Life on the Runn...

Saturday marked my return to Camp Randall after taking a weekend off to celebrate the impending arrival of my new cousin, "Baby Malic".  Brian was out of town covering a climbing competition, so I invited some of my friends, Justin and Amanda, and my sister-in-law, Becky, to the game.  Lucky for us, it was an afternoon game, so we didn't have to get up too early or rush to Madison. Regardless (and despite my desire to finally sleep in), I woke up early Saturday morning.  What I saw wasn't so exciting - I noticed flashes of light outside of my window; a storm was brewing and I was worried we would spend the day soaking wet and cold.  I immediately checked Madison's weather and was excited to see the forecast called for sun in Madison.  Though I didn't' really expect sunny conditions, I was hanging onto hope for the day to remain dry. By the time everyone met at my house, it was pouring outside.  We rushed to the car and made an obligatory stop ...

Last Saturday morning, approximately 30 people came together to form Team Zoe and participate in the Briggs and Al's Run and Walk for Children's Hospital of Wisconsin.  Team Zoe, one of many, many teams of walkers/runners, is the team formed in honor of my baby cousin, Zoe Mae, who was born with a congenital heart defect.  Now, almost a year-and-a-half old, Zoe is doing well.  It was really important for me to be a part of the team this year as I wasn't able to be there last year for Zoe's first walk, and I am so glad I was able to be there to experience the event with my family. Though it wasn't an extremely early start to the day, a Starbucks stop was necessary, so I made my way there and ran into a few Al's participants on my way inside.  Then, I met Mom, Grandma, Deb and Auntie Lynn at State Fair Park.  From there, we took a shuttle to the Marquette campus, which was where the run/walk began and where Team Zoe was gathering.  As a very,...

On Friday evening, our weekend of family fun/events moved into its second day.  We were off to a high school football game, but we weren't going to watch the game; we were going to watch the refs, who just happened to be my dad, Uncle Skip, Uncle Zeke, my cousin Devin and his friend Riccardo (Fish). As a pre-game event, Brian and I planned to meet my mom and her friend Deb for dinner.  We were going to eat at Chili's (I fell in love with their queso dip last weekend) but couldn't wait that long for a table, so we opted for a quick meal at Noodle's and Co.  Then it was off to meet my cousin Jenna, her husband Tony and their little guy, Kaiden, who happens to be one of the cutest kiddos I know.  I was really diggin' Kaiden's football mittens and light-up shoes. It was definitely a good thing that I am a fall girl because it got quite chilly during the game.  My hat and mittens were a must.  I really like football and enjoyed the game, though my attention ...

On Thursday evening, I joined Brian's parents, Becky, cousin Lori and Auntie Karen to walk in the 17th Annual Light the Night event for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.  It was the first time that I had participated in the event, which took place on the lakefront (a place I love to visit), so I was excited to see how it would all work out. We met at Becky's house, which gave me a chance to love on Rosie, my fur niece.  Then we headed to Veteran's Park.  Before walking, we had a chance to gear up with light-up items, acquire our light-up balloons and enjoy dinner courtesy of Cousin's Subs.  The walk was just under two miles, and since  it was pretty chilly Thursday evening, we were doing our best to keep a good pace.  After the walk, we enjoyed a firework show before rushing to the car and blasting the heat. Auntie Karen and Brian  It was really nice to be able to walk in honor of Auntie Karen and in memory of Grandpa Moe.  Coming togethe...

This past weekend involved a wide range of activities, and I enjoyed them all.   Friday was a quiet night; I've been very busy and stressed lately, so any way of relaxing is good in my book.  After taking care of a few loads of laundry (when did I get so old that I find Friday nights to be a good time for laundry and house chores?!), Brian and I walked to the high school and took in a few quarters of high school football before coming home to watch some TV (cable TV, that is...oh yeah, it is back!).   Saturday I was up early to get ready for a trip to Illinois.  My cousin Jenny was having her baby shower, and I definitely wanted to be there to celebrate Baby Malic, so I sent Brian to Madison for the Badger game and I headed to south.  I met Jenny and Melanie, who happen to be very adorable mommies-to-be, at Jenny's house and the three of us drove to South Barrington for Jenny's shower, which was held at the Lucky Monk.  If ever in the area, I totally reco...

And now for the last leg of an amazing trip, one I will never forget and wish I could do all over again... The first thing we did once we settled into our hostel in Sorrento was go exploring by the water.  We checked out the menus at some of the waterfront restaurants and settled on one that turned out to be a great choice.  Aside from the amazing view of the water and the island of Naples, dinner came with complimentary items, which is nearly unheard of in Italy.  We were given fresh bruschetta, a bread basket and two glasses of limoncello (think very sweet lemon flavor with a side of vodka).  Sorrento is all about its lemons - so dessert consisted of lemon cake with lemon whipped frosting; I'm pretty sure at least one layer of the cake was laced with limoncello.  We certainly took our time and enjoyed the slower pace of life in Italy.  We enjoyed a walk along the water after dinner and then returned to our hostel, the Hostel Ulysse, which I assume...