4.28.09

Oh, hello, Britney Spears.


a few highlights from the show

• The Pussycat Dolls opened and Nicole Sherzinger stole the show vocally the entire night. Actually she might have been the only person to actually sing live the whole night, so maybe it wasn't much of a competition.
  
• someone got engaged on stage during PCD. Srsly. Then they dedicated Stickwitu to them.
• I met up with a friend from college who I haven't seen in years!
• Was there a live band? no
• Was there any live singing? I don't think so.
• Was there otherwise amazingness? Yessssssssssssssss!!!!!
• I think she said exactly 3 words the whole concert - "What's up Chicago!" Otherwise everything was totally rehearsed. ha! And no one cares! I love it.
  
• The Allstate Arena is kind of awful. So disorganized. The arena is small though, which made every seat actually pretty good I think.
• It was worth every expensive cent that I spent. Comparable in price and entertainment value to any Cirque show I've seen in Vegas...and it was better I think. Well, if you are a Britney fan. If you aren't, you may not agree.
• aaaand basically, she's awesome.
  

4.27.09

I got so excited about Britney that I didn't post a picture for Monday.

When Jon made his way to his car to go to work, he was greeted by this lovely present. I went out and lent some moral support, but quickly excused myself so I could get my camera and take some pics.

Priorities, people!

4.26.09

(no story)

4.25.09

shotski.

4.24.09

Since it was 80 degrees yesterday, we went to the driving range and batting cages with Barney.

I mean if this isn't a sign of summer, I don't know what is! First we dug the grill out of storage and now the golf clubs!? We all took part in the golf portion of the evening, but only Jon and Swarley...I mean Barney, took part in the batting.

Jon is coming out of retirement and playing on a softball team this summer. Chances are you will be able to see more shots just like this one this summer. Or maybe not just like this one. I'm not sure I could get this angle at a real diamond. If I did, I might get hit by a line drive or something...which is never a good thing.

4.23.09

On Thursday, we grilled dinner for the first time this year!

love. it.

4.22.09

I'm going to make an effort to go out during my lunch to get some pics. I am sick of the night shots with the low/artificial light.

4.21.09

Look who's back! It's Tom, my Tuesday night model. The semester will be over in 3 weeks though...so our Tuesday night tradition of dinner and pictures will come to an end. :(

4.20.09

\

Just a little experimentation.

The word I would describe the outcome: ehhhhh

wait, is that a word?

4.19.09

This picture makes me think of a few things:

1. I had a facial on Saturday and my ethetician was quite concerned with the expression lines on my forehead. She said they were very pronounced for someone my age. Apparently I need to stop being so animated when I talk.

2. I found many strands of gray hair. They were wirey and not welcome.

3. I am wearing my reading glasses on my head. That's right, I said reading glasses.

4. I might as well be middle aged because all signs point that direction anyway. No offense to anyone reading who is middle aged. It's just that you know, I'd like to wait 20 years before I feel middle aged.

4.18.09

We went to the UW Varsity Band concert Saturday night. We have been going to this concert every year for as long as we have been together and it is always so much fun! I look forward to it every year.

Other than playing all the standard 5th Quarter songs, they have special guests who play with the band, as well as medleys of popular music and musicals. My favorite this year was the Jesus Christ Superstar breakdown.

And btw, this isn't just a sit and listen type thing - there are pyrotechnics, streamers, confetti, trapeze type acrobatics. It's big time. You should probably do yourself a favor and go next year.

4.17.09

Friday night. State Street.

We did some eating, people watching and ice creaming. (recommended: Chocolate Shoppe French Silk ice cream)

4.16.09

No story to accompany this one. There is construction going on at our apartment complex and I snapped a few shots while the men weren't around.

This pic does make me realize how I need to get out during the day more to take pics. You know, so I don't end up with more like this one. The more I look at that one, the more I hate it. I really dislike the lighting and the editing. It's not good. I do love that little babe though...and his smile!

4.15.09

OMG, I overted a near major crisis tonight.

This is my jump drive where I store most of the pictures I have taken this year...and tonight *that* happened. You know, usually the plug should be straight. Not crooked. I thought I lost everything!

You see, I tried catching the laptop as it was slipping with my foot. I was successful in stopping it from falling on the floor. But obviously not successful in keeping the jump drive intact.

Thankfully even though it is jacked up, it still works. I seriously almost had a meltdown thinking that I lost all my pictures.

It's ok now though. I took a deep breath, transferred all the pics to our external hard drive, and put 'new jump drive' on my shopping list.

R.I.P. Lexar Firefly (November 2008-April 2009)

4.14.09

Look who is making another appearance as a good little model!

Tom and I grabbed some dinner on Tuesday (at Five Guys if you must know), and then I made him model in front of The Red Shed. As I was going through the shots, I realized most were almost identical to this one. Red wall and everything! So I opted to change things up and go for a close up.

4.13.09

Since Easter was being spent in our 'hood, it was my job to make a dessert. I had been shamefully thinking about the deliciousness of these brownies since March 13th, so I decided to make them again.

Selfish? Perhaps.

Still freakishly good? Oh yes.

and as a side note, these are the leftovers...there are only a couple left because my husband and I cannot control ourselves when there are baked goods in the apartment. Save us.

4.12.09

Look at Coop! On Easter Sunday, the fam came to Madison and we went to dinner. Yes, no Easter breakfast or brunch for us. We did dinner. Kind of random, but it was very nice. After dinner everyone came back for dessert and the Brewer game - and pictures obvi.

4.11.09

I saw this sammy on Giada at Home recently and thought it looked yummy, so I gave it a whirl. [Side note: have y'all noticed Everyday Italian doesn't exist anymore? She only does Giada at Home now. The girl finally ran out of Italian recipes apparently...] Anyway, I thought this looked interesting because she used puff pastry instead of bread. Unfortch, it wasn't quite as delicious as I anticipated it would be. It was good, but not great. I actually think it might be better with bread - the puff pastry was a tad too crumbly. Here is the recipe:


Grilled Chicken and Avocado Napoleons

Ingredients:

2 (9 by 10-inch) sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed and cut into 12 (3 by 5-inch) rectangles
4 (4-ounce) boneless and skinless chicken breast halves
Kosher salt
Olive oil, for drizzling
3 tablespoons reduced fat mayonnaise
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 large avocado, thinly sliced into 8 pieces
2 cups baby spinach leaves

Directions:

Place an oven rack in the lower 1/3 of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Place the pastry on the prepared baking sheets. Using the tines of a fork, prick the top of the pastry all over. Cover the pastry with parchment paper and place another baking sheet on top. Bake for 25 minutes until golden. Remove the top baking sheets and parchment paper. Set aside to cool.

Preheat a grill pan or preheat a gas or charcoal grill. Season the chicken with salt and drizzle with olive oil. Grill until the chicken is cooked through, about 5 to 6 minutes on each side. Set aside to cool.

In a small bowl, mix together the mayonnaise and cayenne pepper.

To assemble the Napoleons: Place 4 pieces pastry on a work surface. Slice each chicken breast diagonally into 6 (1/4-inch thick) slices. Place 3 chicken breast slices on each piece of pastry. Place 1/4 cup of spinach and 1 avocado slice on top. Spread 1 teaspoon of the mayonnaise mixture on the underside of another 4 pieces of pastry to create the middle layer of each Napoleon. Place on top. Repeat the layering. Each Napoleon should be completed with a piece of pastry as its top.

Arrange the Napoleons on a platter and serve.

original recipe found here

4.10.09

It was Lisa's bday on Friday. In celebration we went to HuHot for dinner and then out for some draaanks.

4.9.09

This is Beaner again. (You met yesterday) We are dog sitting for a couple days.

This was probably the 794th time we played fetch. She could literally play fetch all day long. This is not an exaggeration. I know I tend to be a little dramatic from time to time (like before when I said we played fetch 794 times), but this time I do not kid.

When my friend came to drop her off and gave me some pointers about her, she mentioned that she doesn't let her play after 9pm. I kind of chuckled at the time, but now I understand why! It is non stop with that thing.

4.8.09

Hello. My name is Beaner.

4.7.09

I finally took down my wintery decorations this weekend. They were replaced with this lamp (is it really a lamp?) and other fresh and springy decor.

I will officially be ignoring any further snow or degrees below 32 degrees. I might even put my boots away for the season. Oh yes, I'm serious.

4.6.09

I took a stop at my friendly neighborhood DSW on Monday to get some shoes for Dizzy's wedding. I came out empty handed, but I did find these gems in the clearance section.

I understand if my goth ensemble is preventing you from seeing these beauties in all their glory. They are tall insulated Nike boots with fur and ball tassles at the top.

Oh yeah.

They were kind of cool actually, in an ugly sort of way...and also 70% off.

p.s. I'm not pregnant.

4.5.09

This is the first digital camera I ever owned.

I got it from my parents when I graduated from college and it stopped working a few months ago. Like one minute it worked and the next it didn't. Despite the fact that it doesn't do the only function it is really supposed to do (take pictures), I am still having a hard time getting rid of it. It has been through so many milestones! Babies being born, a bunch of weddings, birthdays, and so many vacations - It has been to: New York, Key West, LA, Vegas, Hawaii and of course accompanied me on our epic road trip from Milwaukee to San Diego.

Dang.

Maybe I'll bury it and have a service instead.

4.4.09

Meghan and I checked out the new Five Guys at Bayshore for lunch on Saturday. I had been to this fine establishment many times before in Madison and Delafield, but it was Meghan's first time!

You can find my opinion of this joint here.

Her opinion: The fries were better than the burger...but she thought maybe she picked bad toppings. Sobelman's is still #1 in her burger book.

4.3.09

I was at my parents' on Friday night and snapped this pic while waiting in one of the bedrooms in their house for Meghan to pick me up for a movie.

I actually bought this poster, but it is one of those things that I never moved out of their house. Hopefully they haven't become too attached to it and I'll be able to snag it back one day.

And if anyone is interested, we saw Duplicity. It was highly disappointing. I almost fell asleep actually. None of us enjoyed it.

And besides that, the Majestic in Brookfield was like Grand Central Station for every area middle school and high school in the area. Is this a regular thing? Or did they all come out to see the highly anticipated fourth installment of The Fast and the Furious?

4.2.09

I love his eyes.

4.1.09

I was getting sick of taking pictures of objects in our apartment. So on our way home from dinner at Qdoba, I had Jon pull over at a cemetary.

This is a tad more interesting than lip gloss, right? (actually, that might be a tough call. That lip gloss is so beautiful)

I'm getting really excited for summer and the prospect of flowers and other interesting things besides snow mounds, icicles and otherwise gray matter.

3.31.09

Meghan got me this for me as a bday present. I bet you didn't know Coach made lipgloss! Isn't this the most beautiful tube you have ever seen? I can hardly stop looking at it.