Please enjoy some teeny, tiny pictures of Charleston while I attempt to figure out what the heck I'm doing wrong.
Showing posts with label vacation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vacation. Show all posts
Thursday, August 19, 2010
I Love Charleston!
Please enjoy some teeny, tiny pictures of Charleston while I attempt to figure out what the heck I'm doing wrong.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
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.
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.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
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.
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.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
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.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
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.