loads. At least it says it's done loading, but there's no pretty background. Just boring white. Hmmm. Did something happen with Photobucket? Did Blogger decide they don't like me anymore? Is the world trying to tell me something?

Anyway, guess I'll have to investigate when I get home. I have no idea how long it's been like this, so I'm sorry if you came to my blog and thought it was the most boring thing in the whole world. At least this will give me the push I needed to revamp the background!

Oh, and PS--I just filled up my car with gas that was $2.38 gallon! Everywhere else I've seen still says $2.48. This is the first time I've filled up my 16 gallon tank for less than $40. Huzzah!

Word to your mother

2008-10-24T14:09:00.002-05:00

From the JSOnline.

Don't expect as much snow this year
The relentless snowstorms that buried the Milwaukee area last year shouldn't be back for a repeat performance. In fact, forecasters are using a word that should come as a relief to those who spent last winter shoveling, heading to work, returning home and shoveling again. That word is "normal." "We're definitely looking at the likelihood of less snow. We're not expecting anything like last year," said meteorologist Penny Zabel with the National Weather Service office in Sullivan. During the winter of 2007-'08, La Nina, a cooling of ocean waters in the eastern tropical Pacific, created conditions that dumped heavy snows on the Midwest. Milwaukee received 99 inches of snow, more than four feet above the average snowfall of 52.4 inches. But this year's projections show no bias toward a La Nina pattern. There also are no signs of abnormally warm ocean temperatures, called El Nino, so it won't be drier than normal, Zabel said. The forecasters' winter outlook also calls for warmer-than-normal temperatures this winter. The winter outlook indicates there's a 50% chance southern Wisconsin temperatures will be warmer than normal, a 16% chance temperatures will be below normal. That leaves about a 34% chance temperatures will be normal.

Take that La Nina! Which we all know is Spanish for, "the snow bitch."

Hello old friend!

2008-10-21T17:44:00.005-05:00

So things at work are kiiinda slowing down. Definitely no time to blog there. And things at home aren't much better. Nothing bad going on at either place...just busy, busy, busy.

We were able to take a breather this weekend though. For my anniversary present, Bryan whisked me away a little north of the city. He surprised me with a daytrip to Kohler-Andrae State Park (a must go/see).

We started our morning with a trip to Whole Foods to pick up the fixings for a fabulous picnic.

Here's me with all of our food (Bryan insisted he take a picture for "the blog")

And we also bought these amazing desserts.

A closeup of our food (because I know you wanted one).

And the married-for-3-years people.

Libby wants to know where her food is.

And here's the view from our picnic table.

So pretty! The trees were definitely at there peak, and many even past their peak, but it was still very lovely.

After the delicious (and very filling) picnic, we walked off all the calories here:

And here:

I love this place! Libby definitely got her exercise in too!

Look Ma! A stick!

Hee hee! Look at those ears.

Random strange driftwood log thing

After all the walking up and down the beach, we decided to drive around the area and take in the sights.

Still some pretty colors hanging around.

Very Iowa-ish, don't you think?

It was a gorgeous day weather wise and it was the perfect gift. Incorporated everything I love: surprises, nature, fooood, driving around aimlessly, my dog, and of course, my husband. Yay!

L-O-V-E

2008-10-15T21:23:00.008-05:00

I hope you'll all forgive me for my absence (What? You were gone?). Life and work are both absolutely insane right now! But today is a very special day, and even though I should be cuddling on the couch right, I thought I'd tell you why it's so special.

Three years ago on October 15, Bryan and I officially became husband and wife. It was the best wedding day ever! Words cannot describe how I feel about Bryan, so I'll let the pictures (and lyrics from our first dance) speak for themselves.

"Forever" by Ben Harper

Not talkin' 'bout a year/no not three or four

I don't want that kind of forever/in my life anymore

forever always seems to be around when it begins

but forever never seems to be around when it ends

so give me your forever/please your forever

not a day less will do/from you

People spend so much time/every single day

runnin' 'round all over town/givin' their forever away

but no not me/I won't let my forever roam

and now I hope I can find my forever a home

so give me your forever/please your forever

not a day less will do/from you

Like a handless clock with numbers/an infinite of time

no not the forever found only in the mind

forever always seems to be around when things begin

but forever never seems to be around when things end

so give me your forever/please your forever

not a day less will do/from you

Holy Deal Batman!

2008-10-09T14:16:00.002-05:00

Ladies, this might be of interest to you fashionable thriftsters out there! On October 15th (our 3rd wedding anniversary thankyouverymuch) a new website (www.handbagplanet.com) will launch selling designer style handbags at prices just as fashionable--$30-$80! And to celebrate the impending launch, they're giving away a free handbag every hour. Go enter!!

Funny stuff

2008-10-02T10:20:00.002-05:00

We got a mailer the other day from a cable company that we do not currently subscribe to, letting us know we could be paying way less if we switched to them. We have no plans of switching, because we hated them when we were with them a couple years ago.

But Bryan gets it into his head to call and find out what the exact offer is, so he can use that as leverage to negotiate a lower rate with our current cable company. He's so smart and thrifty!

So he dials the first cable company to get the quote. He's in the other room, but I hear him dial and say something in the phone. Next thing I know, he comes out of the room laughing hysterically. Here's how the short conversation went:

Bryan: *dials and waits*
Operator: *mumbles something in a very thick Indian accent*
B: Uh, is this [cable company]?
O: No, this is the number for Extend.
B: What's Extend?
O: Extend is the most effective way to achieve male enhancement! May I have your name?
B: *hangs up*

Seems that the people at Extend and the people at the cable company have an identical phone number. The difference? Extend is a 1-800 number, and the cable company is a 1-888 number. I wonder how often that mix up happens?

And yes, the negotiating worked. Bryan scored a $20 discount on our monthly bill. Yay money!

Think Pink!

2008-10-01T11:53:00.002-05:00

Just in case you weren't already aware....

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Please do anything you can to spread the word on early detection, breast cancer, and just awareness in general.

You can also go to this site and enter in the phone numbers of friends and family to receive a phone call from Ellen DeGeneres reminding them to make their breast health a priority!

So remember ladies...

I love fall! Fally fally fall!

2008-09-25T12:21:00.005-05:00

Even though my birthday is in the summer, my favorite season is fall. Mostly because I love being cozied up in cute scarves and sweaters. And of course, because it's a new year, I feel the need to buy new sweaters! Here's what I'm loving right now.

From Target:
I love the boyfriend cardigans everyone has this season! I would call them Mr. Rogers cardigans, but that's just me. And I'm pretty sure I'd wear something under this one.

This is a simple one, but I like the button detail on the bottom.

I like (what looks like) the extra fabric on this one. You could probably make it more of a wrap style with a belt.

On to Forever 21:
I absolutely love and must have this one!! It is very much my style and I would wear it all the time. I might actually go out and buy this one, hopefully it looks good on!

From Gap:
This one just looks so warm and cozy--I love it!

More love!

I'm usually not much of a cowl-neck person, but I do like this one.

From NY&Co.

And Old Navy:

Looking around all the web sites I notice that cardigans and wide stripes are very popular. And short sleeves too. Hello! Designers? Most of us needing sweaters live in cold places. We like our sleeves. Not all sweaters look good with a long sleeve tee underneath. Other than that, I would very much like to do some shopping. Now to convince Bryan. Although, the nice thing about sweaters is that they've been in a storage bin for about 6 months. There's no way he'd remember what I did or didn't have last winter. Hmmmm.

PS. Spell check doesn't like the word 'cozied'. Why not? Is it not really a word? Well, I say it is. So there.

Books, books and more books

2008-09-24T12:04:00.003-05:00

I love reading. I've always loved reading. I always will love reading. My kids and grandkids will love reading too. They'll be reading at a 5th grade level when they're 2, just so you know.

I was in the accelerated reader group in elementary school and I remember doing a book report in 5th grade on Jurassic Park. Yep, I was the 10 year old reading a 400-page book with really long and confusing dinosaur names. And this was before the movie came out, so I had no idea if I was even pronouncing those names correctly! When I finally did see the movie, I realized I had been saying Velociraptor wrong. (Why do I remember things like this?)

Not long after Jurassic Park, I read The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. What can I say? My mom is a big reader too, and kept lots of books in the house. Plus, I was going to the library non-stop. Seriously, twice a week at least. The library was a 10 minute bike ride away, and would put on my little backpack and come home with at least 5 books. I'd read those in just as many days, and then be back on my way to the library to start the cycle all over.

And don't even get me started on school book fairs and the Scholastic Reader order form. Pure Heaven!! My allowance always went toward books, and I definitely owned the entire Babysitter's Club series, and a ton of Nancy Drew books!

Nowadays, my reading habits have slowed a little bit. I just don't always have the time to curl up with a good book for a couple of hours. Usually, it's just a few pages before bed. But even then, it only takes me about a week to finish a book. I read at an insane speed, and with complete and total concentration.

I'm currently reading Pillars of the Earth and liking it a lot. It's about 970 pages, so it was a little intimidating at first. I started it while camping this weekend (post on that to follow shortly), and have been reading it for a cumulative total of about 2 hours. Right now I'm on page 250ish. That's fast, at least I think it is. If you can blow that number out of the water, that's cool. I just won't like you as much!

Anyway, there really is no point to this post, except to let you all know how much I love reading and how awesome I am at it :) Next up is Atonement, which has been sitting next to my bed for months. That will be followed by Water for Elephants which I just bought last week. I can't believe I'm about to say this, but I can't wait for cold, snowy winter days when all there is to do is curl up with a good book!

Yummy!

2008-09-23T16:52:00.002-05:00

I've been meaning to talk about this for about a month now, and now it's on jsonline.com, which doesn't make me seem all that special anymore :(

But Sonic is coming!!! Aren't you so excited?? I am! (Can't you tell from the copius punctuation?)

And you know what? I've never even eaten there. Crazy, I know. But those commercials always make me so damn hungry and or thirsty! And since the closest one is in, like, Iowa or something, I've always had to settle for something else.

And the even better thing? The first one is opening just couple of blocks away from my work. Woot!

The List

2008-09-18T10:55:00.002-05:00

So I said I’d show you all our fall/winter to-do list, so here it is! And yes, I’m using bullet points, in a blog post, get over it. In no particular order:

Clean out/organize all closets
Clean all windows
Clean all blinds (I hate blinds, but window treatments are so expensive! Guess I’ll have to just wait it out.)
Buy ceiling fans for our bedroom and guest room
Buy Roman shade for living room (But I will buy one!)
Figure out what to put on TV wall (So empty! Suggestions welcome!)

Switch clothing seasons (Bring out winter, put away summer)
Put out fall decorations (Done! A little early, I know. But I love fall, I can’t help it!)

Put out winter/Christmas decorations (Never done before December 1st. Christmas-specific stuff definitely does not go out before December 15th.)
Paint living room, guest room, hallway….wait, let’s just make this paint the whole house (with the exception of the kitchen and bathroom)
Buy new bed & bedding for guest room (The bed in there now is the tiny twin bed I had growing up. The mattress is very old and very uncomfortable. I’d definitely like to get a full in there – or at least try, seeing as how the room is tiny)
Remove square of carpeting by front door (I don’t like how the front door is just a part of the living room. I want something that separates the entryway from the rest of the room)

Re-carpet house (A big one, and it probably won’t happen, but I can dream!)
Transfer all pictures to web (I’m in the process of uploading ALL our pictures from our cameras, new and old, and our computer. This will be a good project for all of those snowed-in winter nights!)
Frequent Goodwill/Craigslist for decent bedroom and kitchen furniture (I’m very embarrassed to show you what our kitchen table and chairs look like, but I will anyway. Libby and the table and chairs used to hate on each other yo. Libby won. The bedroom furniture is in regard to dressers and bedside tables. Still on the matching/non-college furniture thing! Always will be.)

Buy end tables (Done!)
Buy coffee table
Clean out garage
Put away outdoor furniture and decorations (Halfway there!)
Winterize garden
Clean out “Where old furniture goes to die” room in the basement. (Exactly what it sounds like!)

That should keep us pretty busy, don’t you think? I’ll be very interested to see how much of this actually gets done. The things that require money are the only things I’m worried about. I think this list was made with a financial best case scenario in mind. We’ll see how it goes! What do you have planned while you’re cozied up at home this winter?

Sorry!

2008-09-17T22:23:00.002-05:00

Sorry the layout of my "List" post is so craptacular. Blogger is being a gigantic snatch right now, so I'll try fixing it tomorrow. This will only make sense if you use Google Reader, because I think it already showed up there.

Furniture

2008-09-17T15:05:00.001-05:00

So I have this thing about furniture. This thing is that in each room, it has to match—or at least look nice together. Bryan and I still have a ton of hand-me-down furniture and furniture from our college days, and of course, nothing matches anything. And to be honest, we probably still will for quite a while.

And it has nothing to do with trying to show off, or keeping up with the Joneses (or whoever it is we’re supposed to be keeping up with these days – I have a feeling the Joneses are pretty old by now and have a home full of plastic-covered furniture), it’s just me and some of my OCD impulses clawing their way out.

When we got our new TV we also got a new TV stand. Hello pretty piece of furniture! Goodbye ugly, sagging in the middle, piece of WalMart junk!

So while I was happy about that, the rest of the furniture still didn’t look good together. They were completely different colors, and more importantly, different styles. Fast forward about a month and a half. Target had the matching end tables on sale!! Plus, I had a small gift card burning a hole in my pocket. So I bought them Monday night! Now we’re getting much closer to a more cohesive living room. Now I just have to work on the rest of the house – and on convincing Bryan that this kind of thing matters.

Miscellaneous Monday

2008-09-15T11:30:00.002-05:00

Hope everyone had a good weekend! Mine was very nice. Nothing really blog-worthy, but a nice weekend regardless.

I do have to come clean about something though. I've been lying to all of you for quite some time. You see, my bathroom, you know--the one we just remodeled? Well, I've always told you it's 100% completed. But the truth is, it's kind of not.

Ok, ok, I'm being just a tad dramatic. The only thing we had left to do was some electrical work, and we had to work around the schedule of the guy doing the work. But after this weekend, we got a new (desperately needed) outlet and a (even more desperately needed) bathfan. Now, my dear friends, we are 110% finished!

We went to the Bay View Bash on Saturday night and I had the most amazing Chocolate-Hazelnut-Banana Crepe from Nate's Crepe. I was in heaven. I could have eaten 5 of those things! But thank God I didn't, because I don't have the money for new pants.

I put together a list of fall/winter cleaning/house projects over the weekend. It's pretty extensive. And a little daunting. But we're going to need something to do over the winter! I don't have it with me right now, but I'll share it in the near future.

Ok, back to work for me!

Bye-licious!

2008-09-11T09:38:00.005-05:00

Warning! Project Runway spoiler below!

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

I can't tell you how happy I am that Blayne is gone from Project Runway. If I had to hear him add "licious" to the end of every other word one more time, I was going to throw something at the TV. That would not make for a happy Bryan. When he first started doing the -licious thing it was obvious that he was just trying to be this season's Christian. Fierce and hot mess are much better than just adding extra letters on to a word!

Oh, and I can't say I'm too sad to see Terri go either. She was nasty for no reason, other than the fact that it was her "thing."

The End!!

2008-09-10T15:23:00.004-05:00

76. I am a crier.
77. Anger, frustration, sadness, happiness, you name it--I've cried from all of them.
78. I am an optimist.
79. I know that if things are going badly, they will always work out in the end.
80. But, in some sort of strange paradoxical way, I am an intense worrier.
81. I am not a morning person.
82. But I hate sleeping past 9am on the weekends. Any later and I feel the day is a waste.
83. When I get home from work I need to take a break from life for at least an hour (maybe 2).
84. I get a surge of energy around 9pm, which is when things usually get done around the house.
85. That whole thing will not work very well once kids are in the picture.
86. I'm quite sure I'll manage.
87. I wish I could buy all organic food, build a green house, live a much more green life.
88. Do you know how expensive that crap is!?
89. I wish I didn't covet money so much.
90. I have close relatives who have it, lots of it.
91. It definitely does not "make" you happy.
92. I am absolutely content with my life right now.
93. I am told by my dentist that I have soft teeth.
94. I almost always have a cavity, no matter what I do to prevent it. (ie. little soda, sweets, good brushing, etc)
95. I hate hate hate going to the dentist.
96. I would really like to be a stay-at-home mom.
97. At least until my kids are in all day school.
98. Bryan wants this for me too (because he knows it will make me happy, not because of some sexist/chauvinistic ideal).
99. I am very very very times infinity in love with my husband.
100. I made it!! Here's to a hundred more posts!

51-75

2008-09-09T11:44:00.002-05:00

51. I believe in soul mates.

52. I don't believe that people only have one soul mate.

53. I've definitely found one of mine--the best one, of course!

54. I wish I could say that I don't care about labels and fancy things.

55. But I do.

56. I've come a long way in not caring about those things.

57. If I had to describe myself in 4 words, they would be: Middle of the Road.

58. I'm one of the most easy-going people you will ever meet.

59. I also have a very hard time making decisions.

60. I wish I had a keener eye for design.

61. Since I don't, my house is a mish-mash of styles.

62. I have zero patience.

63. Well, I guess I should say I have about three patience, puppy-dom helped fix that.

64. I criticize other people too much.

65. I can be a down right bitch sometimes.

66. I am not a fan of most organized religion.

67. I went to Catholic school for 14 years.

68. I'm pretty sure one has very much to do with the other.

69. I absolutely do believe in God and am a very faithful person.

70. I wish the separation between church and state hadn't become so muddled.

71. That's all I'll say about religion (and politics, for that matter).

72. I don't know if I'll ever feel "ready" for a baby.

73. I'm pretty sure I won't feel "ready" even after we have a baby.

74. Bryan is super into the baby train right now. He is the conductor of the baby train.

75. Me? Still just a casual passenger.

Next 25 Things

2008-09-08T12:01:00.003-05:00

26. I hate looking at pictures of my myself from the age of about 13 til about ooohhh, let's say 18.

27. Those are what I call my awkward years.

28. Self esteem was not a strength of mine during those years and it shows.

29. I have always suffered from body image issues.

30. I started to accept myself for who I am and my body for what it is in just the last few
years.

31. Subject change! I have 1 sister who is 15 months younger than I am.

32. We were absolute worst enemies growing up.

33. We got into many a knock-out-drag-down fight when we were younger.

34. She is one of my closest friends now and was my maid of honor.

35. I have a younger brother who is 4 years younger than I am.

36. I apparently used to introduce him as my baby.

37. I still play the role of overprotective mom to him even though he is 22.

38. I got my driver's license in February of my senior year of high school.

39. I was 17 (and a 1/2).

40. I never really felt the need to get it the second I turned 16.

41. I lived 2 blocks from my high school.

42. And most of my friends lived in my neighborhood.

43. My first job was a paper route in 7th grade.

44. I delivered Milwaukee's afternoon newspaper.

45. I didn't make very much money.

46. That ended about a year later because the Milwaukee Journal and the Milwaukee Sentinel
merged and was delivered in the early morning.

47. Some of my favorite memories are from the Sunday early early mornings delivering the
paper with my dad.

48. He would take me to my (future) high school's parking lot and let me drive around!

49. Even though I'm 26, I don't feel like an adult.

50. I don't know when that will happen or even if it will happen.

100 Things--Pt. 1

2008-09-05T13:00:00.000-05:00

I'm coming up on my 100th post! I honestly didn't think I'd make it this long. With this kind of thing I'm usually all gung ho about it in the beginning, but then the novelty wears off and I start to forget about it. But I really like this whole blogging thing, so I plan to keep it up for the long haul.

I've always liked people's 100 things about me lists, and I've always looked forward to doing my own. But, instead of doing one post with a hundred things that would take a long time to read through, I decided to break it up into 4 posts. Nothing is in any particular order or categorized, I'm just going to type things as I think of them.

Part 1

1. I was born on July 28, 1982

2. I started dating Bryan on March 11, 2001

3. I became the first person in my family to graduate from college on December 18, 2004

4. I got married on October 15, 2005

5. Those are the most important dates in my life up until now.

6. My ethnicity is 100% Polish.

7. My best friend is exactly 1 month older than me.

8. She is also very Polish!

9. We have a pact to visit Poland during the summer of our 40th birthdays.

10. That seems like a very long time from now.

11. When it actually happens, I'm sure I'll be wondering where all the time has gone.

12. I hope it flew by from having so much fun in life!

13. The first half of 2007 really sucked for me.

14. My mom's dad died on January 17th.

15. My dad's mom died on January 18th.

16. My credit union branch was robbed in February. Luckily, no one was hurt. (It was just a note passing.)

17. My dad's dad died on July 28th. Yep, that'd be my birthday.

18. Thankfully, things got better from then on. (Should this even count as one? Sure, why not!)

19. I am a fiercely loyal and protective friend.

20. In high schoool I always had more guy friends than girl friends.

21. That changed a bit in college after I joined a sorority.

22. Sororities in smaller school are nothing like the stereotypes.

23. Well, I shouldn't say "nothing like." It's what you'd expect when a group of 40-50 girls gets
together--the good and the bad.

24. I have known a good deal of my friends since kindergarten and early grade school.

25. This includes fellow blogger Andrea (we've known each other since first grade!)

So there are the first 25 random things about me! Sorry it was such a downer in the middle there, but that's life sometimes.

Queen of Morals

2008-09-04T13:30:00.002-05:00

If you remember, back in June, our AC went on the fritz. We were going to pay cash for it, but then decided to take advantage of their credit card with 1 year no interest. Bryan and I were talking last week, and we realized we haven't received a bill yet. Well I finally got around to calling the number on the back of the credit card, and the automated voice on the other end told me I had a zero balance! Well, yay I thought, the AC gods have paid our debt for us! Wait--no such thing as AC gods you say? Darn it, I knew it was too good to be true.

My next phone call was to the HVAC company to see if there was an error on their end. And, of course, there was. There wasn't even any evidence in the computer that work had even been done! Only the estimate/service call showed up in our account. But of course, because I was being a good person, they found the error and charged our new credit card accordingly.

Now, I'm sure there are people out there who would never have said a thing. And that is just the most appalling thing in the world. I am a firm believer that what goes around comes around. I know that something else would have happened as a result of my being a big fat liar. Bryan jokingly (I think) said, c'mon! That could've paid for the Caymans (next year's vacation). Ass. But luckily for him, he was just kidding. He's honest like that too.

So now I am eagerly awaiting positive payback for my good deed! (I don't think you're actually supposed to expect something--puts the karma fairies in a tizzie)

Weekend

2008-09-04T10:43:00.002-05:00

I'm not going to do an entire recap. Because, really? Who cares? But I will say that the Foo Fighters show on the lakefront on Friday night was an absolute blast. Dave Grohl is high-larious! We went down early and walked through all the HD vendor tents and looked at a million way cool bikes. So all in all the whole thing was a lot of fun!

We also watched the parade Saturday morning. Eh-it was 8,000 motorcycles. If you've seen one, you've seen 'em all. But there were a few people/bikes here and there that caught my attention.

The rest of the weekend was spent relaxing up north at the place my family has owned for 20+ years. We didn't do an.y.thing. And it was glorious!

Hope everyone enjoyed your holiday weekend!

Geeez!

2008-09-02T09:30:00.002-05:00

I have a love/hate relationship with extended weekends (as I'm sure most of us do). Love them because they mean I have no responsibilities. Hate them because I come back to a very large pile of shite. 66 emails at work, 5 voicemails, 55 items in Google Reader, and a very thirsty garden. I'm going to the Brewers game tonight, so a weekend update will probably have to wait until Wednesday!

Holy Motorcycles Batman!

2008-08-28T13:33:00.003-05:00

I had to go home for lunch today, and the way there was fine. But the ride back? Holy crap. I must have seen a gazillion (literally, a gazillion) bikes. It just took me 30 mins to get back to work. Yeah, I live 4 miles away. Ridiculous. Which is why Bryan and I have decided to go out of town this weekend. Not sure where yet, but I can't handle the traffic and crowds anymore. I know, I'm old. At the ripe old age of 26.

On a side note, thank you to the ladies who left such caring comments yesterday. Things are much better today. I think I just needed to vent. Not necessarily to a real live person, I just needed to get it all out. And if things get like this again, I'll definitely have no problem talking to someone (per Sierra's suggestion). I've done it before (in college) and I'd do it again if it really came down to that. So thank you again!

Super crank, super crank, she's super cranky

2008-08-27T14:06:00.003-05:00

I really don't know what's with me lately. I feel like I'm back in my teenage turbo bitch years. The slightest thing sets me off. Poor Bryan has had to deal with the brunt of it. And he does not deal well. He takes it personally and gets angry back. Which of course sets me off even more!

Bryan and I went to my parents house for dinner last night. My dad made a comment about my sister and her school issues and I flew off the handle. Like 10 miles off the handle! Yelling at him and my mom for really no reason at all. Then Bryan tried (in all the wrong ways) to get me to stop, and I again got even more cranky. And then 2 minutes later I was back to normal and apologizing. Luckily my parents realized I had some issues going on, LOL, so they were fine with the whole episode.

I don't know if it's PMS or what. I've never felt like this before. I get way out of line and even though there's like another person inside me telling me to shut up and stop being such a bitch, I just can't. I want to stop, but I don't. This is way different than just your run of the mill PMS mood swings. Nothing has changed in my life lately. No new birth control pill, no extra stress, nothing! Although, I have had trouble sleeping lately. I've always been a light sleeper, and I haven't slept through the night in my whole life, but this is different. The dog or a noise outside wakes me up and I can't for the life of me get back to bed. It's very insomnia-like. I toss and turn for a few hours, sometimes I just go into the living room and watch TV. Then I finally fall back asleep around 6am, only to have to get up again an hour later.

I don't know if one is causing the other, or if they're both a result of the same thing. What that "thing" is, I'd like to know.

Things are pretty strained between Bryan and I. He's not good at this whole thing. Like I said above, instead of just ignoring me and letting me vent, he takes everything personally and continues to turn it into an even bigger fight.

Whatever it is, I hope it passes soon.

Yay!

2008-08-25T14:16:00.002-05:00

Woot for new phones! We ended up getting the LG Shines this weekend! I got red and Bryan got black. Love love love them. Thanks Sierra for the advice about keeping the keys out of the same pocket! Bryan is definitely very paranoid about that happening. He keeps asking me if I have my phone in a separate pocket in my purse! (The face of the phone scratches very easily) And Kelly, I hope when you get yours on Tuesday, you love it just as much!

This was a totally laid back weekend! We went out Friday night for a friend's birthday. We went to Yield and it was about 200 degrees in there. Very gross. It was much nicer when we moved to BBC's patio area. The rest of the weekend was spent doing things around the house and just hanging out.

Harley's 105th birthday extravaganza is this week/weekend. Really looking forward to the Foo Fighters concert. Not so much looking forward to getting around the city. Depending on where you live, you may want to invest in a good pair of ear plugs. Also, a car that fits in your pocket might be handy. Parking is at a premium downtown (as if it isn't already) and lots of other places in the area.

I did a lot of partying during the 100th anniversary weekend and I had an insane amount of fun. But now, I'm a lot less of a partier, and people and crowds tend to make me just a tad cranky. So we'll see how that goes. I do live on a very main road in Milwaukee, so there will be lots of motorcycles going back and forth. I'm sure we'll see a lot of cool and crazy bikes.

Also, the parade starts not too far from our house. We'll probably have to drive down a couple miles and then walk the rest of the way. Neither of us are big into Harley or anything, but it is really fun to people watch and see all the bikes.

I know someone getting married this weekend. That will be one interesting event. It's downtown, so as previously mentioned, parking will be terrible at best. And the hotel situation!? They tried booking rooms for about a year in advance and just barely got enough rooms. And did I mention those rooms are spread out over 4 different hotels? Only 2 of which are near each other and the venue? So yeah, that'll be good times for the out of towners.

But even if you're not a Harley person, you should at least check out one or more of the events. If you're lucky, you'll see many an assless-chapped individual! Why, yes, I do speak from experience! And they weren't pretty people either!

Help please!

2008-08-22T16:40:00.002-05:00

Bryan and I are getting new phones this weekend--yay! Our 2 1/2 year old Razors are most definitely on their last legs.

I've been looking at/loving the LG Shine. I would absolutely get in red!

I've read great things about it and I'm excited to see it in person. Though I did read that the face scratches easily. Anybody have one? Or know someone who does? What are your/their thoughts on it?

Does anybody have any other good recommendations? We have AT&T, so obviously it would have to be a model they carry. Thanks for any help!

Different Reading Material

2008-08-21T10:57:00.003-05:00

Lately I've been doing some blog surfing. Lately I've been drawn to blogs of a certain subject. A subject that someone like me should not really be drawn toward. (All right, all right, what is it already?)

I've been reading a lot of infertility blogs lately. I've also started to read some blogs from dead.baby.land. (Their phrase, not mine) It's strange to me because I wonder why I would want to spend time reading (for the most part) depressing, yet real, stories. And of course reading the experiences of all these women makes me freak out. Some days I am convinced I won't be able to get pregnant when the time comes. Although apparently my mother was a Fertile Mertile, so hopefully she passed that on to me.

And the thing is, we're nowhere near TTC. Part of me thinks I read those blogs just so I can be prepared if and when the time comes that we're having trouble. I want to know what emotions people go through and what I might encounter. Another part of me thinks that reading these blogs is a good thing. It makes me more aware of a "taboo" subject and how to properly react to someone who is going through it. Before this whole blogging thing, I had no idea how many women faced TTC issues!

And why is it a taboo subject?! Especially among women! A lot of the women write that other women TTC avoid them like the plague! As if they'll pass on their dead.baby disease or as though their troubles TTC are contagious. Why should women be afraid to be open about their experience?

It kind of reminds me of women who do get pregnant and go through the birthing process. Up until a short while ago, I had absolutely no idea what actually happens throughout a pregnancy and during delivery. Just the happy-go-lucky details. Look! I'm pregnant and I've got a cute belly! Then, whoo! Just like that, a new baby! Women don't normally talk to other women about the reality of the situation. At least not the women that I know. Hemorrhoids, tearing, vomiting/BMs during delivery, the healing process afterwards: I mean, really, how many women do you know who have told you the complete 100% honest truth about their delivery experience? Maybe it's just me because I haven't had anyone close to me get pregnant in my adult life. I was 14 and 17 when my cousins were born, and that was the last time anyone close to me was pregnant. Maybe my aunt should have told me all the details--good birth control for a teenager!

Anyway, this post turned into 2 different yet sort of related subjects. But either way, I think women need to be more open about things like this. We are/should be one giant support group for one another. So even thought I do find it a little strange that I'm drawn to these blogs, I feel better that I know more about the situations these women are going through. Thoughts?

my weekend

2008-08-20T09:10:00.007-05:00

Is it seriously Wednesday? Who stole Monday and Tuesday from me? Was it you? Give 'em back...well, actually, you can keep Monday. I don't like Monday.

Semi-quick recap from the weekend. Left Milwaukee around 4, got to Stillwater (border town on the MN side) around 8:30. That is a damn awesome time considering we got a bit of rush hour traffic and we stopped for dinner. Guess that's what happens when lead feet are driving.

Bryan's college roommate/our good friend Chad is currently getting smarter by the minute as he attends UC-Davis to get his doctorate. He went home to Stillwater for a month or so to visit with friends and the fam. So we stayed at his place on Friday night. We crossed the border to Hudson, WI. Two words. Townie central. But we had a good time. Didn't stay out too late as the working all day and then 4 1/2 hours of driving made us tired for some reason.

Saturday we eventually made the 25 min drive to Minneapolis and to Mike's place. I've mentioned it before, but Mike and Bryan have know each other since 1st grade. Mike used to live in Milwaukee, but moved to MN to work as an engineer at a place that designs/builds navigational equipment for airplanes and jets. When he talks about that kind of stuff, it just goes way over my head and I feel like a mo-ron.

We hung out at Mike's place for a bit. His brand new fiancee Megan eventually headed over and we talked all about their vacation and engagement in Bermuda! I love all that girly stuff. There was definitely a lot of talk about weddings over the weekend. Even Bryan gets into it. (Don't tell anyone I told you that!) We went to Minnehaha Park and did a bit of hiking. Saw Minnehaha Falls. Totally forgot my camera. Oops. Stopped for some ice cream after that, then everyone headed back to their respective apartments to rest and get ready for dinner. Mike took us on a quick tour of his neighborhood. He lives right by Lake of the Isles and it's absolutely gorgeous. It's a smaller lake with not much going on, but the house facing it!! Oh.my.god. The houses. We did a zillow.com search and found out that most of the houses were in the 3-5 million range! I just about crapped my pants. (That would have been embarrassing)

Dinner was fantastic! We went to a place called Duplex, which was just that. An old house turned into a restaurant. With seating on the front porch even! We at outside, but not on the porch. The food was great, the wine was great, but the company was even better. After that, we went to a German place for more beer and wine. And then, finally, the pictures started!

Me & Mike

The newly engaged couple!

Me & Chad

Megan & Bryan

Mike & his beer

I just realized that the group picture didn't load, so I'll have to do that when I get home.

Sunday morning we went to the Minneapolis Farmer's Market before we left to stock up on veggies for the week. I love love love farmer's markets! In summer, they're usually the only place we get our fruits and veggies from. Everyone really needs to go to the West Allis farmer's market. Sure, downtown has it's fair share of trendy markets, but 'stallis is where it's at! But be warned, it gets very crowded!

Anyway, we left Minneapolis around 12:30, dropped Chad off in Stillwater, and made our way home. We stopped in Eau Claire for lunch and drove through campus and the town. It was so surreal! I've only been back once since graduation (Bryan's been back a couple of times) but it was the year after I graduated, so it wasn't much different. But now that it's been a few years it felt so strange to go back. Everything was pretty much the same--even the crappy student houses we both lived in! But it was definitely fun to reminisce about all the great (and some not so great) memories.

We finally made it home around 6:30 and collapsed! Just like you're about to do now, because this was one long post!

Longest Day Ever

2008-08-19T09:45:00.002-05:00

I can barely contain my excitement!! Tonight is the Eddie Vedder show at the Riverside. I'm so incredibly pumped it is literally taking everything I have not to run around the building jumping and dancing and singing!

PS. I will post about my weekend in the MN tomorrow.

Grab some popcorn

2008-08-12T14:40:00.006-05:00

Well, what can I say? It's been pretty quiet around here lately. So how about a list? I love lists! (But not as much as I love lamp!) This was harder to do than I thought, but here's a list of my all time favorite movies (because I know you were just dying to find out!)

In no particular order, they are:

Empire Records

Damn the man! Save the Empire! Cute boys, lots of teen angst, great soundtrack. Can you ask for anything more in a movie? I didn't think so. This movie made me want to work in an independent music store so bad! I don't know why I never did.

Usual Suspects

Anchorman

The Princess Bride

Mawwaige

Forrest Gump

Jennay

Kellay

runnang

The Big Lebowski

Big Fish

McGregor

Labyrinth

Oh man. This is one of those ridiculous 80s movies that has a cult following for some reason. It's totally weird and even borders on creepy (David Bowie in spandex!). But for whatever reason, I've always really liked it. It does include some amazing puppeteering by Jim Henson though.

Eww, these gross orange puppet things are not cool. I had another college roommate who also loved this movie, but would fast forward through the scene where these guys dance around and sing. They were too scary for her!

I'm sure I've forgotten some (then how could those be your favorites?). Because when I force my brain to think about things like that, my brain says, I don't think I want to give you that information right now. Instead I'll save it for 3 am on Friday. And there are a lot of older movies I like too--like from the 80s--tubular! But then there are the old older movies I love--King and I, Oklahoma, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Donovan's Reef--all movies my mom and grandma made me watch--Love them!

So those are the movies that I don't think I'll ever get sick of watching! They aren't the greatest epics of all time, and some of them really aren't all that great. But I love em!

Birthday Present

2008-08-08T11:31:00.003-05:00

I completely forgot to mention the fantastic birthday gift I got from Bryan. First, these shoes were an early present. But the big one was tickets to see the front man of my all time favorite band!

*Huge sigh*

Pearl Jam has been my favorite band for as long as I can remember. I've seen them in concert 4 times, and if money was not an issue, I would absolutely follow them around the US. However, Bryan does know and has accepted the fact that ticket price is not an issue with these guys are involved. These tickets were damn expensive and sold out in about 10 minutes!

I am beyond excited to see a sole show! Eddie may be 43, but his voice has just gotten better with age. And he is for sure number one on my "list." You know the one. If I had a chance to shack up with him for a night or 20, Bryan could not object.

Holy crap. So hot, so talented, so jealous of his girlfriend who is currently knocked up with baby #2. I can not wait until August 19th!

Help please!

2008-08-07T12:28:00.002-05:00

Ok, I've never had anyone this close to me get engaged before. I of course would like to get them a gift, but have no experience with this whatsoever. I don't want to give them just a bottle of wine or champagne and a gift card is too generic. Like I said in the previous post, Bryan and Mike have been best friends since 1st grade! So something a little more thoughtful is required. But, I'm having a hard time thinking thoughts on this one! (hee hee) So I turn to the blogging world for ideas! Much appreciated!

New member of the family

2008-08-05T09:50:00.004-05:00

So, really, it's not a new member of the family. But it cost as much as one would.
Introducing Sammie:

Sammie (short for Samsung) came to us after much discussion and research. For those of you who do not know, I am married to the King of Research. Before we buy anything, Bryan has to research it. And I'm not talking just a quick Google search. I'm talking days, weeks, even months of research. While it can be pretty frustrating, in the end I know that because of him, we are getting the best quality and best bang for our buck.

In fact, Bryan has been researching TVs non-stop for the last, oh I don't know, 26 years! Well, maybe not, but he is a technology freak. Not in the way that he buys all the latest and greatest stuff--because he's also King of Cheapos--but in the way that he loves to learn about gadgets. Anyway, Bryan's been looking at this TV since it came out in spring, and we've just been waiting for the price to drop a bit. And it did! This weekend! So after a little more consideration and research (because 6 months of research is never enough) we headed out the door!

We first went to the Best Buy closest to our house. They said they didn't have any more. In fact, the whole metro area was out. They could order one from the Chicago area, but that would take at least 3 days. 3 days?! I am all about instant gratification people! So that just wouldn't do. We hoofed it over to Circuit City, where it was cheaper anyway. But, they only carried the 46" and the 52". I absolutely refuse to have that big of a TV in my house. Plus, they were way out of our price range. So on a whim, we decided to hit up a nearby Best Buy, just to see if they'd sell us their floor model, since all Best Buys in the area were apparently sold out. We walk toward the TVs, and there's our TV on the wall...with one boxed up right underneath it! So we have no idea what that other guy was talking about.

Luckily, Best Buy was able to match the CC price (We like BB better anyway). So we got a super great deal on it! Plus, we had already budgeted money from my inheritance for a TV. Our one splurge from the inheritance, thank you very much! The rest was spent on paying off a car, the bathroom remodel, and some towards the mortgage. Just so you don't think we spend our money all willy-nilly!! (What a funny phrase, willy-nilly, heh).

And of course, Sammie needs something to rest on, because our old 50 lb TV was holed up in a big ugly entertainment center. And because the old TV was so heavy, the shelf it was resting on was actually bowed! So we went all over the place, and finally found this at Le Target.

I really like Mission style furniture, so this was perfect. Great storage and perfect size for our living room. It also has matching coffee and end tables. Maybe we'll get those one day...when they go on clearance...like super clearance.

And no, your eyes do not deceive you. The TV is framed in red. It's called the Touch of Color series. Red is the only option, but it's pretty subtle and I'm really starting to like it.

The only thing though...we need to start making a greater effort to get to the gym because we are going to get really fat sitting on the couch being mesmerized by all the heavenly HD programming and features! Look Katie Couric's wrinkles and spidery eyelashes! Like she's right there in front of me! Quick--where's my eyelash comb and eye makeup remover!

Garden pics

2008-07-31T18:22:00.007-05:00

So there's just not much going on right now. So here are some pictures of our garden to pass the time! Everything has bloomed and things have grown into themselves. It's beautiful and I love sitting out in the yard with a beer or glass of wine. Very relaxing after a long day of work!

Close up of a gladiolus bloom

I call this the jungle corner.

The tall grass is called King Tut grass and by the end of the season, it will be about 8 feet tall. In front of it is a canna which is absolutely beautiful.

A close up of a canna bud--it looks like a crab claw!

Can't forget about the vegetable garden!

Here are two of our three tomato varieties.

Heirloom

Grape

Peas please! (and onions, blech)

We've already been eating the peas, onions and cherry tomatoes. Pretty soon we'll have tomatoes coming out of our ears and a few varieties of peppers too!

Bryan and I like to do our best to be "green", so a couple of weeks ago we ordered a rain barrel from the city. I picked it up after work today, and tadaa!

You connect it to a gutter and it collects all the rain water. There's a spigot thing at the bottom to attach your hose. You can water your garden and lawn with free water, and not use up the city's supply! You have to get some kind of mesh covering for the hole though, to prevent debris from clogging stuff up. Also, you have to make sure that mesh is extra small to prevent nasty mosquitoes from laying their nasty eggs in the barrel.

Of course, we have to wait for it to rain first. Too bad we didn't have it at the beginning of the summer. But it's a cool thing to do for the environment! Plus, it's paintable! So we can either paint it to blend in, or get creative and make it a piece of art!

Catching Up

2008-07-29T19:16:00.004-05:00

Just had a really good 3 day weekend! I did a lot, so I'll be brief.

Went to my cousin's Little League All Star game Friday night--they won!!

Connor

Went to the zoo with my sister on Saturday.

Had a birthday BBQ on Saturday night. Here's the chef.

The dogs liked Jeremiah.

Squished my brother's glasses.

Went to German Fest with Bryan's parents on Sunday.

Went over to the lakefront to walk off our food.

Monday was my birthday!! I'm now 26. Doesn't really feel any different, just one year closer to 30. I love love love my birthday! I'm a true Leo because I love to be the center of attention, and this day guarantees that! I always take off of work if my birthday falls on a weekday, and this year was no exception. Bryan took off also and we lounged and shopped and went to the Cubs/Brewers game. It was so much fun! Such a great rivalry between these two. The fans were about 50/50, which is really good. There are usually way more Cubs fans. We tailgated and had an awesome time! Except at the very end...when the Brewers lost :(

Tailgating

My sign!

View from our seats.

Brewers vs. Cubs--Brewers win, because I'm cuter. And here's the debut of Bryan's new glasses. He's always had perfect vision, but ever since he started spending most of his workday in front of a computer, he's been having trouble with distance and night driving. He's my old man!

So that's my weekend. Today it was back to the grind, and I'm a little backed up, but it was worth it! Hope you all had a great weekend!

Party People!

2008-07-24T16:10:00.003-05:00

This post really has nothing to do with the title. It's just that, sometimes I like to yell random 90's song lyrics.

Anyboo....life is very full of randomness right now, so nothing much to write about. Went to Sunset Zoofari at the zoo last night and had a really good time. I forgot my camera, so of course that is when all the animals decide to be as active as I've ever seen them. Bitches. Ah, yes. Bitches. For those of you who don't know, bitch is my absolute favorite swear word. I don't swear very much, but when I do, it's "bitch this!" and "bitch that!" and "what the bitch?!". But I digress.

We're going to German Fest tonight. Admission is free and hot dogs and brats are $1. It's a cheapskate's (Bryan's) dream come true. There are also fireworks, which I thought was cool seeing as though it's only a Thursday night. But apparently the Germans are not day-ists.

Tomorrow I get to drive up to West Bend to see my cousin play in his All Star little league tournament. I usually see a couple games a season, but I haven't been able to this summer, so I'm excited to see the cousins and aunt. My relationship with these cousins is actually more like having a niece and nephew. They're 11 and 7, so I think that has a lot to do with it too.

After the game I'll be heading back home to hang out with Bryan and some of his work friends. We're walking to the church festival a block away from our house to see Pat McCurdy. He is like the poor man's Jimmy Buffett. He has such a huge following, and with songs like "Sex and Beer" and "Spank Me" how could he not?

Bryan's parents are coming into town on Sunday. So I'm sure we'll do something parent-y like go out for dinner.

Also, this weekend is a 3 day weekend for me as I am off on Monday. More info on that in a few days. So that's my randomness. Happy Thursday!

Birthday time!

2008-07-21T18:00:00.001-05:00

Happy 22nd Birthday to my "little" brother. All grown up and living on his own. *sniff*

It's very weird for me to say that my brother is 22. I still think of him as a little kid a lot of the time-which, of course, drives him crazy. I was only 4 when he was born (well, actually 3 yrs and 51 wks) but I'm told I was quite the mother to him back then. And, actually, that hasn't changed a bit. I probably worry about him as much as my mom does, and I still fawn over him and make sure he has everything he needs. He yells at me for it, but I know he secretly likes it!

Unfortunately, I don't have pics here of him as a kid, which is a shame, because he was so cute!

Happy Birthday Andrew!

Ta Da!!

2008-07-21T18:00:00.000-05:00

Hi! Long time no type! How's life? Mine's great--here's why I haven't been on the interweb lately: We're finished!! Ok, less talking, more pictures.

Here's a little before action:

A little during...

At it's barest point.

Sorry Bryan, no water yet.

We have walls people!

Go on, admire my handiwork.

And then, the after!

The pictures do not do it justice! The room is so tiny that it's very hard to get a good pic. But, it is quite spectacular if I may say so myself (and I may).

We kept the same sink and the same medicine cabinet (just painted it). We also painted the door frame, the back of the door, and the moulding. Everything that looks white is actually Vermont Cream by Behr, there is a difference people! I also went with a different paint color than I previously posted. When we started to paint with Waterfall Mist, you could barely tell the difference between it and the white primer. I was not happy, so a return trip to Home Depot ensued. We ended up getting Morning Breeze from Behr, and I like it much better.

Going in to the remodel, I wasn't entirely sure what "look" I was going for. I just figured I'd wing it and see what happened. But I have to say that I absolutely love the blue and white. It's so soothing and spa-like.

My favorite part of the bathroom is now the shower. Specifically the shower head. It's like a freakin rain fall! It's very relaxing. We've had many people tell us they're going to start showering at our place now!

As great as it is now, I'm soooo glad it's over. We started on June 29th and finished yesterday. That's exactly 3 weeks. We did take off of work one whole week, but the rest was done after work and on the weekends. And we were out of town for one of those weekends. So I guess that's not too shabby, considering we demolished it as far as we could without breaking down the walls in the next room or going through the floor. There were just so many little things that took way more time than we thought.

And let me just say that therapists could make a lot of money off of couples remodeling their homes. There were lots of arguments had and tempers lost. Mostly by me. But it really was a great experience and while there are a few "ugly" spots, the rest more than makes up for it.

(And I'm sorry if this post looks really squished. I always get it to look perfect in the compose section, but then something is lost in translation when I publish.)

Things We Learned While Remodeling the Bathroom

2008-07-21T13:23:00.000-05:00

1. It is perfectly acceptable to survive on a diet of Sugar Free Rockstar (me) and Low Carb Monster (Bryan) energy drinks.

2. I can be a raging bitch when working on the bathroom after very little sleep.

3. Remodeling one room causes an inch of white dust on everything in the rest of the house.

4. Our house works quite nicely as a toolbox.

5. Always plan on things taking twice as long as you think they will.

6. The dog does not like it when you paint her.

7. The city dump is the most disgusting, rankest place on the planet.

8. Breaking away 1 inch square tiles that were glued on 30 years earlier is not cool.

9. I can not work straight through the day/evening without taking many small breaks.

10. It can be so worth it in the end!

There are many more things learned, but these are the biggies.

Coming soon....the final result. The post is all written, I just have to upload some pictures when I get home from work.

You silly carnies

2008-07-16T08:14:00.003-05:00

From jsonline:

WEDNESDAY, July 16, 2008, 0:14 a.m.

By Ryan Haggerty

Carnival worker stabbed in leg
A carnival worker was stabbed in the leg by another carnival worker at the Waukesha County fairgrounds about 8:30 p.m. today, said Steven Pederson, public information officer for the county sheriff's department.The victim was taken to Waukesha Memorial Hospital and was expected to survive, Pederson said. A suspect was in custody, he said. The men's ages and identities had not yet been confirmed, he said. The men were near the trailers in which the carnival workers live when they apparently got into a fight, leading to the stabbing, Pederson said. It was not yet clear what caused the fight, he said.The Waukesha County Fair begins tomorrow and runs through Sunday.

--And in completely unrelated news: The last time I took a shower in my own bathroom was June 29th. Until this morning!! It was magical. We are sooooo close to being done. Yay!

Up Nort

2008-07-14T21:02:00.007-05:00

This past weekend was spent 4 hours north of here and it was the break I so desperately needed. It was a lot of fun spending time with some of Bryan's family. We just don't get to see them often enough. Libby had an insane amount of fun with the lake, which brought out her first real swim!, the boat--her first boat ride!--and Taz--Bryan's cousin's 1 year old golden retriever.

I love how vicious dogs look when they play. These two were inseparable!

We got up late Friday night, and hung out inside because it was too windy for a fire. Then it started storming and we played semi-drunken Catchphrase. Saturday was absolutely gorgeous and we spent all of it outside. Well, except for a little naptime.

Lots of walks were taken and lots of exploring was done.

First boat ride!

Such a proud furmom!

Saturday night we finally had a fire full of s'mores and pudgy pies and alcohol.

Chillin' out maxin' relaxin'

All the non-blood relatives had to shotgun a beer. We happily obliged.

Beautiful night

Sunday morning was spent cleaning and packing up and just some hanging out. We of course took a picture of everyone there. You can ignore Libby's puking face. She was just trying to get to Taz (I told you, they were inseparable).

So that was my wonderfully relaxing weekend. The bathroom is still chugging along. My dad and Bryan are having a hard time with the shower fixtures because of a couple plumbing mismatches, but hopefully that will get solved tonight. After that, everything should go very quickly. I will (fingers crossed) finally have a working bathroom by the end of the week!

Trojan Blue by Behr

2008-07-14T20:56:00.004-05:00

Conversation had last night in the bathroom:

Me: (After taking off the painter's tape and seeing paint peel off with it) WTF!! What kind of cheap paint is this? It just peels off.

Bryan: Well it's special bathroom paint. It has some kind of rubber ingredient.

Me: Why would bathroom paint need rubber in it?

Bryan: Well it acts like a barrier to water and moisture.

Me: Oh! Like a condom?

Bryan: Yes, our bathroom is covered in a condom.

So there you have it folks. My bathroom is 99% safe from an unwanted pregnancy and some types of STDs. Aren't you jealous?

TGIF!

2008-07-11T14:26:00.003-05:00

Kind of. Life is just flying by right now. I'm getting so sick of this bathroom thing. I have zero patience for things in general, so that is not helping matters. We still have a lot to do in the bathroom and it's driving me crazy! The thing that has set us back is the drying time that everything needs. Paint is an obvious one, but the floor grout needed 24 hours to dry before you could walk on it, and the shower grout needed 48 hours to dry. On top of that, we found out that we have to do the shower grout twice. This is getting ridiculous.

And I'm so unbelievably tired! We've been up til at least 11:30 every night this week working on that damn bathroom. And then up at 6:30 the next morning for a full day at the office. And with our vacation time last week, work has been insanely busy for both of us. I haven't had time to sit, much less blog. But I have a training class right now and they're taking a quiz, so I have a few moments of peace and quiet.

Today immediately after work, we are driving 3 hours to go up north. It will be a much deserved and very necessary break from reality. We'll be at Bryan's uncle's new lake house with my sisters-in-law, a couple of Bryan's cousins, 2 dogs (yes, Libby will be tagging along--her first time up north!) and everyone's significant others.

Here is the to-do list that awaits us Sunday night and next week:

one more coat of grout in the shower
buy and paint trim
hang the door
install shower fixtures
hook up the sink
buy/install toilet
hang the shower rod/curtain
put up pictures
put in towel racks and the like

So, really, not too much has changed since the last post. Except the painting is all done--minus a couple of places in need of a touch up. Grrrr.

So anyway, that's life right now. Sorry you had to read such a downer post. But here's a picture that will make you happy. Our friends have a 9 week old puppy and they came over the other night for a mini play session with Libbers. I have a ton of cute pics on my camera, but that's at home. But luckily, they just emailed me with a couple of pics. So without further delay, Howie and Libby:

As you can see, Libby was letting Howie jump all over her! She has a ton of energy and runs around like crazy, but she was so gentle with the puppy! And, she never shares her tennis ball with other dogs. She growls if another dog even gets close to it. But she let Howie do whatever he wanted! It was the sweetest thing ever! There were lots of awwws in the backyard that night!

Bad blogger!

2008-07-08T14:33:00.002-05:00

I am fully aware of my week's worth of no posts and I hate it just as much as you do (well, maybe you don't mind, but I do). But this bathroom remodel is seriously sucking all the time out of my life. We started last Sunday (the 29th) and have worked everyday, all day (except for a little bit of time off on the 4th) since then. We both went back to work yesterday and then came home and kept working on the bathroom. We'll continue to do the same for the next few nights as we want to get this thing 100% finished by this weekend because we're going out of town.

Right now, I'd say we're about 85% done. Here's what we still need to do.

Grout the shower tile
Put on one more coat of dry wall primer
Paint 2 coats of the regular wall color
Buy and paint the trim
Hang the door
Install the shower fixtures
Buy and install the toilet
Hook up the sink
Hang the shower rod/curtain
Put up pictures
Put in the towel, toilet paper holders

I know that sounds like a lot, at least it does to me, but of everything we've done, that really is only about 15% of it. It's actually pretty insane to think of everything we've accomplished. Hopefully in the next few nights (if I don't drop dead from exhaustion) I will post more "in process" pictures and then the final pictures!

Happy Birthday/Days Dos y Tres

2008-07-01T20:51:00.004-05:00

I completely forgot to post yesterday about a very special birthday. Hopefully she won't mind too much. Somehow I don't think she will.

Yesterday was Libby-dog's birthday! She turned the big 0-2. She's definitely mellowing in her old age...some of the time anyway. We adopted her from the Humane Society the Thursday of Labor Day weekend in 2006. Here she is on her first weekend home:

Happy Birthday Dogger!

And now some pics of the bathroom so far. We finally finished all the steps in the demo process today, and we have a new bathtub sitting in there, but there's a problem with the drain, so that's going to set us back a bit. But, life goes on! We knew this would be a battle.

Hopefully the drain snafu works out and then we can go crazy on the rebuilding. *fingers crossed*

Day Uno

2008-06-30T10:50:00.005-05:00

We started the bathroom remodel yesterday! We're both off this whole week, but we'll be super busy with the bathroom and other house stuff, so postings will probably be sparse. Here a few before and just getting started pics for your enjoyment.

View from the hallway.

Bathtub-duh

View from the tub-I really am standing in the tub. It's the only way I could get most of the tiny room in the shot.

With my back to the sink. There's usually a towel holder here.

Yuck.

It's starting!

Shower wall completely gone!

And here's a picture of our new tub--

Ok, maybe not. But I could not believe it when I saw this! Bryan made fun of me for taking a picture of it in the middle of the store. But how could I not?!

Ok, off to do more shtuff!

About time for a rant

2008-06-26T14:30:00.002-05:00

First, I would like to thank Mr. Central Air Conditioning Unit. Thank you sir, for deciding that you don't want to work. Thank you for leaking your condescending condensation all over my basement floor. And furthermore, allow me to thank you for choosing to take a break just as we are about to sweat our smelly asses off during a bathroom remodel.

And thank you, Mr. HVAC Man, for charging me $170 to take 15 minutes to tell me that what is broken should never have been there in the first place. Super!! Thank you for charging me $170 to smell your ashtray stanking self. And lastly, thank you for telling me there is no easy fix for this one. Oh wait! One more thank you.

Thank you for charging me $18motherfuckinghundred dollars to fix it. Because it really is in great condition and should last me a long time, so it's defnitely worth fixing. Of course it's worth fixing! It's my central air! I don't live without central air! It's just not something I do!

And now I will go back to my normal work day mumbling under my breath every possible swear word and combination of swear words.

Busy Bee

2008-06-24T22:20:00.007-05:00

Have you ever had one of those days, or weeks, where everything is going along just fine, and then, BAM! Control over life and time just jumps out of your hands? Yeah, that's me lately. So here's a little catch up.

Friday night was spent with Bryan and my best friend at Polish Fest. If you're not from around here, Milwaukee is like the capital city of festivals. Between concerts in parks, church festivals galore, Summerfest, and all the ethnic festivals, there is always something to do in summer. The ethnic festivals are held on the Summerfest grounds and they include German Fest, Festa Italiana, Mexican Fiesta, African World Fest, and many more. It's a really fun way to sample the food, art, and other wares of a different culture. And since I consider myself 100% Polish (all 4 grandparents were born and raised there) I never miss Polish Fest. In fact, I belong to a Polish women's organization and usually end up working there. But this year I just attended. And it was so much fun! We ate a ton of delicious food (although it never is as good as my grandma's food, but I don't think I look at it objectively) and drank a lot of fantastic vodka.

Here's me posing with a sign from my organization.

Bryan and I after a few drinks.

Bryan and Emma after a few more.

And of course, these festivals wouldn't be complete without the fireworks.

Saturday was spent at a wedding in Appleton. One of my sorority sisters and really good friends married a fabulous guy and we got to have a mini reunion. Almost all of these girls live in the twin cities, and I actually haven't seen most of them since my wedding--almost 3 years! And a few more I haven't seen since I graduated, which was 4 years ago (yikes!).

A little blurry, but this is after they were announced at the reception. Instead of having a hokey DJ announce the bridal party, Anne's brother did that, and it was a really sweet touch.

First dance as husband and wife.

All the Alpha Xi Delta ladies.

And this is how 90% of our time is spent when we're together. Laughing our heads off and trying to take pictures.

Congrats Anne and Brian! It was a wonderful time and I miss all of my AZDs so much! I need to make that 5 hour trip more often. 5 hours really isn't that bad. Especially if it means going to see all those great people.

Sunday was spent buying stuff for the bathroom.

Monday was my daddy's birthday so we went to my parent's house where my mom cooked up an amazing dinner. And, of course, we had birthday cake.

I never did a Father's Day post (oops), but I am the definition of a daddy's girl! Growing up and even to this day, my dad's nickname for me is Princess. That pretty much explains it all! He's a very casual and laid back guy who can strike up a conversation with anybody. He'll have you rolling on the floor laughing before the night is over. All of my friends (and my brother's and sister's) always say how much they like our dad (and our mom, too). So a very happy birthday to my favorite dad!

Tonight I'll be going to Boerner Botanical Gardens to see Milwaukee favorite The Gufs. They're playing 4 free, outdoor concerts in the next 5 days with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. I've always been a huge Gufs fan and can't wait to see what the collaboration will be like.

Getting closer!

2008-06-23T10:03:00.006-05:00

It's almost here! The week during which my tiny, ugly bathroom will become a still tiny, but beautiful bathroom!

Bryan and I took off all of next week, but the demo will begin this weekend. We picked our plumber and they are coming Monday at 8am to repipe the entire house!

We did a little shopping yesterday and bought paint.

Waterfall Mist from Behr

We also bought tiling for the floor and for the shower. I can't find pictures online, and the ones I took with my camera don't do them justice.

We chose white tiles with a hint of blue/gray in them for the shower and the floor tile is a light terra cotta.

We found the bathtub we're going to buy, but we need my dad's truck and trailer for that. We also still need to buy a new glass block window, new moulding, drywall, and a new toilet seat. Now, I have to be honest, Bryan had to convince me to get a new toilet seat. I mean, how could I part with this?

Seriously! This seat on a white toilet? Gorgeous. *blech* Oh God, I'm sorry, I just threw up a little bit in my mouth. Gross. Like the toilet seat--coincidence? I think not.

We also have to order the sink and shower fixtures. We have a hook up that gets us a great deal on Kohler products, which will be a huuuge help. We decided on the Forte Collection. Here's an example.

So I'm getting very excited for everything! Now if I can just make it through this week!

*Update: Found pictures of the floor tile

And the shower tile

Shopping Blues

2008-06-20T08:43:00.005-05:00

Those words do not usually go together. Me and shopping are like this. I have a wedding to go to tomorrow in Appleton, and I realized that in the past couple of years, all the weddings we have gone to have been in the fall. So all of my dresses are dark.

Tomorrow being the first day of summer and all, I wanted a lighter colored, more summery dress. That, my friends, is easier said than done.

Why oh why do all the designers in this world hate me? My sister and I spent 2 hours at Mayfair last night looking for a dress. Sure all the stores had dresses, but they were either ugly colors, ugly fabric, ugly silhouette, or too dark. If I liked one thing about a dress, something else made me unlike it.

Towards the end of our trip, I questioned if maybe I was just in a weird mood or something, but my sister said she hadn't seen anything that she liked either.

So when we got home I looked in my closet again and decided on a black dress that has light colored flowers on it, so at least it won't be too dark.

I did however score a cute tank from American Eagle (on sale, $15!)

And we did stop into Vicki's for some Semi Annual Sale shopping. Which is funny, because my sister works at the Bayshore location and had been there all day. Yet she had no problem spending 20 minutes rummaging through bins! I would have been sick of all that business by that time.

So I guess all in all our time at the mall wasn't wasted, although 2 hours for a tank top and some bras and underwear (I will not say the "p" word, I absolutely hate the "p" word and could therefore never work at Vicki's) is a little ridiculous.

Camping Numero Dos

2008-06-17T17:17:00.008-05:00

So that was Thursday. Friday morning some of the peeps went to Devil's Lake to see if it indeed was closed, and yes, it was. They had a mandatory evacuation using the Ducks to get people out! It's a good thing we never set up our sites.

Devil's Lake

This isn't even the deepest point.

So we decided to check out another nearby state park, and they were open! So we grabbed 2 sites and set up. The rest of the day was spent at the beach and hanging out at the camp site.

On Saturday, we did a little fishing...

Action shot of Carrie casting.

We then decided to drive into the Dells and check out was was left of Lake Delton. What we saw is just too much for words. So here are some pictures.

Tommy Bartlett area

Where will the duckies go? :(

Again, no words.

All of a sudden on Friday afternoon, my allergies went absolutely haywire! I get seasonal allergies every year around this time, but they are easily controlled with Claritin. Well, I was poppin those things like candy and they didn't do a damn thing! I was actually pretty miserable most of the weekend, but still managed to have a good time.

One of the times I was feeling okay.

The boys--and yes, Bryan pulled his pants down. Unfortunately, that is a common occurence with all the boys during camping.

The ladies--much classier.

And holy crap! I forgot all about Pablo! Our keg for the weekend. We put a blanket around him and all the ice as insulation and I named him Pablo. And therefore, the rest of the weekend there was no beer drunk, only Pablo (i.e. Mmmm, this is a cold glass of Pablo!)

While we were gone, Libby stayed at a daycare/kennel. A place where we spend an insane amount of money for her to run herself ragged with other dogs all day long, and then sleep with her doggy bed and some blankets in a big enclosure. Whenever she comes back from this place, she stays in this position for about 48 hours!

So that is that! When we got home on Sunday I was so beat! But we went to Bonefish Grill for Father's Day dinner. And for a chain, they actually had pretty good food. Nothing spectacular, but they'll at least get a mention. Plus, at the end of the meal, our waitress brought my dad a Father's Day gift! All the dads there that day got a really nice travel mug. I thought that was a really nice touch.

And now, that really is that.

My husband is having an affair

2008-06-17T10:09:00.006-05:00

With this man:

I hate golf-really hate golf. I have zero patience for anything, and both learning to play and watching golf take a lot of patience.

But Bryan loves golf, and Tiger Woods is his life partner (Tiger just doesn't know that yet). And you know, if Bryan's able to get some of Tiger's fortune out of that relationship, I'm okay with it!

So, because Bryan loves golf and Tiger Woods so much! I'm posting this entry in honor of Tiger's amazing (even I can admit that) win at the US Open.

And here's a pic of us from our California trip last year in front of the famous cypress tree at Pebble Beach.

I also have a picture at home of Bryan standing in front of the 18th hole, and I seriously thought he was going to cry with excitement.

And just like that...

2008-06-16T20:53:00.010-05:00

...it's Monday night. I am so behind on life right now, it's not even remotely funny. I will most likely be splitting up the last few days into a couple of posts as to not steal 2 hours of your life from you all at once! So let's start at the beginning, shall we? (We shall)

Wednesday night was my Milwaukee blogger ladies GTG (hee, hee! I can use that now, because I actually know what it means!) We went to the Wicked Hop and I had a fantastic time! I was a little nervous meeting a group of girls from the internet. I actually made the comment that the whole day I felt like I was going on a blind date! You know a lot of things about these girls, but you don't actually know them. But the food was delicious and the drinks were flowing so we all had a really good time. Not that we couldn't without the food and alcohol, but you know, it just makes it funner! (fine, more fun, geez) And here are all the lovely bloggers:

From the left, going around the table: Julia, Erin, Julia, Sierra, Kelly, Andrea, Natasha, Harmony and me!

And here's a more candid pic. Checking the cameras, just like bloggers do.

Thursday morning we were up bright and early at 6:30 and out the door by 6:45. If I wasn't so excited for camping, I would have been in turbo bitch mode that early. But we walked with the dog down to Bruegger's for some delicious bagel breakfast sandwiches and desperately needed coffee. We ran some errands, had a couple of plumbers come for estimates for the plumbing overhaul, dropped Libby off at Playtime Doggy Daycare, packed up the car, and hit the road!
We drove through a couple of short, but nasty storms and made it into Baraboo by about 2pm. Where we were promptly greeted by more torrential downpours. And the flooding that followed.

It was pouring when we got to Devil's Lake, but we registered and drove up to our sites just to check them out, since we were the first ones there. My sister drove with us and our friends Sarah and Jeremiah (Saramiah, as we like to call them) caravaned with us. We decided we did not want to set up tents in the pouring rain, so we went back down into Baraboo and spent about 2 hours at Wal Mart. Have you ever spent 2 hours in a WalMart in a hick town? But we managed to find ways to entertain ourselves while the storm of the century raged outside.

These were little inflatable floaties for kids. Sarah was the shark and she was chasing Carrie the goldfish.

Then Jer found an awesome visor.

The ladies had to get in on that action!

It finally stopped raining and our friends Mike and Megan who drove down from the Minneapolis, finally got into town and were hanging out at a local bar called Hooty's (I kid you not). We tried to get there, but then this was in our way.

I tried to upload a video of an ambulance that had to get through, but it wouldn't work. The water was above the tires! It was crazy.

A local guy said he'd take us through some side roads to get to the bar. It was so nice of him! Finally we were there, and we were the only ones there!

Carrie spent $3.00 on the claw machine (6 attempts) and won these:

Then we heard from another couple that came into the bar that Devil's Lake was going to be closed for about 2 weeks.

So we had to get a motel room:

We rented a VHS of the movie Airplane! for $1.

And that brings us to the end of Thursday and my post. More tomorrow!

Oh! And I changed the blog colors to something a little more summery, so hop on out of GR and check it out.

I'm Back!

2008-06-16T09:49:00.002-05:00

Don't worry friends! I'm still here. I did not get carried away by flood waters in Baraboo. I got home yesterday but did not post anything due to sheer exhaustion and a delicious Father's Day dinner. Tonight I will spend many hours with Blogger uploading some pictures and typing some stories, and then putting the rest of the pics on Facebook. I will just say that the 4 day camping weekend at Devil's Lake turned into a 1 night motel stay and a 3 day camping trip at a different state park.

Holla!

2008-06-10T14:39:00.002-05:00

So I have an incredibly busy week to fit into 3 days. So far we're doing ok. My ridiculous to-do lists have been serving us well. And by us, I mean me. Bryan has that oh so handy ability of finding 10 other things to do that could be done at any time, but oh no, he just miraculously happens to be doing them when I need him to do something else more pressing, but apparently not as fun. And that was the longest sentence in the history of sentences my friends.

But I digress. So far things are working out well. I still have (ahemTMIahem) a waxing appt tonight, and I have to clean the bathroom, and I have to return some stuff to Kohls, and I have to go to my parent's house to get a duffle bag my sister borrowed, and I have to find something to wear to a get together with my fellow bloggers (hi ladies! can't wait!) and I have to finish packing too.

Yes, I said finish packing, not start. In a true testament to my anal-retentive self, I started packing last night. We're leaving Thursday at noon people! And actually, I'm completely packed, minus the toiletries that I wouldn't be able to pack until Thursday anyway. So go me! I'm a little crazy!

Just keep swimming, just keep swimming

2008-06-09T07:21:00.006-05:00

Oh boy, where do I even start? Ok, I'll start on Friday night. We went to my parent's house for dinner, and met my dad's new moped. This baby gets 100 MPG!! He works at UWM and between gas and parking costs, it was getting ridiculous. So now he takes this guy! Plus it's great for quick errands. Then I saw his super safe helmet! I'm all like, does it have a visor, it would be great if it had a visor. Then I felt it! It did have a visor! I was incredibly excited.

On Saturday. I had a hair appointment at 8:30--I didn't even know they cut hair that early in the morning! I was all, did you have coffee this morning? Were you out late last night? You're not all shaky from a hangover are you? But thankfully she was wide awake and did not have the shakes.

After that, I did some stuff around the house and in the yard. Watched Libby attack a baby robin. Yep, all of a sudden I see her running after something and I when I look closer, she's chasing a baby robin! It was probably like a toddler robin though, because it did have feathers and its eyes were open, and it was not completely gross looking. But it definitely couldn't fly yet and I was freaking out. So was every single bird in the neighborhood!! I swear they all came out of nowhere. You should have heard the chaos that was happening in my backyard. The mommy and daddy robin were swooping all over the place and I felt like I was in Alfred Hitchcock's nightmare.

But then I realized she wasn't really doing anything to it, just chasing it around, wondering what the hell it was. Bryan came home from errands and I made him get some work gloves on and shoo it out of the yard. He had to fend off the mom and dad a couple of times, but we finally got it out of the yard and onto some grass. It was ridiculous! I think all the birds in the neighborhood hate us, and when it stops raining, they're going to come dive bomb my house with poop.

After that commotion, we got ready to go to a friend's surprise party at the Milwaukee Ale House. It was so much fun and he was super surprised!

We had to take this picture because all the men were freaking out about the horse race that afternoon. This picture is across from the women's bathroom at the Ale House.

Birthday boy!

He was the old fart because it was his 30th birthday. We were out on the patio at one point and this couple who were probably in their mid-50s looks at us and the woman says, so what qualifies as an old fart? Wait, I don't even want to know. But if only you could have heard her tone! She sounded so mad and bitter! It's like she thought we were 12. And it's not like we think 30 is old, it's just a joke. But she was so huffy! I just wanted to be like...why did you even ask then?

And then Bryan was "that guy."

Just a tad off center.

We left the Ale House in between rounds of storms, to find that our basement had leaked a bit. We're lucky because while we're not on an obvious hill, we are on one of the highest points in the area. We've never had one drop of water in the basement, and this time, we only had about an inch. Friends of ours a couple blocks away, however, were not so lucky. They had about 6 inches in their basement. Yuck.

We put the World Market shelves up on Sunday. Yeah, that was a 4 hour project. Granted that included a few breaks and such, but it still took a really long time. Each shelf had 3 brackets that needed to be screwed into the wall. The instructions included a template you could tape to the wall and drill through. Handy, right? Well, not if the brackets on the template aren't the same size as the real brackets!! Which we did not realize for quite some time. Not a huge difference, but a difference nonetheless. But when all was said and done, they looked great.

Here's the before (ugly particle board college bookshelf that made an already small room smaller):

And here's the after, much nicer:

Sunday night, we sat our butts on the couch and did nothing except watch the last of the storms. Aaand, take some pictures.

So that's the weekend in a nutshell. I just have a 3 day week this week and I'm super pumped about that. Camping is Thursday, and I'm already praying for no rain and no trips to the ER.

Work is super busy these 3 days, so hopefully that will make them go by a little quicker!

Finally!

2008-06-06T13:00:00.005-05:00

After 2 1/2 years (I can't believe we've been here that long!) of talking, wishing, hoping and planning, the bathroom remodel is finally a reality! We went shopping last night and bought a bunch of stuff!

We have 2 plumbers coming over next Thursday before we leave for camping to give us estimates. We'll actually be getting the whole house re-plumbed (I think I may have just made that word up). The house was built in '52 and the plumbing is original--yikes! We'll also have an electrician come over and install a fan in the ceiling. But other than that, we'll be doing everything ourselves.

I may have mentioned it before, but we both come from a looong line of do-it-yourselfers. So we've got plenty of "experts" waiting in the wings.

So we'll be taking care of drywall, tiling, the floor, a new window and everything else.
We've already taken off the week of July 4th, so hopefully the plumber that we choose has an opening in that week.

Here's a picture of the light fixture we bought, only ours is a 4 light.

We also bought accesories to match, like the toilet paper holder, a hand towel holder and a robe hook. We'll be keeping the Ikea towel rack we have because it can hold multiple towels and can still be kept flat against the wall. That is a huge plus in a bathroom as tiny as ours.

And while we were out we stopped by World Market to get these shelves.

We got 3 of the 4 foot shelves for our living room.They're going to replace the giant particle board/laminate bookshelf still left over from our college years. Actually, most of our furniture is left over from our college years. Oh well!

We'll put the shelves up this weekend, so stay tuned for before and after pictures. And June 30th will be here before you know it (unfortunately--I wish summer was longer) and then the big remodel starts!

Jazz Hands

2008-06-05T09:19:00.003-05:00

I just read that even with this morning's rain, Jazz in the Park is a go for tonight, the opening night of the season. Haven't decided yet if I'll go or not..tonight at least. I love Jazz in the Park! It brings together a great mix of people who just want to relax and listen to good music.
When Bryan and I go to Jazz in the Park, we really go to Jazz in the Park. We have one of those picnic essentials backpacks with plates and utensils and cups and cloth napkins. It also has a cutting board and a cheese knife! Plus an insulated section for food, and even a wine bottle holder. We usually go with my parents...last year it was our weekly date with them. And they have a small table that they bring and we either make sandwiches or bring a bunch of appetizers. And of course--wine! You cannot experience Jazz in the Park without the wine.
I wish I had pictures of us from last summer, but I just wasn't in picture taking mode back then. Oh well, this year I'll make up for it.
So even if you don't go every week, like us crazy people, you should at least go once to check it out. If you do go, do a little research on the band playing that night before you go. While it's always a fun experience, sometimes the music can be a little hit or miss.
Enjoy!

Oh yeah!

2008-06-04T17:30:00.001-05:00

Well, guess I found a little time to write about a detail. This actually happened on Friday, and I'm still not quite sure I want to remember it. But, like I said: details!

Hi, I'm Katherine, and I hated my dog on Friday night. (Hi Katherine!) Like, really hated her.

Libby is generally a good dog. We've been leaving her home during the day to roam the house since she was about 6 months old. And sure she's gotten into a couple garbage cans and ripped everything to shreds and brought those shreds into every room of the house! But nothing really compares to what she did on Friday.

I used to be the owner of these beautiful Anne Kline frames:

That's right, I said used to be.

My glasses live either in their case in a drawer, or on top of the bedside table. In fact, they lived on the bedside table for about a week before their untimely demise. And never once were they in harm's way. But then on Friday, they were no more.

When I walked in the door I knew something was wrong. Libby ran right past my legs and cowered with her tail between her legs. And they say dogs don't know when they do something wrong. Oh, she knew.

So I walk through the house expecting shreds of toilet paper and kleenex. But when I'm not seeing anything obvious, I get a little nervous. Then I turn into our room and I see it. One lone lens sitting on my bed. This is where things get a little fuzzy, because I proceeded to freak the eff out. I shook out the blanket on the bed and little pieces of plastic begin to rain down. Then the majority of the frame, still in tact, but chewed beyond repair.

A little back story. I've worn glasses/contacts since the 2nd grade. I am quite blind and have a ridiculous astigmatism. So these things are my life line. Plus, I was in love with them! They were my favorite accessory!

And it's not like they're easily replaced. I mean, sure I can drive down to LensCrafters and get the same pair ordered. But I can't use our insurance because I just got these in September, and you only get one pair a year. And without insurance, the frames and the lenses come to about $500! Not something we can swing right now.

So I went to this place called America's Best, which is kind of like the TJ Maxx or HomeGoods of eyewear. And honestly, I expected the place to be kind of trashy. But it was no different than LensCrafters. Except most of their eyeware is generic, and therefore much cheaper! But I'm still without glasses for about a week :0(

We decided she did this because Bryan ignored her on his lunch. He goes home at lunch everyday to let her out and play in the backyard to get some energy out. But that day, he spent his lunch calling plumbers for our bathroom remodel. He said that the whole time he was there, she kept looking at him like, hello?? Aren't we going to play today? But of course she eats my glasses!

I actually got over it quicker than I expected, and Libby and I made up. Because I know she's just a dog and really doesn't realize she wasn't supposed to chew on mommy's really expensive glasses.

And I'm sorry I don't have an after picture of the glasses. I was just too distraught!

Why Blog?

2008-06-04T11:19:00.003-05:00

Sometimes the blog comes up in conversation. I don't usually talk about it because I'm not actively seek readers. I don't hand out business cards to random people that say, Hey! I'm a blogger! Check it out! But if I did have business cards, that's what they'd say, but with more exclamation points.
When I do mention that I have a blog, most people give me a look most often reserved for pedophiles and serial killers. You know, back away slowly...now run! That's usually followed up by an "Oh!" Which is said with that tone. You know the one. The tone that says, uh huh...good for you, I can't believe I'm associating with you.
I explain to them that's it kind of like my diary. A diary that the whole world can read. Makes sense to me. Sure I've made some fun interweb friendships, and maybe one day they'll turn into real world friendships. But really, for me, the blog is just a way for me to chronicle my ordinary everyday life. With the idea, that one day I will want to look back on what life was like in my 20s.
It will give a chance to remember specifics I guess. I want to remember the random things that happened. Not just have a vague, fuzzy memory or idea.
Now if I can only find the time to write about all of those specifics....

New topic

2008-06-03T14:25:00.005-05:00

So I've never talked about babies on here. Does that make me a bad girl-blogger?
If we would have the baby conversation a year ago, I would have been the one jumping up and down in excitement and anticipation of having a baby. I don't really know what's changed in that year, but I'm more uncertain of it now than ever before.
I'm not saying I don't want a baby or multiple babies. Because I do! Really! And I still have days when I get super excited again at the prospect of having a baby. This mostly occurs when I see a baby or super cute toddler. Because really, when they're older than maybe 4, there just not as cute.
Kidding!! Geez.
Anyway, I spent about 3 hours last night reading this. I found it because it was on my Google Reader recommended feeds. If you'd like, you should start here. At the beginning. (I would recommend clicking on the link at the top right of post to advance, the archives skip a lot of posts) I'll warn you now, it's not a happy blog. But it's definitely a perspective blog. After I finished all the entries from March 6th to last night, I was in a kind of haze. I realized that most of the reasons I had for not being ready for a baby were ridiculous.
I am the first person to say that I'm kind of selfish. And by kind of, I mean a lot selfish. And you can't be that when you have a baby! But then my brain goes, self, that will go away when the baby is here. And I go to my brain, brain, but what if it doesn't?!
And there's the money aspect! Which is connected to the selfishness. Quite obviously, the baby's needs will come before my own. And what if I see a shirt at the Gap that I absolutely must have?! We're not rich! I won't be able to buy things from the same stores anymore! And I want the baby to have nice things! From the crib to the bedding to the dresser to the clothes...GAHHH!
And right about now is when I run into a wall just to stop my brain from exploding. People always tell me, so what if you're not rich. We weren't either. You just find a way to make it work. And that sounds all fine and dandy in theory. But I just don't see it working that way with me. Because I love to shop! And buy random things! For me! And Bryan! And Libby! And GAHH! *thud* Sorry, there was that wall again.
And then there's the age thing. "They" say that women are having babies later and later these days. But I don't want to be an "old" mom. So I'll be 26 in July, and Bryan will be 27 in November. That's really not that young, is it? It feels sooo young to me sometimes! I want to do more traveling before a baby comes along, but then again, it has to (kind of) end at some point! When I was born my dad had just turned 25 and my mom was 26, almost 27. Bryan's parents were similar ages when he was born. And obviously everything worked out well for them. But for some reason I automatically go, well things were different back then! And I know in some respects they were. But when it comes to babies, were they really?
We still go out a lot and have good times with our friends at bars, at restaurants, at other's homes, camping, and on an on an on. And I know that will still happen to a certain extent, but for some reason I feel the a baby will automatically make me a hermit. Ridiculous, I know.
And it just feels sooo good to get this out of my head. Because I know in time (6 months, a year, who knows) I will re-read this post and bitch slap myself for being such a whiny baby. But I can't help it! I'm confused! And a big part of me feels like this confusion will not end until we finally say, what the hell, let's have a kid. Although, hopefully we'll be a little more eloquent and happy about it.
Bryan and I have talked about this many many times. And he feels the same way about a lot of things. But he is more willing to just jump off the deep end with this and many other things. Me? I'm the planner, the list maker, the anal-retentive one that most people want to kick in the shins. I don't do spontaneous! I don't do jump-off-the-deep-end! Help!!
Ok, so that was a little (a lot) frantic. But I feel better, kind of, I think. GAHH!
But then I think about that blog and how completely retarded (I know, I hate that word to, but nothing else will do here) I feel about my feelings. And maybe it's just because when I say, I'm 25, that just sounds so incredibly young! So maybe in 1 month and 25 days when I can say I'm 26, I'll feel a little less like a child.
Ok, this post really needs to end. Not that it matters, most of you probably jumped ship about 6 paragraphs ago! But thanks to those that stuck around to "hear" me out.

Weekend Recap

2008-06-02T17:35:00.005-05:00

Some sad times and some good times had this weekend. First, the sad.
Had to go down to Rockford for a memorial service on Saturday. I felt akward being there, and I kind of didn't want to go in the first place. It was for (deep breath) Bryan's best friend's brother's best friend's dad. Got it? And in all fairness, Bryan was friends with the kid too, but hadn't seen him or talked to him in about 3 years. I had only met him a few times myself, so hopefully that explains the akwardness and my not really wanting to go. But in the end, the nice person in me won out and I went. And it was a really nice memorial service (if there is such a thing). There were a couple points that made me tear up. I couldn't help thinking, why am I crying? I have never even met the man! But if you didn't tear up when friends of his played a tribute song on a harmonica and guitar (harmonica'ing was apparently a big hobby for him), then you weren't human.
We visited with Bryan's parent's for a bit and picked up a flat of impatiens to fill some empty pots I have. They were pretty busy though, so we didn't stay long.
Later that night, we decided to go to RiverSplash! I was going back and forth about whether or not I wanted to go because I'm kinda thinking that whole thing isn't really my scene anymore. And I can definitely tell you that the nighttime RiverSplash! is not my thing. I absolutely echo Andrea's statement that it should have been renamed GhettoSplash. I mean--there was a shooting Saturday night!! I've never felt unsafe at a Milwaukee festival so that is just ridiculous. But I do have to say that in the few hours I was there, I only saw a handful of uniformed police officers. And the city could make a fortune on underage drinking tickets! I can't believe how many 12 year olds* I saw with a beer! Maybe I'm just getting older and even the newly 21 year olds look young, but I don't really think that's it. But we did manage to have a semi-decent time and here is some photographic evidence.

Because, for some reason, I take a lot of self-portraits!

He really did have a good time!

Classic Carrie

Another classic Carrie pic.

Jon was doing the robot!

On Sunday I joined the ranks of race fans everywhere (even though I am so not) and went to and Indy car race at the Milwaukee Mile. My in-laws won free tickets, and since they work 100 hours a week, they couldn't go. So we went...and it actually wasn't as terrible as I thought. Sure we sat through 2 hours of left turns, but at the end there was a wreck, and in reality--that kind of thing makes my day! We tail-gated with a couple friends before hand, and that was definitely a good time. And I suppose the vodka tonics I had while tail-gating didn't hurt the fact that I wasn't bored out of my mind during the race.
And holy crap was it hot! I was in a tank top and shorts, so I was pretty comfortable. I was worried about the sun though. See, I only come in two colors--glow in the dark white, and lobster red. Sure, I might get a slight tan during the summer, but I slather on so much SPF 30 that I don't even give my skin the chance! But I've come to terms with my whiteness and I've realized that I will have nice smooth skin for a lot longer than those girls who spend their days in tanning beds or on the beach with no SPF.
So now I shall leave you with some pictures from the race. Please don't wet yourself in excitement.
Gawd-he never looks like he's having fun!

Cars...turning....left

Danica Patrick--she really sucked it up at this race.

One of the cars involved in the wreck

*I call everyone under 20 a 12 year old.

I'm in love!

2008-05-30T15:16:00.003-05:00

With these...

I'm a snacker. I can't help it. I just happen to have the biggest, cavity-filled sweet tooth ever known to man, or woman. But with these guys, I can satisfy my sweet tooth and not ruin all my hard work at the gym. Bryan and I call them little black and white balls of crack! That taste like Oreo cookies. I don't think the real crack tastes like Oreos. Does it?

Good news!

2008-05-30T09:08:00.003-05:00

We just got a little less poor.
Here's some (kinda sad) background: My dad's mom passed away in January of '07 (my mom's dad passed away the day before her, but that's a whole other blog entry). And my dad's dad passed away on July 28 of last year (coincidentally, that date is also my birthday...yeah, '07 was a crappy year). Well after months and months of paperwork, court dates and dealing with a scummy lawyer, we finally got an inheritance check from my dad's parent's estate.
I don't know if this is really something to be celebrated though. Believe me, I would much rather have my grandparents back. But obviously that's impossible. And I like to think that they're happy wherever they are, knowing how much they're helping us, even after they've gone.
And I hope they do know how much they really are helping us! The estate was split between their 2 surviving children (my dad and my aunt) and their 5 grandkids. And even after being split between 7 people, we all got a really nice chunk of change.
And here's why that's a big deal to me: all 4 of my grandparents emigrated from Poland in the 1940s, right during WWII. Before that though, they were all a part of farming and working families. None of them got to go to school past the 2nd grade. Because around that age, they were able to help around the farm and work to help support their families. Can you even imagine that? I was 7 in 2nd grade. 7!! I can't even fathom what that would have been like. But eventually they grew up and decided that they needed to escape the terrible things that were happening in the war. My mom's mom and her family were actually separated for about a year as they were sent to different Nazi work camps (not concentration camps, there's a big difference). So when they got here, they did all they could to make better lives for themselves. They each worked all day and then went to English classes at night. When kids came into the picture, some of them switched to 2nd shift so they didn't have to pay a babysitter.
None of my grandparents lived an extravagant life...nowhere near it. But they worked hard, had lots of friends, and had lots of love. And for my dad's parents to work as hard as they did and provide comfortable lives for themselves and their children, and still have something to give back to their families after they've gone is truly a blessing.
With our portion of the inheritance, we plan on paying off one of the cars--which will be a huge help in the form of an extra $325 a month in cash flow! We would have been paying that amount for the next 2 years before paying it off, so this is huge! We also get to finally start the process of remodeling our bathroom. That will be quite the experience and should give me just a few blog entries! The rest is already earmarked for things that need to be done around the house. So it'll be nice to check some things off of our huuuge home improvement list. But I've just never seen that much money fly out of my hands so quickly!
So all in all, every time I write out a check, or swipe my credit card, I will say a quiet thank you to my grandparents who worked so hard to make this little bit of help possible.

Picture Post

2008-05-27T17:33:00.006-05:00

I didn't feel like going in and inserting pictures in my last post, so read that one, then the pics will make sense.
Some beautiful lilacs from the backyard. My favorite smell of spring!

The new zoo entrance

And then she was all, why didn't you call me...dude, seriously. What are they looking at? And what are those little boxes in front of everyone's faces? I don't know dude. I just sit here and look pretty.

Pretty blue bird

Crazy looking stork. This is the room where all the birds fly around above you and next to you and into your head. Well, not really. My sister hates this room!

The flamingos are back!

Besides the Big Cats, the roaming peacocks are my favorite thing about the zoo.

And everyone was sleepy that day! The cute little calf...

The cheetah...seriously, if I didn't think he'd chew my face off, I'd go cuddle with him!

The big tiger...

And how cute is this guy?

This elephant was doing some training with an animal trainer.

Our first iris bloomed Sunday morning!

Hee Hee!

Kites!

More kites!

Dogger under a picnic table at Veterans Park trying to get some shade!

yaaawwwn

2008-05-27T10:53:00.002-05:00

I hate Mondays. Except it's Tuesday. Well I guess that makes it a little better. Doesn't make me any less tired though. But I suppose that's a sign of a really good weekend, right? Here's a quick recap of what we did for the unofficial start of summer:
Friday was pretty low key. We both got home from work around 5:30 and took Libby to the dog park. We had dinner and then my parents came over to pick up a table we borrowed for our party last weekend. After that we wanted to hit up the newish Alterra on North Ave in 'Tosa, but it was already 9 and they were closing up. So we decided to head to the grocery store and pick up smoothie supplies. I made myself a delicious strawberry/banana/kiwi smoothie and Bryan had all of that plus blackberries. Then we settled in on the couch and watched a movie (a movie so terrible it's not even worth mentioning).
Saturday we slept in until about 8:30--yes, that's sleeping in for us, even on the weekends. I'm not a morning person in any way, shape or form, but if I sleep in any longer than that, I feel like the day is wasted. Anyway we went the gym after breakfast and then took the dog for a walk. Then we got back, showered and started to get ready for the zoo. We packed a bag with sandwiches, chips w/ homemade guacamole and water and set off! The weather was beautiful and the zoo wasn't terribly crowded. We found a nice area for lunch about halfway through and sat by the lagoon and watched baby geese run around by the shore. They were the cutest things!
All in all we spent about 2 1/2 hours at the zoo. It was a fantastic (and free!) way to spend the afternoon. Earlier in the morning we put a pork roast in the slow cooker and when we got back it was deliciously juicy and ready to be made into pulled pork sandwiches. We walked to the grocery store for some sides and then took everything over to my parent's house for dinner. They'd been working in their backyard all day on gardening and building a new back porch, so they were very thankful that they didn't have to make dinner. We hung out there for a little while and when we got home we brought the fire pit out of storage and sat in the backyard and warmed our toes.
Where are we...Sunday! Got up early and took Libby for yet another walk and then went to Milaeger's with my mom. Yes, we let my mom cheat on Bryan's parents. But, Rockford is an hour and a half away, and Milaeger's is only 20 minutes from her house! After that we ran some errands and did a little bit of shopping to take advantage of some great Memorial Day sales. Then, we were off to New Glarus for Bryan's cousin's graduation party. We had a great time visiting with friends and family and ate a lot of really great food! We knew that we were supposed to see some thunderstorms while we were there, but nothing prepared us for the drive home! Now I absolutely LOVE thunderstorms and am not a nervous driver in rain, snow, pretty much anything. But when you're out in the middle of nowhere on farm roads with no lights from posts or houses or buildings of any kind...it gets a little scary. I'm talking buckets and buckets of hard hitting rain. I've never seen such heavy rain before! Most of the time I couldn't see more than 10 feet in front of the car. Except when the lightning struck! Then it gave us a brief second to see where we going and what was up ahead. Actually, the lightning was some of the coolest stuff either of us had ever seen! But luckily that only lasted for about a half hour. The rest of the drive was pretty calm. By the time we got home it was around midnight and we were both tuckered.
And finally...Monday. Dog park again where Libby got super muddy and super tired. We got home and hosed her off in the backyard. The hose is her absolute favorite thing in the world! She does all kinds of crazy twists and turns to get at the water! For lunch we made delicious chicken honey dijon wraps and ate in the backyard because it was SO beautiful out. After lunch we went down to Veterans Park and watched some kite flying and enjoyed the afternoon. Libby was not a big fan of some the kites, she just kind of looked at them and barked! We stopped at Whole Foods before heading home to get ready for dinner. We went to our friends Kevin & Ellen's house for a dinner of brats, turkey burgers and chicken. We also had grilled asparagus and zucchini. Grilled vegetables are one of my favorite things about summer. Yummy! While we were sitting in their yard the weather changed in about .2 seconds. It went from 80 to 50 in no time flat! We went inside and watched an episode of Jon & Kate Plus 8 and then headed home.
So that brings us to today and how incredibly tired I am! And I'm kind of dreading going home because it's kind of a pig sty since we weren't home very much. Plus I'm in the middle of switching seasons with my clothes, so there are piles of clothing everywhere. Ugh!
And I'm sorry if you're reading this post and there are no pictures--I'll add some when I get home!

I love 'em!

2008-05-23T09:05:00.002-05:00

3 day weekends, that is. There's just something so refreshing about that extra day! Today is going to drag on at a ridiculously slow pace. What are my plans this weekend? Glad you asked!
Actually, not a whole lot going on, which is just how I like it.
Saturday morning we'll get to start our summer weekend ritual again. Get up in the morning, throw some clothes and a baseball hat on, grab the paper, leash up the dog, and walk a few blocks down to Bruegger's Bagels. I love sitting outside on a warm summer morning with their delicious coffee and warm bagels. To read the paper and bask in the sun while the dog sits (kind of) nicely next to us. It's a picture perfect yuppy morning.
I bought a Zoo Pass this year which gets us in free at all times, plus gives us access to member's only events. And, we live a 5 minute walk away from the zoo, so there's no parking to pay for either! I l.o.v.e the zoo, and to go for free any time I want is pretty fantastic. Now don't get all "oh those poor caged/enclosed animals" on me. I do agree with that to a certain point. While not the nation's premier zoo by any stretch, I do think the Milwaukee County Zoo does a pretty damn good job at giving the animals a home as close to their natural one as possible.
Sunday afternoon we'll drive to New Glarus where Bryan's dad is from and where a lot of his extended family still live. And where can get some delicious beer! His cousin is graduating from high school this year so we'll be going to that party. It's a beautiful drive and a beautiful town so I'm excited for that. And I just have to say that Aaron graduating from high school makes me feel really old. When I first met him he was eleven. So that's just crazy to me!
On Monday we might stop by a friend's party or hang out at home or BBQ at my parent's house. I've never been huge into making big plans for Memorial Day weekend. I kind of like the ability to just hang out in the backyard and be lazy!
We'll definitely spend some time in the gym and take Libby for lots of long walks down by the lake or on various parkways. Oh, and laundry too! Yep, laundry's always a safe bet for the weekend!
Have a good one everybody! Enjoy the beautiful weather.

Yay! Another 2fer!

2008-05-21T13:05:00.003-05:00

Our annual camping trip is 3 weeks from tomorrow!!! I'm so excited you people have no idea. This will be our 7th year and it has grown from about 5 people to 15 people! We go to Devil's Lake every year and it's the perfect location. The man made lake and multiple hiking trails are within walking distance and they have these two camp sites that are perfect for our group. They're right next to each other and there's no division between them. There are, however, lots of trees and brush on either side of us to separate us from other campers.

We go for 4 days, Thursday through Sunday and everyone looks forward to it months in advance! And because I am an anal retentive list maker like nobody's business, I have already started my to do list and my packing list. But the possibly the most exciting part of camping this year is what I bought today.

These are the most fabulous multi-purpose outdoor shoes ever made! They're made by Giro, an Italian company that specializes mostly in bicycling equipment. Bryan and I got my mom a pair for Mother's Day last year and she absolutely loves them. You can see there's a little contraption on the heel to ensure a better fit and the soles form to your feet! I feel ridiculous that I'm so excited about these, but I can't help it! And the best part is the price I paid! Because they're last year's "model" I was able to find them on clearance for $44! When we bought my mom hers, we paid $80ish, and that was because the company Bryan worked for at the time had a discount program set up with them. These babies are originally $110!! Insane? Yes. But that's how high quality these things are and I can't wait to find them at my door in 5-7 business days!

*sigh* I'm such a dork.

Pet Peeve of the Day

2008-05-21T11:29:00.003-05:00

Today's pet peeve is brought to you by the letter Y. As in Y can't you speak correctly? I was down in the lobby earlier today and I heard this exchange:

Teller: Which branch did you go to?
Member: The other big one.
Teller: So our West Allis branch?
Member: Yeah! The one off of highway a hunerd.

My blood just started to boil as soon as I heard that. I wanted to run across the lobby screaming "It's one hunDRED!! Highway one hundred! Not a hunerd!"

Yep, that's the highlight of my day!

I wish....

2008-05-19T18:22:00.004-05:00

I was watching the Today Show this morning and they said the national average for a gallon of gas is $3.79. It's so sad and pathetic that I wish I could pay that little for a gallon of gas. Bryan took one of our cars for gas yesterday and spent $63!! This is the guilty little a-hole:

Quite the dramatic picture! Needless to say, at 25 MPG, we don't drive the Sonata too much anymore.
So, at 35 MPG, we drive our other little pretty a lot more these days...

I also came to the realization that I need to devote more time to Blogger. She's becoming that friend you have that you just don't see often enough. Every time you get together you both promise to keep in touch more, but in reality, you both know that probably won't happen. Last week was pretty busy. We had a big party on Saturday and getting the house and other things ready took a long time. One good thing though: my house is clean. Not just no piles of clothes and messes clean, but clean clean. It looks so nice...if only it could stay that way!

Last weekend

2008-05-15T09:40:00.005-05:00

Last Saturday we went down to Illinois town to spend time with Bryan's family for Mother's Day. We always have a really great time when we're there and this time was no different. Bryan's parents live above the greenhouse they own.

Really, they live above the business. If you took a long rectangular ranch-style house and plopped it on top of the store building, you'd have their house. It's a strange idea at first, but you get used to it.They are also the most insane workaholics I've ever met. They work 12 hour days 7 days a week and they love it! Like seriously love it. I don't think it will be possible for them to retire because they will have absolutely no idea what to do with themselves. His mom even worked on Mother's Day. I just don't get it because usually I'm all "Talk like a pirate day? Hells yeah I'll take the day off!" But I guess they're proof that if you love what you do, it's not really work.
So we got there early afternoon on Saturday and were greeted by a packed parking lot. We found a spot and started unloading our stuff. People always give us the weirdest looks as we walk through the parking lot of a business carrying a duffle bag, a dog, and other random things. What can I say, sometimes we just like to camp out at random businesses! Once we unloaded everything we went downstairs and started shopping for our new flower beds.
Here is what we got:
The aloe plant and cactus are for inside.

I kept the blue hanging basket and my mom got the other one.

Everything.

Some of the grasses we got.

Pretty wave petunias.

Veggies and herbs for the other garden.

We're in the process of getting everything planted and I'll update in a later post with more pictures!

Mama Wanda

2008-05-11T18:48:00.005-05:00

I don't know if I'm quite able to put into words how much my mother means to me, but here goes...

My mother is a fantastic woman. Witty, sarcastic, a little on the shy side, and damn funny. I can tell her anything, and she has always listened patiently, even during sob stories of how the latest guy ended up being a loser.

We of course have had our differences. Especially when I was going through my turbo bitch phase in high school. Going to college 4 hours away from my family helped me realize how much I loved and needed my mom.

I was terribly homesick my first semester of college, and cried when my parents were leaving at the end of Parents Weekend. When I saw that my mom was crying too, I was astounded. When she was growing up, showing emotion was not done. Crying was something I'd only see her do a couple of times in as long as I could remember. She told me how much it hurt her to see me so sad and she wished she could do something to ease my pain. That, of course, made me cry even more! We talked on the phone almost every day after that, and even when I moved back to Milwaukee and she was just a short drive away, the phone calls remained.

Becoming an adult has been the strangest thing for me. Our relationship has become one of friendship and understanding. She listens to me no matter what and always tells it to me straight. She is who I go to when I need an honest answer or a good kick in the butt!

I can only hope I'll be as good of a mother as she is.

I love you Mama Wanda--Happy Mother's Day!

Bark twice if you're in Milwaukee!

2008-05-05T20:23:00.005-05:00

I have to insert this nice piece of randomness because I forgot last week. Before the Bill Hall Debacle of '08 I went to the Brewer's game with my mom and my sister. Can you tell it was raining on the way in? Really, it was. My hair doesn't always look like that! And dammit! I should have worn my glasses!

This weekend gave us a day and a half of beautiful weather so were able to start and complete the brick walkway in the backyard. I unfortunately forgot to take a before picture. Basically imagine a big grassless dirt/mud pit, and that's the walkway before. Here a couple pics of the process. We dug out a 14'x3' section about a foot down, filled it with about 8 inches of rocks, then 2 or 3 inches of sand, then the bricks. Here are some during pics.

Bryan's feet

Almost there!

Aww, too bad he brushed over this 2 seconds after I took the picture. As a sidenote, I usually write our initials KB, not because I think I'm superior (well, ok, maybe a little), but because this way always reminds me of Burger King.

And here's the finished product!

We'll be planting nice ground cover on either side to make it look a little less ghettofied.
We wanted to extend it farther into the backyard, but our 50 foot pine trees roots will make that all but impossible. So we're going to resod the section you see after the walkway that is void of grass.

So I know I wrote a lot about jonesing to get the inside done, but now that the weather is getting warmer, we're spending most of our time outside. So it only makes sense to focus on that area right now.
Bryan's parents own a greenhouse so we get all of our plants and flowers for dirt cheap. (Ha! Get it? Plants, flowers, dirt cheap? Cuz they grow in the dirt?) We'll going down to Illinois land next weekend so we'll come back with a car full of stuff. Yay!

So that was the majority of our weekend, we did other stuff, maybe I'll write about it later. I have to go tend to baby Bryan. He's getting sick. Now I know a lot of women say their husbands are giant babies when they get sick, but what they have is nothing like what I have. But I don't mind (most of the time). He takes very good care of me when I'm sick, so I guess I should return the favor!

2fer

2008-05-02T12:19:00.001-05:00

Jesus H! Two posts in one day! (Yes, I say Jesus H. Yes, I know I'm going to hell.)

So did you ever get half way through your work day and realize you forgot to put deodorant on?

Anyone? Bueller? No? Just me? Well ok then, be that way. But geez, I have a black shirt on today and didn't want to risk deodorant marks, so I was going to put it on after I got dressed. But I guess I forgot. Good thing I plan ahead and keep a mini deodorant in my purse. Because, sadly, this is not the first time I've done this. *sigh*

TGIF

2008-05-02T08:59:00.002-05:00

Seriously, you have no idea how much those four little letters mean to me today. This has been one rough and crazy week. And next week isn't looking much better. Gots lots of plans this weeknd though, so it won't exactly be a peaceful one. We need to do more work outside, so hopefully the weather will cooperate and not rain. We're going to put in a brick walkway from the gate to the yard. Walking in and out and the dog running back and forth has completely killed all the grass. When it rains it gets super muddy and turns into a lake. Really, it does. The pitch isn't right at that spot (something we'll obviously have to fix) so the water just pools there. It's good times. Libby loves (hates) it.

Argh! 5 o'clock needs hurry it's little butt so I can go the gym and then get home. I discovered something new (to me). I've gone to the gym straight from work every day this week(except Monday, had a meeting)! It's so nice to just pack my bag the night before and throw it in the car.

When I go home first, I eat dinner, sit down, maybe watch the news, and then before I know it, this feeling of immense tiredness sweeps over me and I'm a goner. This way, I just go go go, and I like it much better. Plus, our annual camping trip is coming up in mid-June so I have to get into swimsuit/hiking/boulder climbing shape.

Ahh camping...those stories will get their own posts. But I'll tell you that this is our seventh year doing this, and it has grown from 5 people to 15. So 4 days, 15 people, 2 campsites, a lot of tents, alcohol and you've got a whole lot of klassie (yep, with a k and an ie). And lots of funny stories and pictures.

Ok, time to work and get this bitch over with.

Boom!

2008-05-01T14:59:00.001-05:00

Some days I feel like my brain is going to EX-PLODE. Today is one of those days. Actually, this whole week is one of those days.

Why I dislike Bill Hall

2008-04-28T09:24:00.005-05:00

I work at a credit union and last week was National Youth Credit Union Week. We had all kinds of stuff going on at our branches for kids and we capped it all off with a big celebration on Saturday. We had big blow up jumpy things, a blow up pitching tent, Radio Disney was broadcasting live here and holding activities for all the kids. We also have partnerships with Culvers and the Milwaukee Brewers. So Scoopie, the Culvers mascot was there, as well as two of the Racing Sausages, the Hot Dog and the Bratwurst. (I know, I know, a lot of links. I just want to make sure you are all well-informed and more worldly for having read my blog.)

With our Brewer's sponsorship, we are guaranteed 2 player appearances per season. The big draw for this event was to be a one hour autograph session with the Brewer's 3rd baseman, Bill Hall. Everyone was really excited for this and even though it was really cold and REALLY windy on Saturday, there were about 50 people lined up outside the building. He was supposed to be there from 12-1. Well, 12:15 came and went with no word on his whereabouts. A few minutes later we were told by someone in the Brewer's front offices that he would be on his way shortly and would still commit to a full hour. Well, lo and behold it's now 12:45 and no Bill Hall! Our president and VP of marketing are on call after call trying to track him down through anyone and everyone. There was even a call made to manager Ned Yost! Finally a little after 1 pm our president was told that he wouldn't be coming (big surprise). Do you want to know why he couldn't make it?

He didn't feel like it.

It apparently had something to do with the previous night's loss. Well, excuse me, but you're a professional athlete. Sometimes you lose a game. That's what you get paid $4,925,000 for!! Seriously, almost 5 million dollars and he's upset over a loss. And it's not like the loss was his fault. I was at the game Friday night and most of the responsibility falls on our closing, and I use this term loosely, pitchers.

Ok, fine, anger and disappointment aside, he could have at least had the common courtesy to let our organization know in advance, not 1 hour after he was supposed to be there. An organization that has an advertising relationship with the team he plays for. This not only reflects poorly on him, but on the entire Brewer's organization. However, the Brewer's did attempt to rectify the situation by sending staff member's down with free tickets for an upcoming game.

So all in all, I'm pretty disappointed in Bill Hall's inability to act the part of a professional athlete. And I kind of wonder how he'd be treated if he were to make up for his actions with a rescheduled appearance. I really don't know that our organization would accept that.

And that is my rant for today.

UPDATE: I did hear from someone that after we were told he didn't feel like coming, we received an amended response from the Brewer's organization that he had a "family emergency." I'm not sure if that's true, and it was something I heard through the grapevine. But even if it was true, the advance notice part of my rant still applies. And I like that it was a response given later on, as if the PR department was scrambling to make amends.

Cats and Dogs

2008-04-25T11:28:00.003-05:00

This is the radar right now. For some reason it didn't show the map underneath all the colors, but Milwaukee is right underneath the largest red blob.

It is incredibly dark outside and there are buckets, huge buckets! of rain coming down right now. Lots of lightning and thunder too! I just peeked out of my office and saw that the sky is a nice shade of green right now. I love thunderstorms!!!!

Miscellaneous Mon...err, Tuesday

2008-04-21T21:08:00.005-05:00

Lots of randomness today folks. First let me say that I'm actually publishing this on a Tuesday morning, even though the Blogger date will probably say Monday. I started to do this last night, got all the pictures loaded, and then I was too tired to actually write anything.

This past weekend was so gorgeous!! We were outside practically the whole time! Now that we've saved up some money for our ginormous list of home improvements, we decided that since summer is coming up, what better place to start the improvements than the backyard?

Here is a picture of what the old flower beds looked like. Not so much flower beds as they are rock beds I guess.

So we dug out all the rocks and put them aside to be used for next weekend's project (more on that later). Then we evened the dirt out and measured and dug some more and measured and leveled and dug and measured and leveled, blah blah blah blah blah. And this is what we made!

Either this summer or next summer I plan on painting the trim a darker red, so it will look even nicer. Oh, and don't mind all the yellowing, we've fertilized and watered like crazy to remedy that.
While we were doing the retaining wall work, Libby of course bugged us every two seconds to play with a ball, so we obliged...many, many times. And this was the result!

Happy puppy! Her hips must be double jointed or something because that's how lays down. Just totally splayed out.

Getting kind of sleepy!

Trying to keep her eyes open.

I couldn't ignore the inside though, and one thing I really needed to do was figure out a way to hold/display my necklaces. I have a lot of them (thank you Lia Sophia). So I went to Target and found this:

I bought two of them, removed the hooks, sanded them and painted them white. And voila!

They're a nice decoration and they're easily accessible right between my dresser and my closet.

And one last bit of randomness...I have the sweetest husband ever! (While I'm sure many of you have great contenders, B wins every time in my world. As he should, I guess!)

I came home Monday night to these, for absolutely no reason at all.

They're so beautiful and immediately brightened up my day and the room! Then this morning when I got into my car there was a bag of Ghirardelli Caramel Chocolate Squares sitting behind the steering wheel. My favorite!! When we went to Ghirardelli Square in San Fran, I bought 2 big bags of the things!

Oh! I also watched a couple of movies this weekend--Eastern Promises and American Gangster. Both really good but also really violent.

Ok, now that's really all. Happy Tuesday!