5.30.09

Today is Emily's bday. You remember Emily? She ran 13.1 miles last weekend. Well, she lives across the country and I know she enjoys reading this blog, so I thought I'd give her a little shout out. Also, I got to redeem myself and have a purpose for taking some wrapping paper shots which I wanted to do earlier this week for my dad's bday. So really, win-win. I have an unhealthy obsession with wrapping paper, btw. I buy wrapping paper and ribbon even if I have no immediate gifts to wrap. weeeeiiirdo!

Anyway, Emily, I hope you go to Chili's and get yourself a cobb salad and a margarita. yummmmm! See you soon (hopefully)! Happy Bday!

5.29.09

This didn't really turn out as I hoped.

• I wish I would have had the aperature a little higher so that all of the bottles were in focus.
• If I wasn't already kind of a freak standing outside a gas station taking pics, I wish I would have turned all the bottles so they were facing the same way. A freak! I know!
• I also kind of wish it was taken from a slightly different perspective.

oh well. you live you learn.

5.28.09

This is pretty typical.

5.27.09

WAAAAAA! I've been sick.

5.26.09

Here are those infamous parking lot lights...and creepy looking sky.

This day was my dad's bday. I had plans all day to try an artsy shot of wrapping paper rolls or something in honor of his bday, but obvi that didn't happen. Sorry!

Happy Birthday, Dad!

5.25.09

On Memorial Day we headed to Brat Fest. It is the world's largest brat festival, if you must know. They attempt to break the record of brats consumed in a 4 day span every year. Sounds like something healthy and Wisconsin-like, no? Anyway, here is the semi-truck where they grill the brats. Yes, that's right. A semi-truck that is also a grill.

FYI, the record was broken this year. 203,752 brats consumed. I had a hot dog. woops.

Also, I kind of wish the compostion of the pic was different. I wish there was less ground and more sky. oh well.

5.24.09

I got up at the crack o' dawn this morning to go cheer on Emily and Tom at the Madison Half Marathon. Surprisingly, I was up and at 'em right away at 5:45 when the alarm went off. This is noteworthy people. I do not do mornings.

Back to the race.

I met the J family at the Alliant Energy Center after grossly underestimating how much traffic there would be. There were cars backed up on the beltline for at least a mile. Yikes. I got there about 20 minutes before the race started, but I'm sure there were a lot of late runners!

We found a spot at the start to see them off. Then we headed out to catch them again around the 6 mile mark (where this pic was taken). They were looking so good! Then we made our way back to the finish. Much to my dismay, they did not cross the finish holding each other's hands. I love that! Instead, at the last second Tom took off and left Emily in his dust. Such a nice brother he is ;) Emily still put her hands up in celebration as she finished just a few steps behind. They finished in 2:03. Great job, guys!!

Here's a question though - whats the deal with the dudes starting the race with no shirt? Do they just know they are going to end up taking it off, so they just skip a step? We thought it was a little weird. Especially because it wasn't a sweltering hot day today...

5.23.09

(no story)

5.22.09

OUR POOL IS OPEN!!!!!!!!!!

5.21.09

I feel like we are busy every weekend of the summer already and it only the end of May. That's the way it is every summer though...and I think I like the busyness. Who wants nothing to do? I look forward to a few short weekend getaways, hopefully some brewer games, a couple events in Madison that I never miss, and maybe a concert or 2.

Summer = the best.

5.20.09

A birthday shout out goes out to Dizzy today! I made a fake cupcake and even lit a candle to celebrate. Except instead of celebrating, I just took as many pics I could before the candle burned too low. For extra funsies, I picked a yellow candle to go with the red sprinkles in honor of our alma mater. (go dashers!)

Happy Bday, Diz!

(Third appearance on this blog this month. Woowee - gettin famous.)

5.19.09

More fun with the new parking lot lights :)

5.18.09

So our apartment complex just put new lights in the parking lot.

And they are bright!

I'm slightly obsessed with them and am already thinking of all the photo opportunities.

5.17.09

Diz just got the same camera that I have, so we got together this afternoon and I taught her a little bit of what I know (which is very little).

We also chatted, pretended Andy wasn't there since he was studying, and had a generally great time as per usual.

5.16.09

Here is Patrick and Rachel at their ho-down going away party. Classy get-ups, hey?

At the end of the night, Annie gave a nice little speech and we cheers-ed to safe travels, a successful move and this exciting time in their lives.

We'll miss them!

5.15.09

This weekend was Rachel and Patrick's going away party. Since they are moving to Nashville, it was a country western, ho-down style shindig. I made country cds as favors and some funny stickers for people to wear.

I don't know if anyone really knows how much I love making this kind of stuff.

5.14.09

This is my desk at work. Let me give you a little tour around... Let's start from the left.

-file cabinet, magnetic hanger that I got from Office Max that was the coolest thing I had ever seen. (is it just me who gets excited about office supplies?)

-That red balloon on the windowsill: it is a birthday balloon that has been passed around to everyone in our office for the past 3 years. It calls my desk home for a little under 3 months - until June 15th when the girl who sits next to me has her birthday.

-blah blah, work stuff, files, papers, projection sheets

-an actually really comfortable office chair

-out my window, I see: people walking their dogs (usually the same people), a girl training for some kind of run or triathalon perhaps? She does sprints in the parking lot once the weather gets nice, 13 lined ground squirrels burrowing in the ground and a tree that never loses its leaves in the winter.

-that plant on the right side of the desk. I got it from my boss for my bday this year. I almost killed it a week later. That's pretty awful, considering it literally takes residence an elbow length away from me. Since then, I have kept a close eye on it and give it the appropriate nourishment it needs

-up above: flyers, envelopes, name plate with my new name

-back down below: water, lotion, afternoon snack (apple)

-blah blah, more papers, phone, binder, other work stuff.

-on the ground: my new yellow purse that I got from Dizzy.

Fun stuff, hey?

5.13.09

A few months ago, I picked up this prize piece in the clearance section at the always classy establishment, Urban Outfitters.

It now hangs in our bathroom..as a rememberence of that 8 point buck I shot when I was a teenager on my first hunting trip.....

just kidding.

or am I?

(yes, I'm kidding.)

5.12.09

Remember this?

It's official. I cannot be trusted with flash drives.

This time I was at Panera and tipped the laptop to the right, snapping this poor little Cruzer Mini. Like the last time, it still works, but still...as a warning...if you are carrying a flash drive and you see me coming toward you...run (don't walk) in the opposite direction!

5.11.09

My downtown dwelling friends gave me the word a couple weeks ago that the tulips had bloomed at the capitol and that I needed to get down there to take some pics, stat!

But ya know, sometimes a girl has Britney Spears concerts and garage sales to tend to, so I didn't have time to get down there until tonight after work.

They were a tad past their prime, but still quite beautiful.

5.10.09

For Mother's day, I met my mom and dad in Johnson Creek for brunch and some shopping. I told my mom I'd get her something and she decided she wanted a summer purse. We found this cute one at the new Coach outlet for a steal! Yay! It was fun.

Happy Mother's Day!

5.9.09

Garage sale: Day 2.

"Can I interest you in some crutches for 50 cents, sir?"

(Actually, 50 cents for crutches is a freaking steal. Jon had to get a pair not long ago from the clinic and they were like $50)

5.8.09

This weekend, I did a garage sale with my sister-in-law (at her house). We made about $1000 over the 2 days we held the sale. $1000!!! That is a lot for a garage sale. My take was about $260. Not bad.

I was shocked at the stuff people would buy though. Used flip flops? I mean, I will gladly take 50 cents for my gently used sandals, but I wanted to tell these people to go to Old Navy and buy a new pair for an extra $1.50. Seriously. Brand new, people.

5.7.09

On Thursday night, we went to see Billy Joel and Elton John. This was my third time seeing them together and they are still pretty amazing. The show was 3 1/2 hours and we basically got 2 concerts for the price of 1. Everyone knows I like a good deal :)

I like this picture best because you can see the whole arena. I've always wanted to know what it would feel like to have an entire arena screaming for you. Can you imagine what it would be like to be able to stop playing your song and have like 10,000 sing it back to you? (this is what happens when Billy Joel sings Piano Man) It would be unreal.

It is obvious Elton John is over all the attention though because after the show was over, he came down the stairs, jumped into a little closet in the back of the stage (while everyone was still cheering) and came out 2 seconds later in a track suit and left the arena. I guess rock stars clock in and out at their jobs just like we all do...

5.6.09

(no story)

5.5.09

These trees smell so delicious.

5.4.09

Remember when you were little and you would make dandelion bouquets? And your mom would put them in a little cup on display to humor you.

5.3.09

Word on the street is that this kid is walking now.

(way to go, Coop!)

diz and andy: married

If there is anyone I know who was made to be married and have a family, it is Dizzy. Diz and Andy have been together for 7 years, so this has been a long time coming.

They did a somewhat untraditional wedding. The ceremony was at noon, with a brunch reception immediately afterward. So, the whole thing was done by about 5pm. Everything was very much 'them', which is how a wedding should be, right? So let's start from the beginning.

Friday night, we met at church for a quick run through the ceremony. They are a well oiled machine and make sure everything is done just right. Like everything down to how they should hold each other's hands. Kind of funny actually, but they are the pros I suppose!





Not everyone could pay attention the whole time though...



Then it was off to The Wicked Hop for dinner. Diz had fun playing with my camera and decided that any wedding money they will be getting will be going toward the purchase of one of her own. I wonder how Andy will feel about that...



Look at this precious little angel baby!









I love this picture and I wish it wasn't blurry. I love how Andy and his dad taking care of the bill. I imagine his dad his smiling because he is so happy for his son. Then there is Diz holding on to little Benny and Andy looking at her probably thinking to himself how lucky he is to have snagged an awesome girl like Diz. (because he is!) That's just my interpretation anyway :)



Saturday morning, I woke up bright and early to get to the hair salon by 8:30 for our hair appointments. There were a few missteps in the hair and makeup department (Marge Simpson moment, barely any mascara) but all was fixed before we left the building.





We made our way back to Dizzy's parents' to get ready. And since her dress wrinkled so easily, we decided to take some fake 'putting on the dress' shots. I don't have any pics of this portion of the day, but let me tell you, her dress fit her per.fect.ly. So once we got the dress on, it didn't really come off and we had to come up with a plan B for getting her to the church without getting wrinkled. Here is what we did... (I hope she doesn't mind her cleavage being on the internet...) Took the seats out of her parents' van and she rode to the church standing up. So very glamorous.



The ceremony was nice. Dizzy looked beautiful. They both were cool, calm and collected. Diz got a little choked up while saying her vows, but I secretly love when that happens at weddings.









The reception was immediately after the ceremony and it was only about a mile away, so we headed right over. They passed mimosas and bloody marys and some other yummy apps. I'm obsessed with the picture below of Katie's friend with the two mimosas. I think it is hilarious because a) she is holding mimosas (i.e. wimpy drink), not bottles of liquor and b) the whole mood of the wedding was laid back, relaxed and classy....and her attitude in this pic is so far from that. It cracks me right up.





I really love this pic. Srsly. How awesome did her hair look?



And because I know peeps like details, here are the simple and beautiful centerpieces. Each table had a different color bouquet of tulips that matched her bouquet.

And take a look at the butter! I was obsessed with it.






We headed outside for some pics and really, they could not have had a nicer day. It was so beautiful and not a cloud in the sky.








After pics, we went back inside for brunch - which included a salad that Jon has been talking about ever since, a buffet of chicken, pork and eggs benedict and made to order omelets. Everything was so yummy....however, I had a hard time eating much because I was sooooo nervous about my speech! I'm not sure why I was so worked up, but I had a hard time calming down. And for the first couple seconds of the speech, I have a feeling my voice was cracking and it was obvious that I was about to faint. Not really...but actually I'm kind of serious. It all turned out fine obviously (it always does)...but I'm still glad I went first because Kevin, Andy's best man, was as cool as a cucumber.








It was such a nice day! I was honored to be a part of it and am so happy for my dear friend. I know they are going to have a great marriage. Congratulations Diz and Andy!