Life on the Runn...

In honor of tomorrow's season opener, I thought I would share a little Badger story... ... It's no secret that I am, shall we say, obsessed with my alma mater.  Sorry, Carroll University and Carthage College, you were great and all, but you just don't compare to my first love, UW.   Today I was out looking for some new Badger bling - more on that to come later - and I found these magnets.  I walked past them once and made my way over to another area of the store, but ultimately I decided I NEEDED the magnets. Bucky is pretty much the most handsome mascot ever!  Now I have to decide if I should split them up and take some to school, leave them all at home or share them with some Badger loving friends - if I bring them to my classroom, I can use them to drop not-so-subtle hints that all my seniors should attend UW :)  Cute, right?! 

This week has been full of highs and lows, which always seems to be the case when the new school year begins (what with layoffs, new building and rehiring being the norm as of late).  I became overwhelmingly stressed the other day when I learned that I would be teaching a literature course that I was previously unaware of (added to the two other courses I've never taught before and the fact that I spent time this summer preparing for a course that isn't even on my schedule anymore).  I was also exhausted by the amount of work that went into clearing out my room, which was not totally cleaned out by the last teacher, and making it my own. Shout-out to my hubbers for supporting me during my meltdowns...I'd probably be crying in the corner of my classroom still if it weren't for Bri! And just when I began questioning everything I thought I knew about myself, I was brought back to reality.  My new principal told me he was confident in my ability to move into the buildi

It's been some time now since I spent seven glorious days up north at Brian's parent's house in Lac du Flambea, and I still wish I could rewind time and do it all over again.  Typically we only visit for long weekends, but seeing as how Brian wasn't up to a normal summer trip, we decided to prolong our up north visit and turn it into our vacation.  Seeing as how I will never be able to adequately detail all of our fun, let me give you this: Seven Words for Seven Glorious Days in the North Woods, WI 1. Sun Mike, me, Brian, Christina and Becky at Christina's lake 2.  Party Boat out for a sunset swim and a cruise Bri getting wild on the party cruise   3.  Swimming We (and I really mean I) prefer jumping off the boat as our swim method if you look carefully, you can see where Bri bent the boat when he jumped off it  4. Family - at one point, there were nine of us sharing two bedrooms and one bathroom.   Visits from family broug

the only picture I did take was of Sean and me - no surprise there After spending over a week in Lac du Flambeau, I headed directly to the Unti Family Reunion.  Apparently my brain was boggled and I neglected to make use of my camera that day. I will say that it was great to see everyone and we were lucky to have a nice place to meet, one that provided shelter from the rain that came down mid-afternoon. This past weekend, Mom, Dad, Brian, Brian, Elaine and I headed to the Dells for a family get-together.  Talk about another great time! hey there everyone is behaving but the Brother and me - go figure :) final scores  some baby ducks I befriended  here I am providing them with a late-night snack

Today is Brian's 29th birthday. I'm a big believer in celebrating the important people in one's life, so I really wanted to make the most of Bri's day. To begin, we met for lunch at a cafe near Brian's work. It was simple - soup and sandwiches- but good, and we both enjoyed our meals ( why haven't we been doing this all summer?!). Our lunch date was totally worth me having to parallel park my SUV.  While Bri finished his work day, I ran out to get one more present for him, a pair of sunglasses to replace the pair he lost the night before on our bike ride. For being a simple guy, the man has particular taste, and I needed to get him a pair worthy of his last/ones he would like that would match his outdoorsy personality...mission accomplished. After work, Bri opened gifts and then we met his parents and sister, and the five of us headed to Tosa for dinner, fro yo and wine. Dinner was at Pizzeria Piccola and was even a bit reminiscent of being in Italy, which

Last Thursday, my friend Amanda and I decided to head to the Wisconsin State Fair.  The forecast called for sporadic showers, but that didn't deter us...an encounter with a mouse almost did, however (when we went to Amanda's basement to get her poncho, a mouse was sitting on her couch).  After the mouse evacuation, we were off to the Fair. What we did: walked through the Expo building and stocked up on UW gear enjoyed flavored milk - best quarter a person can spend made friends with a cute little man outside the milk stand watched dogs leap into a pool  helped out a poor man who fell and hurt his face ran back into the fair to get cream puffs (I drove around the block so we didn't have to pay to park)  What we didn't do: eat corn - who wants soggy corn on the cob? ride the big slide - you can't race down the slide when your wet mat is stuck to it see the goats and sheep - the bar was closed stay dry  Amanda and me enjoying some flavored mil

Months and months ago, Brian suggested we go to the Coldplay concert.  It felt like ages waiting for the concert day to finally arrive,  and last Wednesday, it was time to go on a mini-adventure with Bri. To ensure we arrived with time to spare, we headed out directly after work.  We made good time for the first half of the drive, and then Chicago lived up to its reputation and we spent an hour sitting in traffic.  We still got to the United Center in time to see both opening acts, though I think we could have done without seeing the first - I wish I put into words how different the band was - think Punky Brewster meets goth!  The second band, Marina and the Diamonds, was definitely good, but we were anxious for the real deal to begin, and Coldplay did not disappoint. It was a GREAT show! we were handed these wristbands when we arrived - we were told they would be part of the show me and my adventure buddy waiting for the show to begin the show began and our wristband