still too busy...

Anniversary was great. Craig got me a dozen roses and we had frozen pizza for dinner, leftover birthday cake for dessert and a big glass of wine for me. When our anniversary falls on a week night, we usually leave any big dinner plans till the weekend. But yesterday's celebration was just perfect! Relaxed, simple, romantic!

I'm still crazy busy... I've got the Book Club coming over tonight to watch a movie. They haven't seen "The Philadelphia Story" with Katharine Hepburn, Jimmy Stewart, and Cary Grant. This is blasphemous to me, so I bought the DVD (gave me a good excuse to add it to my collection) and insisted on hosting movie night. So there will be wine, snacks, and Cary and Katharine in all their black and white movie glory! Fun!

If you have a sec, pop over to Sunshine and Lemonade... Kat's having a contest for best random blog post. Vote for me! The poll is on the right side of the blog. I only have one vote and it's making me sad.

Busy Busy Busy

been too busy to post. Today is Craig and I's 8th anniversary! Happy birthday sweetie! More later...

Great Weekend!

I had a great weekend! Great weather, great visit with my family, great conversation, good company... what more could you ask for in a birthday?

My dad got into town Saturday afternoon. We went to church, then out to dinner at my favorite Mexican restaurant afterwards. We came back home to have cake.

Craig baked me a delicious Devil's food cake with buttercream frosting. The frosting didn't cooperate for him and I felt so bad for asking him to even attempt it, but WOW! What it lacked in visual appeal it made up for in taste! It was pretty humid on Saturday and the frosting got a little soupy. But after sitting in the fridge for a few hours it was AWESOME!

I got some great presents, too. From Craig, my favorite perfume and from Alex a t-shirt from my favorite team.


I got phone calls, messages, comments and emails from so many of my friends and family. I really felt loved! It was a really special day!

We spent a lazy day with my dad today. We slept in. Spent a lot of time outside enjoying the weather. Took a walk. Grilled out. It was very relaxing. Alex was so sad when he woke up from his nap and Grampa had gone home. He kept saying how much fun he had with Grampa the rest of the day. I just love good times spent with family!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Today is the 4th anniverary of my 29th birthday. I still find it hard to believe that I'm now well into my 30s. I got to scoot right on by the 30th birthday festivities, because I had just given birth to Alex. I don't usually like a huge fuss made over my birthday. Okay, that's a total lie. I love a big fuss! Presents, cake, food, drink, you name it! I love any reason to celebrate, so I actually do like my birthday. My three nephews just called and sang "Happy Birthday." The oldest sang it opera style, the middle one sang normal, and the youngest one attempted to burp the whole song. That made my day.

Alex, Craig and I went to the Milwaukee County Zoo this morning. We saw the Birds of Prey show which was very cool. We also road the train around the zoo. Two things we have never done before.

I logged into my email to find I won a giveaway on Tip Junkie. A beautiful bracelet from Beads by Amanda K! Amanda's stuff is gorgeous and reasonably priced. Go check her out! I know I'll be checking her stuff out again soon. That was a great birthday surprise.

Oh, and be sure to check out this week's final SITS giveaway. They're giving away an Ipod Nano. I think this would be a great thing to help me with my running! So head on over there, and tell them Sydney sent you!

More birthday posting (hopefully pictures!) tomorrow!

Friday Foto Finish

I love this photo for a number of reasons. All of us are in it. We're all smiling. I don't look stressed, squinty, or angry. And the lighting is great. It was taken after Payton's baptism last month in Geneseo. For some reason after you have a child, the photos either only have one parent in them, or are only of the kid. Obviously the focus shifts to Alex, but I like to have recent photos of Craig and I as well.

Be sure to head over to Candid Carrie to see more great pictures.

Girls' Night Out

Tuesday night I had the pleasure to go out with some of my friends... who also just happen to be my former co-workers. We went to WaterBuffalo, a restaurant on the Milwaukee River in the city's Third Ward area. We had an outdoor table for dinner, with a gorgeous view of some of the new condos that are popping up all over, as well as other Downtown buildings. Pictured below from left to right are: Steph, Me, Amy J, Lacey, Diane, and Amy F.



The girls surprised me with an early birthday celebration... flowers, presents, a balloon, and dinner. It was so sweet! Dinner was filled with sassy conversation, getting caught up on boyfriends, husbands, work and life in general. I miss seeing them everyday! We did a pretty good job of getting together every week for Grey's Anatomy watching parties... but it had been a long time since we had all been together. I really enjoyed it and I hope we can do it again soon!
Lacey and Amy F. are my 5K buddies. They ran the German Fest 5K tonight. I'm hoping Lacey and I will be running the Mexican Fiesta 5K later in August, as well as Race for the Cure at the end of September.
Lovely Lacey is getting married in October. We met at work, but we share a Galesburg connection. She went to Carl Sandburg College before heading to Illinois State. She actually lived in Galesburg for a couple of years and grew up in Toulon. So I'll mention Happy Joe's, Cherry Street, or The Landmark and she knows exactly what I'm talking about. I can't wait for her wedding at Wildlife Prarie Park, and of course the big party afterward!

Embarassing high school moments

My 15 year high school reunion should have been this summer. But it's now August and while nothing formal is obviously going to happen, nothing informal seems to be happening either. It's fine. I helped plan the 10 year reunion and it was fun, but it was a lot of work. So waiting till 20 is fine with me.

I have plenty of embarassing moments to choose from (and some even better ones from junior high) here's one of my many emabarassing high school moments.

My freshman year of high school I tried out for cheerleading. You had to rank your squad/sport preferences on the tryout form. I listed football, basketball, and wrestling (yes, they had cheerleaders for that) in that order. I knew I wouldn't make basketball cheer squad, hoped for football, and figured if all else failed and I made the wrestling squad, at least I'd get a varsity letter out of it. Well, I made the wrestling cheer squad. (No, that's not the embarassing part. I'm getting there.)

There were six of us on the squad of various ages. It was a fun group and we came up with some great cheers. The guys on the team were really fun and the coaches seemed to like us. I was just thrilled that I made a squad.

Those of you who have been cheerleaders know that underneath those adorable pleated skirts (at the time, we still wore pleated skirts) you had to wear bloomers... solid colored underwear that covered your buns. While cheering, the bloomers had a tendency to ride up. When this would happen, we'd sneak under the bleacher, give the bloomers a quick, gravity-defying tug, and then pop back out. The crowd never paid attention to us anyway, so it didn't matter if 1/6 of the squad disappeared for a minute.

Two of my friends (who will remain anonymous to protect myself, as I have recently reconnected with some high school friends) came to watch one of the meets and see me cheer one Saturday morning. I was having bloomer issues, so I snuck under the bleachers, flipped up the back of my skirt, and gave them a quick tug. I walked back out... only to be followed by one of the most popular athletes in the school, who was cracking up. I was mortified, and finished the rest of the meet with a face that was redder than the opposing teams' singlets. I dug out a wedgie in front of one of the most popular guys in school. Thank goodness he probably had no clue who I was.

In case you're wondering what brought on this post, Jaci is having a contest... check it out.

And the other award

That last post was getting too long, so I'm claiming my second award in a new post.
Judy at Coffee Jitters presented me with this award today.

Once an award is received, the rules are as follows:
1. Put the logo on your blog.
2. Add a link to the person who awarded you.
3. Nominate at least seven other blogs.
4. Add links to those blogs on your blog.
5. Leave a message for your nominee on their blog.

To all my nominees, if you want to play fine. If you don't want to play, that's fine too. I apparently have nothing better to do with myself right now.

1. Two People, Two Cats, and a Dog - Kristy and I have been friends since we were little kids. Her grandma lived next door to me and we became pen pals. We reconnected this year and I couldn't be happier that we have. Check out her blog, especially the pictures of her recent trip to Australia and New Zealand!

2. Two Little Ladybugs - Ellen is a new friend, discovered through the magic of NaBloPoMo. She's another kindred spirit who has two beautiful little girls. She's a great writer and I admire her work. We have a lot in common and it's a friendship that is sure to grow over time!

3. The Musings of a Mom - Therese and I are friends in real life. Blame her for this blog. Another kindred spirit (and if you don't know this phrase, go out, buy a copy of "Anne of Green Gables," a box of Kleenex, and thank me later). I'm so lucky I found her through my bookclub. Don't know what I'd do without her!

4. Wonderful World of Weiners - Hallie is an amazing blogger. She's funny. She's sassy. I forget how we stumbled over each other's blogs... may have been through David, but I'm so glad we did. She's a proud mom to two boys and just a really rocking gal!

5. Sunshine and Lemonade - Kat has two of the cutest little girls! I enjoy her blog so much, and she's always so great about leaving comments when she stops by. Her blog header is really cool too, check it out!

6. Life in a Cone of Silence - I hope David will play along, because I really love his blog. He and his family have been through the wringer in the past year or so and has not lost an ounce of hope or courage. He's an inspiration in life, and in the blogosphere. The man can write!

7. Sidz 6 Kids - The woman is single-handedly raising 6 children, and her name is Sidney. What's not to love??? Check her out!

Okay, nominees! I hope you enjoy this award and the fame and acclaim it will bring you. Don't trip over the papparazi on the way out!

Catching up with awards

I have now been nominated for two different awards by three different people. First up is the weird Angel award. I'm not really sure what it means, but both Tressa at American in Norway and Susie at Susie's Homemade think I deserve this award... so thank you both. (Incidentally, Tressa cracks me up regularly with her adventures in Norway and I believe she attended Western Illinois University... so she knows my neck of the woods. And Susie has some fabulous offerings on her blog and in her etsy shop, so check them out!) Therese also pointed out that she gave me this award as well. So THREE people gave me this one. I feel so popular! See the above post for more on Therese.

Here are the rules: (If you already have the award just accept and that's all you have to do.)

1. You have to pick 5 blogs you consider deserving of this award for their creativity, design, interesting material, and also contribute to the blogging community, no matter what language.
2. Each award has to have the name of the author and a link to his/her blog to be visited by everyone.
3. Each award winner has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that presented her/him with the award.
4. The award winner and one who has given the prize have to show the link "Arte y Pico" blog so everyone will know the origin of this award.
5. Show these rules.

Here are my winners:

1. And Baby Makes 4 - Melisa found me and I found her, and we've been sharing the comment love ever since. She's getting ready for her first baby and blogging about the adventures along the way.

2. Our Cozy Nest ... because her blog is cozy and crafty and fun!

3. Candid Carrie... because she should have scads of awards for her blog. I discovered her through SITS, and we share a Wisconsin connection (and an odd fascination with a certain local TV station that shall remain nameless).

4. Coffee Jitters... Judy has a great little blog going on. She's funny and she takes great pictures. One of these days I'm going to have to roadtrip to the Pacific Northwest to see if it's as beautiful as her pictures.

5. Airing Dirty Laundry... Shawna and I bumped into each other on GoodReads, then started reading each other's blogs, then I think we connected on two other sites. If she lived in Milwaukee or I lived in Pittsburgh, I think we'd be in the same book club, go shopping together, have coffee/lunch/dinner/drinks on a regular basis. I really believe she's a kindred spirit.

The Morning Routine

I am not a morning person. Never have been. Getting out of bed is always hard for me, whether I'm in a good mood or not. But this morning, after a week of vacation, I was raring to go. I got up with little fuss, I made my lunch, had breakfast, heck! I even made coffee, which I haven't done in months, relying on the nasty stuff they serve in the breakroom or the instant stuff I get at the grocery store.

I showered, did makeup, hair, etc. Looked at my watch... it was 7:10AM. I finished getting ready a whole 20 minutes earlier than normal.

What was today's secret? Craig got up before I did.

Why does this motivate me? I have no idea. It's not competitive drive. I think it's guilt that he's up ahead of me, and I have to be to work before he does.

I may have to sit down with him tonight and discuss how his getting up before me affects my whole day in a positive way. Thanks, babe!

Saturday Wrap Up

Vacations almost over and it's been a good one. Here's the rundown:

1. A trip to Iowa to visit my brother Mike and his wife Jen. Tractors and taco pizza and a trip to the Des Moines Zoo.

2. A trip to Wirth Park Aquatic Center in Brookfield. At 3:15PM. It closed at 4:30. Fun, but need to plan better next time.

3. Alex's first trip to the Wauwatosa Public Library. He snatched up 8 books. And has already read all of them. He's going to be just like me in his love of reading, I think!

4. A night of snuggling on the couch watching "The Jungle Book" with Alex came to a crashing halt. He was sitting on my lap and flung his head back smacking me squarely across the nose with his rock-solid skull. Craig and I both heard a pop and judging by the pain I could have sworn my nose was broken. I was sobbing from the shock and the sound more than the pain. Amazingly, no bruising or swelling yet after more than 15 hours. So I think I'm in the clear. My sinuses are a little screwy today though.

5. We got a sitter tonight (thanks Sara! I owe you two nights now!) and we are going out. Craig planned a benefit for a co-worker of his who was diagnosed with a really rare form of cancer last year. Ernesto hasn't been able to work since early last summer and the bills are mounting up. He's also about the same age as Craig and I (maybe a couple of years older) with two adorable daughters and a lovely wife. So Craig and one of the other photogs planned a benefit at Brew City in Mequon. If you're in the Milwaukee area, come on up! There's a ton of sports memorabilia and photos/artwork in the silent auction and other cool stuff that will be raffled off. I'm so proud of Craig for all the hard work he put into this.

6. I only have about 4 more things on my to do list. They'll get done tomorrow.

7. I ran twice and am 100 pages from finishing a second book in a week's time.

All in all, I feel like it's been a productive week and a half!

I also want to welcome an old buddy to the blogosphere. Neil and I met in high school. We shared many of the same classes and a passion for broadcasting. Neil didn't have the fear of being in front of the microphone that I had, but that's because he was GOOD! So go check out his blog for a healthy dose of sports talk.

Red Hot Giveaway

I don't know how the girls over at SITS keep coming up with these prizes, but one of these days I'm going to win one! They are giving away a red camera. Go to the site. Sign up. Tell them Sydney sent you.

Friday Foto Finish Fiesta

I'm participating in Carrie's Friday Foto Finish Fiesta again this week. This is my pooch, Shadow, snuggling with a down blanket and Elmo. Shadow is the sweetest dog. She disobeys a lot, but I love her anyway. Shadow is part lab, part hound. It's like someone took a lab and shrunk her. She only weighs about 60 pounds and has very short legs. Alex loves her and she takes his rough housing very well. Shadow goes by several names: Shaggy, Shags, Monkey, Naughty Girl, Poochie. I love this picture because it shows what a snuggle bug she is.

Observations after being away

I'm still on vacation for a few more days and LOVING IT! So this is what it's like! I've got a cup of coffee, I'm still in my jammies, Alex is plugged in to PBS Kids for a little bit, and I'm blogging. WOW! I'm more relaxed than I've been in months and I'm just loving it! I have noticed a few things both about my trip and about being back in Wisconsin... so I thought I'd share.

1. Iowa really isn't that flat and Wisconsin is very scenic. We cut across the southern part of Wisconsin while driving to Iowa, and it's just so beautiful. Jagged cliffs as you get near the Mississippi River and rolling farm hills. Just gorgeous. Iowa is more rolling farm hills than flat cornfields. The poor little state really gets a bum rap.

2. I felt like I was home when we were in Des Moines. I don't know if it was being with Mike and Jen (family) or if it was just being in a state where everyone sounds like me. In lower Illinois and in Iowa... the accent is very flat. I'm only noticing this after nearly a decade in Wisconsin. This is not to knock Wisconsin or Chicago accents... and those accents do exist no matter how much people deny it. The absence of accents was highly noticeable and very comforting.

3. Humidity sucks. Period.

4. Alex is really funny. He's caught a few episodes of Higglytown Heroes and now he says "Aww Pickles!" in the appropriate context. He also said "That's MY river!" when we drove over the Mississippi River. He's also telling stories now... big fanciful stories.

5. We are on day two of being pacifier free. The night we got back, we took Alex's beloved Nuk away. It was hard and I felt like a meanie, but he's three and it needs to be gone. I'm already afraid he'll need braces (Craig and I both did), but I don't want to make it any worse. So far so good. Two nights and a nap, and no turning back.

6. I need to keep running. I didn't run in Iowa because it was too darn hot. Lacey and I ran again last night. I need to map our route, but I think it was nearly 3 miles. We didn't run the whole thing, but we ran at least 3/4 of it. I think I'll go to the gym tomorrow to run, then we may run again Saturday morning. It felt good to run again and even better to take a shower afterwards.

7. Crocheting for most of a 6 hour car trip will give you wicked hand cramps.

8. The weather here in Wisconsin is quite mild in the summer. We didn't turn on the air conditioner for the first time until July 6! I guess that's the payoff for 100+ inches of snow during the winter and 12 inches of rain in June.

9. Google reader is a blessing and a curse. I came home to 168 unread blog posts. And some of them I can't clear out because there's the cursed "error on page." GRRR.

10. People missed me while I was gone. Both in the blogosphere and in real life. That's a good feeling. I look forward to getting back in the swing of things.

Fun on the Farm

My sister-in-law Jen grew up on a farm in Madison County, Iowa. (As in, "The Bridges of Madison County). It's beautiful there and the farm is a fun place to visit. This is a link to the farm's website. They also grow trees, Christmas trees, and pumpkins. Here are some pictures of the trip to the farm. Alex got to hold a baby goat, go for a ride in a really big tractor with Uncle Mike (my brother) and Farmer Fred (Jen's stepdad) and two smaller tractors with just Uncle Mike, who even let Alex drive! Alex also got to pet a turtle, pet a bunny, and crawl around in a corn bin. It was pure fun for a three year old!

Back and trying to catch up

We got back from Iowa last night. My google reader is overflowing with blog posts. I haven't been able to check anything from the road. I promise to try to get caught up on blog posts and get back to commenting later today. PROMISE!!! Especially Ellen... I have been meaning to leave comments for you since last week. You have had some truly incredible posts in the last week or so. I'll get back in full comment mode this afternoon. I LOVE vacation!!!! We had a fabulous trip and will post pictures later today.

Fun Running Information and Websites

These are some sites that I perused to help me get ready for my run.
http://running.about.com/od/getstartedwithrunning/ht/getstarted.htm
http://running.about.com/od/racetraining/a/first5K.htm

Breaking the Tape .com http://www.breakingthetape.com/
Map My Runhttp://www.mapmyrun.com/

chocolate zucchini bread

chocolate chip/chocolate zucchini bread

3 cups flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups zucchini, grated and peeled
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

preheat oven to 350. grease two loaf pans and set aside.
in large bowl combine first six ingredients, mix well and set aside. in medium bowl combine sugar and eggs. beat until blended.
add oil and vanilla beat until combined. add zucchini and stir.
add to flour mixture. stir until just moistened. stir in nuts and chips. spoon batter evenly into loaf pans.
bake 55-60 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. cool in pans 10 minutes. then remove from pans. cool completely on wire racks.
makes 2-4 loaves depending on pan size.

Zucchini Bread

Zucchini bread
beat together:
3 eggs
1 cup oil
2 cups sugar
2 tsp. vanilla

3 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
2 cups zucchini, peeled and grated
3/4 cup chopped nuts (optional)

mix dry ingredients together. add slowly to beaten mixture. put in greased/floured loaf pans and bake 1 hour 15 minutes at 325 degrees or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. cool in pans 10 minutes. t hen remove from pans. cool completely on wire racks. makes two or three loaves depending on pan size.

We're off to Iowa!

We're heading to Des Moines to visit my little brother Mike and his lovely wife Jen.

So I'm going to pre-program some posts, and then I'll upload some pictures once we're back.

If you want to do more research on Milwaukee's ethnic festivals, click here.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Also a side note to all the blogs I usually leave comments on... my IT department has turned up the firewall at work, so I can't get caught up on my blogs during my lunch break!! I'll try to get caught up on my reading and get back to leaving comments soon.

Friday Foto Finish! I DID IT!!!

I ran the whole thing! Actually WE ran the whole thing! And our time wasn't too shabby, for first time 5K runners. We finished in 39:30... so we averaged 13 minute miles. I'm telling you it was a tough course through downtown Milwaukee. The first part of the course was flat, going near the bluff that overlooks the lakefront, then looped around the downtown area, then headed down through Milwaukee's Third Ward area, then back uphill toward Cathedral Square, where Bastille Days is held. Amy and Lacey and I were a great team, encouraging each other and cracking each other up along the way. I seriously would not have made it up the hill and across the finish line with the two of them! It was AWESEOME! Are we the hottest sweaty chicks in Milwaukee or what? From right to left: Lacey, Amy and Sydney

We enjoyed adult beverages after the race. And we proudly sported our race numbers all the way back to the car. We earned them!

For those of you not familiar with why Milwaukee has a Bastille Days celebration, I'll fill you in. Milwaukee's claim to fame is being the city of festivals. Starting in late May and running through the summer and into the fall, there's a festival every weekend. I'm not talking church festivals, though there are plenty of those. Mostly it's ethnic festivals held on the lake front (Polish Fest, German Fest, African World Festival, Mexican Fiesta, Festa Italiana, Irish Fest), there are some festivals held at State Fair Park (Greek Fest, Cajun Fest) then there's Summerfest the big music festival. Bastille Days is unique because it's in a downtown neighborhood. Very cool. The festivals are part of Milwaukee's charm. Good food, good drink, and lots of live music. If you've never been to Milwaukee, I highly recommend it. It's a great city to visit for people of all ages, kids or no kids. The festivals are so much fun for everyone! Look! The Eiffel Tower! If you didn't know better, you'd swear we were in Paris, not Milwaukee!

So thanks for all the words of encouragement. I still can't believe I did it. I'm typing this at midnight and I'm still on an endorphine high. Lacey and Amy are planning to run the German Fest 5K, but I'll be heading home to Illinois the next day and will need to stay home to pack. I'm already looking to run another 5K in August. I'm sure I'll find one. But I have to work tomorrow morning, so it's off to bed now!! WOO HOO!

Race Day

No post today! Gotta get in the zone! If any of you live in Milwaukee, come to Bastille Days! It's tons of fun! And there's no cover charge!

T-Minus 22.5 hours and counting...

Tomorrow is my first 5K. I've been "training" since January and the big day is almost here.
I have been running 3-4 days a week to get ready. Not as much as I'd like to, but as much as I can spare right now. More than once I have managed to run 3 miles in a row, so I know I can do it. And I'm sure the peer pressure of running with two friends and the thousands of others who will be running Storm the Bastille. It's a really unique race, starting at 9 PM and winding through Milwaukee's hip and trendy Cathedral Square and Third Ward neighborhoods, as well as parts of Downtown. I'll be running with Lacey and Amy, two friends and former co-workers from the TV station. We're just hoping no one has to carry us back to the car at the end.
I didn't run at all over the weekend, ran two miles on Monday, took yesterday off, and did a really easy 30 minutes on the elliptical (not much exertion on my part) just to stay loose. I need to get to bed soon, so I can get a good night's sleep. Tomorrow is another Brewers game for work (for those of you wondering what I do, I'm in public relations for a major non-profit here in Milwaukee. I don't want to name my employer... if you really want to know which one, I'll send you an email, I promise.) which will be fun, and then tomorrow night is the race.

(For those of you with little one I have a Backyardigan's song running through my head "Racing Day it's Racing Day, Racing Day it's Racing Day! It's not sausage casing day, today's the day we race.")

I'll try to take some pictures tomorrow night. Wish me luck!

Thanks for visiting! Don't be a stranger!

Thanks to all the fabulous SITStas who stopped by the blog today! I have read all of your lovely comments and it's been so much fun to see where all the comments have come from! As of about 3PM, I had 27 states and the District of Columbia represented, plus about 6 foreign countries. I just got back from the Brewers vs. Rockies game. It was CC Sabathia's first game as a Brewer. Milwaukee won! WOO HOO! It's too late to go back and return all the comments tonight. I'll try to do so tomorrow. I've got another Brewers game on Thursday... it's a day game so I'm going for work. HOW COOL! Then Saturday we're off to Des Moines to visit my brother and sister in law. More tomorrow!

Welcome Milwaukee Visitors!

So I can't find the iconic picture of Milwaukee's City Hall with the "Welcome Milwaukee Visitors" sign made famous by "Laverne and Shirley," but welcome visitors to my little corner of the blogosphere.

I am the featured blogger today on the SITS Girls Recipes site! I feel so honored! I feel so unprepared! I need to clean house! I need to add more recipes! I need to fix broken links and messy lists! Tidy the joint up a little bit.

I hope you enjoy my recipes, and the rest of my blog. Now that I've been featured on a recipe blog, I'm taking a vow to post one new recipe a week. I'm not committing to a day yet, just one recipe a week. Enjoy!

Tortellini Carbonara With Ham

2 pkgs frozen cheese tortellini
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 1/2 cups chopped cooked ham
1 1/2 cups half and half
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 large eggs
1/4 teaspoon black pepper (I use ground peppercorns from a pepper mill) or more to taste

Bring three quarts of water to a boil. Add tortellini and cook according to package directions. Drain well, set aside. Heat oil in deep 12 inch, non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Add ham, cook 1-2 minutes to heat through. Add half and half, stir well continue to heat.

In small bowl combine eggs and cheese. Beat well to combine. Slowly stir egg mixture into cream mixture. Continue to stir and cook until mixture begins to thickent (about 2-3 minutes). Remove skillet from heat. Add cooked, drained pasta. Return to medium-low heat, stirring and tossing pasta till coaated. Season with black pepper. Makes six servings.

A Bunch of Random Thoughts

I have a holiday weekend hangover (not a real hangover, I'm just tired) and can't form a coherent thought that's longer than a couple of sentences, so here's just a random collection of stuff for Monday.

1. I laid out in the sun yesterday and it felt wonderful. Forget about global warming. Forget about skin cancer. Slather on some SPF 50 and spend some time in the sun. It did wonders for my mood, and changed my skin color from translucent to off-white.

2. I'm 4 days away from running my 5K. I didn't run all weekend. I feel guilty about it. I am going to do an easy run today (2 miles) then take the next two days off.

3. A note to all of you with music players on your blogs. You make it very hard for me to blog surf at work. I forget to turn the volume down and suddenly I'm rocking out. I like the music... it just always startles me. Fortunately many of you have taste in music that is similar to my own.

4. A note to all women, and women with tween/teen girls: your dresses should cover your butts. I'm serious here. Tunic tops are in fashion right now, but if the thing just barely covers your butt, you should seriously consider wearing something underneath the tunic. I spent time at the zoo this weekend and saw way too many moms/women/stick figures in dresses that weren't really dresses, just really long tops. I don't care how you are built, underpants hanging out or flashes of butt cheek from under your "dress" have never been in fashion. Unless you're a hooker or a stripper.

And then there was the girl in church who looked to be maybe in junior high with the skirt that didn't cover her butt cheeks. This girl was tall and thin, very pretty, but I didn't need to see the flash of her underwear IN CHURCH. And she was there with her mom, so obviously mom saw her daughter before they walked out of the house this morning. The girl spent half of church tugging at the non-existent hemline of this micro-micro-mini skirt trying to make sure her butt wasn't hanging out. AT CHURCH! Of all the places you don't want your butt/underwear hanging out, I would think CHURCH would be at the top of the list.

5. The bathroom has now been painted. Craig did a great job, doing two coats and hanging the main mirror/medicine cabinet this weekend. I forgot to take pictures last night but it looks awesome. I promise to take an update pictures tonight, and post it tomorrow. So you'll just have to sit in eager anticipation until then.

Mmmm... Birthday Cake

That was my best Homer Simpson impersonation. I love birthday cake. It doesn't have to be fancy. It doesn't have to have filling. Just a box of Duncan Hines or Betty Crocker cake mix. Preferrably fudge marble flavored. And the frosting has to be buttercream. My mom makes the best buttercream frosting. And since it's nearly the end of the first week of July, and the Nablopomo theme is "Food," and I haven't posted about food yet, here's my first food post. Plus a couple of birthday cake photos.

Buttercream Frosting

1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup butter or margerine
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
5 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon milk

Cream butter and shortening with electric mixer. Add vanilla. Gradually add sugar one cup at a time, beating well at medium speed. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often. When all sugar has been mixed in, frosting will appear dry. Add milk and beat at high speed until light and fluffy. Keep icing bowl covered with damp cloth until ready to decorate cake. For best results, keep bowl in refrigerator when not in use.

The Story of Alex - Part Two

Just before midnight on July 4, 2008, I started the hard labor process.

I had already exhausted one shift of nurse's and was on my second. The first nurse was wonderful. She was probably in her late 40s early 50s. She was a great coach. She and Craig helped me through a couple of pushes, but the baby still wasn't budging much.

I pushed and pushed in every concievable position (and even a couple of really inconcievable ones) for the next 4 hours. About 3:30AM on July 5th I was exhausted emotionally and physically. I had been awake since 6:30AM the previous morning (cruising toward 24 hours awake), I hadn't had anything to eat in almost the same amount of time, and I'd been pushing for 4 hours. I just wanted to be done!

Craig was wonderful through the whole thing. He held my hand, my leg, my foot. He did whatever he was told. I think there was only one point when I yelled a him because he was hurting me. They finally called the on-call doctor at my OB/GYN group to come in and deliver me. We were almost to the finish line but it felt like labor was never going to end. I was exhausted and the nurse said she was going to leave and be back in a few minutes. She gave us 30 minutes to rest and recharge. It was wonderful. I actually took a power nap in that short amount of time.

The nurses came back had me push several more times and we made a little progress but the baby reached a point and just wouldn't budge any further. The doctor came in and checked me and said that we needed to start considering a C-Section. I just about lost it. I made it this far... the baby is coming out the old-fashioned way. They gave me the option of trying a few contractions with the vacuum extractor or going directly to a C-Section. If the end result was a C-Section either way, might as well try the vacuum thingy, right? I was getting a little scared because it was taking so long and even though I was numb from the middle of my back down, I could feel how exhausted my body was and I was really uncomfortable.

The vaccuum extractor was attached to the baby's head (OWWWW for me), a blur of activity and faces began rushing around the delivery room. It was kind of like an out of body experience. The doctor told me we would have three pushes with the vaccuum extractor attached, and then it was C-section time. I could see all these people hovering around me, but it was almost like I wasn't a part of the action. Really, I was the main attraction, but it was just a strange, surreal experience. I gave the first push all I had. I pushed so hard I saw stars.

Nothing.

Now I was getting mad. The child had missed its deadline and now my uterus was trying to serve the kid an eviction notice and he/she wouldn't come out.

The next contraction I gave it even more than I thought I had. I pushed with every ounce of my being. I summoned strength I never knew existed. After nearly 24 hours of labor, and nearly 6 hours of pushing...

Alexander Thomas Hofer was born at 5:45AM on July 5th 2005. 7lbs, 11 oz. With a big red bruise on his head because he was so stubborn.

So Happy Third Birthday to ALEX! He is still stubborn! He is still cute! And I love him a little bit more every day!

The SITS Girls Do It Again!

This week's contest is for a $100 Target giftcard. I love my Target. I actually got a little teary eyed when I heard a rumor that the Target near my house was going to become a SuperTarget.

Then the city council decided to toy with my emotions: they didn't approve the expansion and the rumors have since gone away.


If you've never heard of SITS, go check them out, and if you register tell them Sydney sent you!
I really don't know how these super cool chicks get all their great prizes, but they are obviously doing something right. They are driving traffic to a lot of blogs through word of mouth--err... word of blog? word of web? Not sure what the right term is.

I WANT TO WIN!

Friday Flashback

Happy 4th of July everyone! Today is a very special day for me. Three years ago today, I went into labor with Alex. It's kind of a crazy story, so I'll start it today, and end it tomorrow, on his third birthday.

Alex's due date was June 28th. He was over a week overdue. My OB/GYN said they wouldn't induce me till I was 10 days overdue. So by the third of July, I was irritated to say the least. The child who had taken up residence in my belly and delighted in dancing on my bladder and throwing elbows, knees and heels every which way was showing no signs of coming out. The kid missed his or her deadline and Mama was unhappy! I tried eating spicy food, taking long walks in the evening, willing it to happen. Nothing worked.

July 3rd, 2005 Craig took me out to dinner at Saz's. It was so yummy. We both had to work on the 4th of July. We got up as usual that morning. I got to work a bit early and of course, the newsroom was quiet. I set off to my work filling the 6PM show full of perfect balance of patriotic stories and relevant news of the day. I started feeling uncomfortable. So I got up and walked around. Felt a little better, then sat down to do some more work. Ugh, couldn't get comfortable again, and felt like I had to go to the bathroom. After about 45 minutes of this, it occurs to me that the discomfort is coming at regular intervals. Holy buckets, I was in labor. I did NOT want my water to break at work, so I called Craig and told him to get ready, I was on my way home.

We called the doctor's office answering service, waited for a call back, and started pacing.
I labored for about 2 hours at home before we headed for the hospital. Once we arrived at St. Joe's Hospital I was freaked, but feeling pretty good about things. It was a little after 2PM when we got there. The nurse's were great and helped me get settled. The only bad thing was my blood pressure was elevated, so they made me stay in bed. All I wanted was to walk around and help speed along the process, but they had me strapped to a monitor. The contractions kept coming and they were strong. I kept trying to convince the nurse's that I was fine, that all I needed was to walk around a bit and my blood pressure would come down. About 6PM they finally cleared me to walk around, and then they tell me that if I want an epidural, now is the time. UGH! I knew I couldn't go through labor with out drugs (more power to those of you who did it without drugs! I was in pain and I had an option not to be) so I took the epidural. Somewhere shortly after the epidural, they broke my water. I don't remember the specifics of when that happened. What I do remember is that it hurt! A resident broke my water, and she kept apologizing because it took a couple of attempt. I do remember that.

Craig and I hung out for several hours waiting for the baby. It was great. We talked, watched TV (we watched an entire Brewers game, some fireworks, the news, Seinfeld, Friends, and maybe MASH). It was a very pleasant labor experience. The nurse who started the whole process with me kept coming in and checking me... she even stayed late after her shift got over hoping that I'd deliver. But baby Hofer wasn't going anywhere fast.

Meanwhile, I hadn't had anything to eat since 8:00 AM, so I was starving. They wouldn't even let me have a Life Saver. My pleasant disposition was starting to fade. I had been in that bed for nearly 6 hours. By midnight, I was finally ready to push.

to be continued...

Impersonal Medium? I think not!

I have heard it said that the internet is an impersonal medium. That you lose out on something in your "conversations" because there's no eye contact, no emotion. You never get to really know people because you can't hear your voice and they may be crazy weird stalkers who are telling you lies. They may be posting fake pictures so you never really know what they look like.

That's a bunch of hogwash... horse puckey... mule muffins... turtle turds!!!

I am lucky enough to have a wonderful bunch of friends in real life. Friends scattered all over the country who I've known since grade school and high school, a few from college, and a handful I've made here in Milwaukee. I hold these people very close to me.

I launched this blog back in January, not knowing what to expect. Really it was just a way to get writing and have a little fun. I never expected to make such amazing blogging friends. And though we have never met in person, I do consider you friends. Thank you! I look forward to getting to know you all better.