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.

Strawberries and Flowers

Let me tell you a story about a little tiny strawberry plant. I bought this strawberry plant two summers ago... the summer that Alex turned 1. I planted this strawberry plant and nothing happened. Nothing except that it spread and took over half of my garden. I was diappointed, but what can you do? It's a plant. Last summer, tons of flowers, two strawberries that were eaten by bugs and/or critters. I was ready to give up on this little plant that took over the garden. We

had planned to rip up the plant this spring, but I told Craig to hold off. This summer?

My first strawberry harvest! I'm going to attempt to make some shortcakes from scratch and we'll feast on strawberry shortcake. If the shortcakes turn out, I'll post pictures and a recipe. I can't wait to try them!

Also, here's a gratiutous flower shot of my hot pink geraniums. I love my flowers!

Summerfest is here!

So my favorite band is playing at Summerfest tonight. They're on stage right now, actually. They Might Be Giants is playing on one of the side stages. For those of you not familiar with it, Summerfest is an 11 day music festival held at the festival grounds on the shores of Lake Michigan here in Milwaukee. You pay one price to get in, and you can wander around a number of different stages and hear some really great bands. You usually have to wade through a sea of drunk people as well as it gets later in the evening, but I digress. There's a headlining act that plays at the Marcus Amphitheater. If you want to see that band you have to buy a ticket, but your admission to the fest is included in the ticket. Each of the smaller side stages also has a headlining act, but that's included in the festival ticket price. So I could have paid $15 to go see TMBG. But I would have had to go solo, because I didn't want to shell out extra for a babysitter. So as I'm typing, they're probably singing "Birdhouse in your Soul," or anyone of their other hilarious, sing-a-long-able song. I have loved them since high school, but they are even more endearing to me now that they have a bunch of really fun kids CDs. So soon enough, I'll be introducing Alex to all things TMBG, although many of the theme songs to the Disney Saturday morning shows are sung by They Might Be Giants. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse... Higglytown Heroes... and there are a couple of videos. I can't wait until I can take him to a concert someday!

A Case of the Whys

Alex's new favorite phrase is "Why?" I know this is a good thing, but it is also one of the most confounding phrases ever. I try to patiently answer every little why until I hit the point of no return, and end it with "...because I said so."

We've been blessed with a very verbal, very precocious, very smart boy. He's curious. He's funny. He so damn cute it hurts a little bit to look at him. But this "Why" business might just send me over the edge. Every thing I say is met with "Why?" It's time to eat dinner. "Why?" You can't kick the dog. "Why?" It's time to take a bath. "Why?" Momma's going to scream. "Why?" Because you're driving me crazier. "Why?" Because your too cute and smart for your own good. "Why?" Because you are blessed with good genes. "Why?" Because God was really smiling on Mommy and Daddy when he gave you to us. "Why?" Because Because Because!!!

I actually really cherish this time, because I know it's going to be short. Soon enough he'll be a teenager and what he says then will certainly drive me more nuts than what he's saying now. So I'll just humor him and keep answering all those whys as best I can until my patience runs out.

What a Way to Wakeup!

My alarm was set for 5:45AM. I vaguely remember hitting snooze. Then I sat bolt-straight up in bed and realized it was 7:42AM and my workday starts at 8AM! Panicked, swearing like a sailor, cursing every bit of remodeling mess in my way, I flew into the shower. What the hell happened to my alarm?? To make matters worse, I ran last night after work (I mean literally ran, with gym shoes, sweat band, a running buddy - my friend Lacey the works... no just "ran errands") and couldn't shower yesterday evening as remodeling hell is still a massive part of my life, so I REALLY needed a shower. Oh, and I felt like I had a hangover, yet I haven't consumed alcohol of any sort since Saturday night (and that pre-made pina colada found its way to my floor... so I didn't even get to enjoy all the pineapple-coconutty goodness that I wanted from it). I got out of the shower, dried off got dressed as fast as possible... no debating over what was going to wear today. There simply wasn't time. Threw my gym clothes in a bag, threw my makeup in there as well. Managed to prop up a mirror we never hung in the bathroom so I could at least throw together my hair, and by 8:15AM I was out the door. I'm thankful for several things...

1. A job where they don't care if I'm late as long as I show up and do my work.
   
2. A husband who pulls his weight in the family dynamic. If I would have had to get The Boy ready for school today on top of this mess, I would still be crying.
   
3. A well packed makeup bag and an office with a door so I could finish getting ready in private.
   
4. My bloggy friends who enjoy reading about my madcap adventures as a working mom.

Oh and I'm so glad Lacey came over to run last night! We are two weeks away from running our 5K. I think we ran a little over 2 miles last night. We're almost there! Hooray!

No Fun till Your Work is Done

Now that I have a few new hobbies (crocheting and blogging) mixed in with my old one (reading), I'm finding I need to be better about budgeting my personal time. I love to read, but I also like blogging and crocheting. After getting Alex to bed, I usually only have an hour and a half to two hours to myself. But I need to squeeze in laundry, dusting, cleaning my room, cleaning other rooms in the house, tidying the toys, or doing the dishes to that minimal amount of time. I found that I would sit down and read or blog or play with yarn before doing my chores. So I'm reverting back to childhood rules... no fun till your work is done.

Growing up, I couldn't play until I had done my chores and practiced piano. That included weekends. There were many Friday afternoons after school when I would have a marathon piano practice session... playing for 2 hours to catch up on all that practicing I skipped during the week. Now, I'm not allowed to fire up the computer till after Alex is in bed, no reading until the dishes are done, and no crocheting till the chores are done. So far it's working. I'd love to hear other time management tips. Share 'em if you got 'em!

Bathroom Day 5

By the end of the weekend, walls were up, the shower curtain was hung, the sink and cabinet were installed, there was a new floor, and the dry wall was being mudded. So this is the last installment on the bathroom until next weekend. Next weekend we paint, put up the trim, hang the light, and

We found some cheap labor to help clean up. He brought his own tools and transportation. All he asked for in return was a clean pull-up, some Cheerios, and a pack of fruit snacks.

Bathroom Remodel Days 3 and 4

Massive progress has been made. The dry wall and shower surround are up. The new floor has been installed, just the trim work and edging are left. A few people have been asking if we are doing this ourselves... the answer is yes, although my inclusion in that we is debateable. Craig and his dad are doing all the labor and heavy lifting. I'm heading up the design team. We've probably saved thousands of dollars in labor costs by doing it ourselves, even though it's probably taking a little longer.

I am hoping that we'll have a functioning tub by tonight. Many also commented that they liked the tub details... the shower has it too!! I wasn't sure about it at first, but I really like it now! I also LOVE the flooring. It's from Pergo.. called Bleached Beech.

In this next picture, you can see the navy blue color we selected for the paint. I think it will look GREAT with the floor.

I'm just going to be glad when it's done. I know Craig will be too. Alex has watched altogether too much TV this weekend, but I have housework to do, so we can't be outside all day. I think we're going to get out of the house for a little bit today and go swimming at the Y. Just for a change of scenery.

Bathroom Day 2

No walls, the cabinet under the sink is gone, some studs have been put in place (no, not those kind of studs you sassy ladies!). The pink tub is sitting in our back yard and a new white tub is safely in it's proper place. We're making progress!

We should have a functioning shower before the end of the weekend. Showering at the gym wasn't so bad this morning. It wasn't very crowded, and surprisingly, it wasn't the group shower situation I feared. All the showers are private. As you know, I have some rules that I feel people should abide by in the gym locker room. Fortunately, most of the others covered up as much as they could.

In non-home improvement news, I'm getting a haircut and highlight today. YAY! I'm way overdue for both. I'm toying with the idea of growing my hair out a little bit, so I think it will be just a trim on the sides and then shorter in the back... a modified wedge.

The Bathroom - Day 1

There's no turning back now. The vinyl tile floor is gone. The tile in the shower and the walls in the shower are gone. The medicine cabinet and the cabinet over the toilet are gone, as is the trim around the windows and the linen closet. The toilet is temporarily out of service. (Thank goodness we have a powder room in the basement.) It's a mess in there.

While I'm not a fan of the pink tub/sink/toilet combo, I actually kind of like the original tile... the grey and pink color scheme is actually kind of nice in a grade school public bathroom kind of way. Still not thrilled about having to shower at the gym tomorrow morning, but what else can I do? Stink it up all day? Alex's reaction to the bathroom? "Whoa! What happened?"
Stay tuned...

The Bathroom Before

Here are some shots of my bathroom before. Pink tub, pink sink, gold colored fixtures in the tub. Ivory colored square tile halfway up the walls, and 3/4 of the way up in the shower. The grout was rotting when we moved in, it's only gotten worse.

When we moved in, there were shower doors that leaked. We got rid of those shortly after we moved in a little more than 4 years ago.

We bid the pink toilet farewell earlier this year after Alex flushed a splash shield from his potty seat down. The shield got stuck and no amount of effort set it free.

Craig will take the walls down to the studs, get rid of all the tile, install new tub and shower surround, new floor, new cabinets, new light fixture, new wall color, new trim, paint the doors and window sill white. It's going to look great when it's done. I'll be taking pictures of the progress over the next few days. I'm going to have to shower at the gym for the next few days.

My College Home Flooded

I went to the University of Iowa in Iowa City for my undergraduate degrees (in English and Journalism). When I arrived on campus my freshman year, a dorm was closed due to flooding, and the Union was sandbagged because the Iowa River was over it's banks. It didn't dry out till nearly October. (See a gallery of photos here.)

It looks like my lovely campus is once again bracing for floods. This article talks about what the university is doing to prepare. They've called in the National Guard to help with sandbagging. My old stomping ground, the English-Philosophy Building is one of the many buildings that is being evacuated. Good old EPB, I spent so much time there it really did feel like home. The Union is also closed.

Part of the charm of the Iowa campus is the river. So many of the buildings are nestled on both sides of the river. It really divides the campus in two. Once you strip away the hype of Big 10 sports (though really, who wants to do that) and the acclaim of the U of I Hospitals and Clinics, what you have is a classic college town disguised as a major university.

I'm praying that the buildings are spared and that no one is hurt by the flooding. I know that flooding is to be expected. I just hope it's not devastating to my college home.

If you can read this, you can leave a comment

I'm still fairly new to the world that is BLOG, but I'm learning. I'm learning how to write better, more interesting posts. I'm learning how to add pictures, links, etc. to my posts.
I'm discovering new blogs every day thanks to sites like SITS and NaBloPoMo. I know people are reading my blog, because I installed a Stat Counter (though I admit, analyzing the data isn't easy). So if you think I can't see you, you're wrong, I can. I feel a bit like Santa Claus really, since I know where you live, and when you're clicking. I promise I don't know when you're sleeping and when you're awake, nor do I care.

I've decided to stop lurking on other people's blogs. If I find your blog, I'm gonna leave a comment at least once. Otherwise, isn't it just snooping? SITS encourages bloggers to leave comments for each other to feel the "comment love." So if you're reading my blog and you've never commented before, start commenting! What are you lurking out there in the dark for???

I have some wonderful friends

I've been lamenting my daycare woes here the last couple of days. I am blessed to have some truly wonderful friends. I honestly don't know what I'd do without them. Alex's daycare, which is in a church basement is flooded. We get an update every afternoon as to the status... so far, still closed.

Sara watched Alex yesterday, amidst dealing with her own three children and a flooded basement. He had so much fun and talked about them all day yesterday.

Lisa from my book club is watching him today, with her own three children as well. I feel so awful imposing on my friends, but I hope they know what comes around goes around and I will be happy to bail them out when they need it!

Michelle from book club's two daughters are done with school today, and if daycare is down again tomorrow, they may be getting some work out of this.

Therese, she even offered up some nieces to babysit if I need them! I'm really lucky to have such a great network of friends.

Speaking of book club, here's a picture of the fabulous book club babes from earlier this year:

We had a great meeting last night. We discussed "Love Walked In" by Maria de los Santos. This book was AMAZING. I can't even accurately describe it. I haven't had this strong of a reaction to a book in a long time. I recommend it to everyone. Her writing is something to behold. It's a quick read, but you will want to take your time with it and savor every word. I can't wait to read her next book. Our next book club book will be "Comfort Food," by Kate Jacobs, who also wrote "The Friday Night Knitting Club."

When it rains, it pours

These are the rainfall totals for the weekend. The 92nd and Capitol reading is the closest one to our house. Close to 8 inches of rain in two days time. Good grief!

Alex's daycare is closed for a second day... and I have a HUGE presentation tomorrow that I don't think I can reschedule. So I'm scrambling to try to find an alternative childcare plan. (Thanks for today, SARA!) This is one of the things I hate about being a working mom with no family in town... figuring out daycare emergencies. We've been lucky that these emergencies have been few and far between... but I can't even imagine how nice it would be to have Grandma or Grandpa be able to pop over for the day and lend a hand. Or even having a sibling or neices and nephews close by. It's a huge challenge. I'm really lucky I've got some great friends, and relieved that I have a new job that is so accomodating. Case in point... I left work early today and worked from home for a couple hours this afternoon. There's no leaving early in TV news... if anything it's always working late. Wish me luck!

Plans on Pause

Some storms blew through here yesterday and the plans to see "Sex and the City" are now on hold. Sara has water in her basement, Therese has an air conditioner on the fritz, and I have humidity hair flop.

The storms last night and today were pretty incredible. We got about 4 inches of rain in about an hour and a half. The river near our house (the Menomonee River) is way over its banks. The creek across the street from us that feeds into the Menomonee looked more like a river last night. Alex's daycare is flooded so he'll be spending part of the day with Sara. (Thanks Sara!)

So we'll have to wait a couple of weeks to try again! At least I have book club to look forward to tomorrow night!

Old Friends are the Best!

We had dinner last night with some old friends and I have to say, it was so much fun.

Our friend Jason worked with us in the Quad Cities. So did Hank and Sara. They have known Craig and I since before we were dating. I left our station first, Craig followed. Then Jason left for the East Coast with his fiancee. Hank and Sara came to Milwaukee with us. (Thank God! They're the only "family" we have here. And I truly consider them family.)

We all have kids now, Jason and his wife Stef live in Sacramento now. Jason works for a PBS program now, and travels all over the country and the world telling stories. Yeah, I'm a little jealous. But his travels brought him to Milwaukee, and we had a chance to show off our hometown a bit last night. We all went out to dinner at Edgar's Calypso, a newer Caribbean themed restaurant. It was SO good! And there were kid-food options, too. We had such a great time getting caught up! It was just like old times, only we're all married and have a bunch of kids. Having Jason here, eating dinner together with him, Hank and Sara... I have to say it felt a little like home!

I Love a Good Thunderstorm!

I woke up yesterday morning to a wonderful sound... pounding rain and lots of thunder. Add in dozens of lightning flashes, and that's what I call a good time. I LOVE thunderstorms. Growing up in the Midwest, a good part of my year was spent in storm season. the bulk of those storms happened in spring and summer, but you haven't lived until you've experienced thunder-snow!!!

When I was little, storms used to scare me. I would crawl under the dining room table (which is now my dining room table) with my brother and sister and our dog to hide. It was extra nerve wracking when the power went off... that meant mom digging for candles or flashlights and lighting these crazy oil lamps filled with brightly colored oil. If nature decided to up the ante with tornado conditions, we headed for our musty, creepy, unfinished basement until the all clear was given.

Then as I got older I came to love storms. In high school, I would drive outside of town with a friend of mine looking for a good place to watch a storm. We would find a country road, scout out a safe place to park, and just watch the lightining dance across the sky. A lot of people rip on Illinois for being flat, but those sprawling farm fields make for some great storm watching!

In college I would watch storms from my 8th floor dorm room. I had a single room, since I was an RA. I converted the ledge of my window into a makeshift window seat and just watch the rain fall. A few times, we would sneak up to the top floor of the building (which used to be the hall director apartment, but was closed off because it didn't have enough fire exits) and we'd just sit there and watch a storm. They look pretty amazing from 13 stories up.

So yesterday morning when I awoke to those familiar rumbles and shakes, I have to admit I got a little excited. I tried to share that excitement with Alex, who declared "I don't like that thunder." With every crash and flash, I exclaimed, "Isn't that awesome, buddy?" And finally he started to warm up to the storm. I'll make a thunderstorm lover out of him yet!

A Year of Adventures

A thread on the message board in one of my GoodReads groups got me thinking... I've had a really adventurous year.

In the past year I've:

• Changed careers
• Started a blog
• Started running/training for a 5K
• Began writing again more regularly
• Taken up knitting and crocheting
• decided to attempt to read 50 books in one year (roughly a book a week)
• Joined a professional organization as a way to network and learn more about my new career
• Joined some really cool web communities (GoodReads, Ravelry, BookMooch, LinkedIn)
• Made friends in several of my internet communities, which is kind of cool

My year of adventure started last summer, when I interviewed and was offered a new job. I accepted the job, leaving my old career and comfort zone behind. I'm learning new things everyday. I'm meeting new people, making new friends, and getting even closer to my old friends. The best part of this adventure is that I have more time with Craig and Alex. Our weekends and evenings have been great, our families ties strengthened. I'm sure there are many more adventures ahead, but I have to say, this year has been amazing so far!

My Newsroom Home

For 10 years, my home was in the newsroom. It was a noisey place, with police scanners, computers "ding-ing" with instant messages and wire service alerts. Oh, and the constantly ringing phones and network squawk boxes also contributed to the cacophony.

It was inhabited by quite a wiley cast of characters, that’s for sure.
There were anchors of all sorts (the dad type, the mom type, the cool older sister, the naughty cousin, the gay uncle, the surly jaded uncle who no one wants to claim.)

The reporters were more like siblings. Some desperate for attention. Some so bent on success they could barely remember your name. Some brilliant, they were the ones who made you really proud. Others were friends you wouldn’t want to live without.

The producers were my people. We had no desire to be on-camera, we just wanted to make news. We worked hard together, forged strong bonds, drank too much, stayed up too late (or too early depending on the shift). We saw each other through bad relationships and good ones, holidays away from our real families, and created our own little version of home with each other.

I had two newsroom homes. One in Davenport, Iowa, the other right here in Milwaukee. I still keep in touch with friends from Davenport (we even convinced one couple to move here!) even though they have almost all moved on to other markets and careers. Since I left my newsroom home in Milwaukee, I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how well my family there has kept in touch with me. They saw me grow up there, during my 8 years as a news producer. I got engaged, got married, graduated from grad school, bought my first house, got a dog, and had my first baby… all with their support and encouragement. When I go back to that newsroom now that I’m on the other side (in Public Relations) it still feels like I’m going home. I hope I’m always welcome there.