9.18.09

These are my first booties as a baby. They are bronzed. That must have been a thing to do in the early 80s because I havent heard many people bronzing their baby's booties these days.

9.17.09

Thursday was Jon's birthday (and my mom's!). A while ago, we were planning on being in Vegas for his bday, but those plans fell through. So instead, we decided to go to a Vegas restaurant we love that also happens to be in Oakbrook, IL. We had a tasty steak dinner, got a cheap room at a really nice hotel (thank you Priceline!), watched The Hangover in our room and overall had a nice little getaway.

A little tidbit of note: Our hotel was at Hamburger University. I'm not kidding. You think this is fake? It is not. The hotel was a Hyatt and is on the grounds of the McDonald's Headquarters...aka Hamburger University. This place is awesome. Weird McDonald's artwork all over, McDonald's shuttles driving around that say "I'm Lovin It", teams of McDonald's employees walking around. Fascinating!

9.16.09

This is exciting.

For years, I have been coveting a pair of Frye harness boots. The problem is in the price tag - they are about $200. I never bit the bullet and got them...and I'm glad I didn't because look at these babies! They look just like the Frye boots, don't they? (Go ahead, click on that link and check out the real thing)

Well they aren't.

They are from Target.

That's right. Good ole Mossimo came to my rescue and made a pair of boots that look identical to the Fryes for a fraction of the price. AND GET THIS! They are real leather!! So they do not look like the cheap fake leather boots from Target. I love them. Now I need to learn how to wear them and not look like I am trying to be a cowboy...

9.15.09

9.14.09

In the words of NeNe Leakes, "oh uh-uh, boo boo".

I am NOT feeling the pumpkins at the grocery store.

I repeat, NOT feeling them.

Summer, please stick around as long as possible. thanks much!

9.13.09

IRONMAN!!

Everyone must see an Ironman at some point in their lives - even though I think these people are a wee bit crazy - I still think it is AMAZING and AWESOME that they train for this impossible event and succeed. This was my first year going down for the swim and it was freaking ridiculous. What you are looking at is probably over 1000 swimmers in Lake Monona. The sight and sound of this is something that cannot be conveyed in a picture. You must see this in person.

So, my friend Heath was doing his second Ironman this year and I was determined to see him at some point during the day. I parked myself within eye shot of his bike at the transition. I had my telephoto lens all set to go and I had an eagle eye on that bike rack, but I swear I saw everyone take their bikes from his rack, but him. Argggh! It was a bummer. We went home to take a nap (I left it to the Ironmen and women to do the exercising that day) and I went back out around 4:30 when I knew he would be around State Street for the run. I missed him on the first loop, but managed to catch him about 5 blocks from the finish. I walked with him for about a block to chat and tell him how awesome he did and then he ran into the finish. Btw, he really did do awesome. He finished an hour earlier than he did last year. AN HOUR! That is completely crazy bananas to me and I am completely in awe of him and all the other athletes that finish an Ironman.

9.12.09

I took a drive out to the country on Saturday to see if I could figure out the bike route for the Ironman going on the next day. It is still shocking to me that there is full on country style farms less than 10 miles from my apartment. Madison is so weird like that...there is a lively city and downtown life, but the outlying suburbs are very rural. It's odd - and very unlike Milwaukee, which has sprawling city suburbs. Anyway, This is the lawn of the University Ridge golf course, which happened to be out there in the boonies. I wish I had a wide angle lens in instances like this. It was mowed to perfection. Be-aut-i-ful.

9.11.09

good ole old navy!

9.10.09

9.9.09

These are those delicious potatoes I talked about back in July. They have been my favorite thing to eat this summer. Yummmmmy!

Jon had a stroke of genius a couple weeks ago and added a little Tastefully Simple Dried Tomato and Garlic Pesto seasoning. Oh, extra yummy! (and as always, you can get this stuff from Gina!)

9.8.09

9.7.09

This is my grandpa. He turned 90 years old on August 28th. 90! Gosh, he has seen a lot in his lifetime. The family got together on Monday to celebrate. It was a really nice afternoon. Since moving to Madison, I don't get to see the family much besides Christmas, so it was nice seeing everyone. We also got some up to date family photos, which we haven't done in a long time.

In closing, I bring to you one of my grandpa's most famous sayings:

"Be good...and if you can't be good, be naughty."

Happy Birthday, Grandpa!

9.6.09

We were in Milwaukee for the latter half of the Labor Day weekend. I have always thought this sign is charming. Isn't the whole Tosa Village charming though? I think so.

9.5.09

Last year, Jon and I went to the Taste of Madison and happened upon a band that was so amazingly awesome and unlike anything we had ever seen before. A year later, we learned that they would be returning to the Taste and well, to say the least, we were pumped. Like majorly pumped. There were moments we worried that maybe we had been hyping them up too much and we would be let down...and our friends would wonder what we were thinking when they saw them themselves.

Thankfully, there was nothing to be worried about.

They. Were. Awesome.

They are called Too White Crew and they are an old school rap/hip hop cover band. Yes, old school rap, as in Run DMC, Snoop, Salt N Pepa, Biz Markie, Warren G. Ya know, the good stuff. They dress the part, they have dancers (the girls in the green pants), they play all the music live and they are funny! They are seriously great entertainers. If they are ever in your area, you MUST go see them.

9.4.09

Chicken Fajita Pita with shredded cheese - hold the sauce.

9.3.09

9.2.09

I have no story to accompany this picture, so I am going to take the time to bring something up about anonymous commenters. I get it. You don't want me to know you read this blog. It's cool. But are the anons always the same person? I am curious. So, you anons out there, I challenge you to come up with a screen name to use every time you comment. That way I will sort of have an idea who is commenting...and if you anons are the same person or different people. Ok? Ok!

9.1.09

Shari, Nancy and I went to Lombardino's last Tuesday and it was taaaasty. I already ate before I got there, but I snagged some of Nancy's pizza and the bread was delicious. We were there close to closing time and since Shari knows a lot of peeps that work there, we scored the extra loaves of bread. Yesssss. It's the little things, people.

8.31.09

Check out this adorable invitation in the mail last Monday! A couple of Gina's friends are throwing a little baby brunch to celebrate her second baby (which is due right around Thanksgiving). Since showers are not typical after the first baby, I think this is such a great alternative. And instead of presents, everyone brings a pack of diapers. Fantastic idea.

...And I love Monnie's handwriting. I wish I had great handwriting.

moment in time

A while ago, I saw The Arrow of Time project by Diego Goldberg and decided it would be a really cool thing to do. I decided we would take our picture every Labor Day - ya know, since we would look tanned and rested for our yearly portraits. :) Here is the first year!