Life on the Runn...

This past Sunday, while Brian was home for the weekend, we decided to spend some time visiting with Grandma and Grandpa Runnells.  While I had no idea that the visit would unfold as it did, it turned out to be one that impacted me deeply. When we first arrived, Grandpa's niece, Joyce, and her husband were at the house.  They were there to check on Grandma and to deliver a prayer shawl that Joyce's church group had made.  I haven't met many of the extended Runnells family, so it was a pleasant surprise that we weren't the only visitors at the Runnells house that afternoon. When it was just the four of us, however, the conversation shifted from stories of the grandchildren (Bri's cousins), the heinous weather and the tennis tournament to stories of Grandma and Grandpa's past.  We heard about Grandpa's family of nine children, of walking from place to place because they didn't own a car, and of what the streets of Milwaukee once looked like -- butch...

Saturday was the annual Quick on the Draw competition at Adventure Rock, our local climbing gym.  Brian has long been involved with it, either as a participant or a volunteer, and when I got on board with the whole climbing thing, I also became a fan of the ol' Q on the D.  I've only dared to climb in it once, but the comp is always a blast, and I make it a point to break my rule of sleeping in on weekends to get up bright and early and dedicate the day to the gym -- it's a place that has meant a whole lot to Brian and me, after all.  We have some really great friends and have had some wonderful experiences thanks to the gym and climbing. The competition was also a really big deal this year because Brian was making a return trip to Wisconsin to be there and spent a lot of time and brain power on building a website that handled registration and scoring for the comp.   Saturday started extra early thanks to this horrible winter weather, but after fueling up on ...

While last Friday was slated to be the perfect start to a busy weekend, it turned out to be a little different that I had planned.  I met Mom and Dad after work; our plan was to grab dinner and head to my alma mater, Mukwonago High School, to watch the Indians take on the Wolverines (and yes, I was wearing West clothes when I strolled into the gym). Moments after teasing my dad about his car, one with more than 259, 000 miles on it, and still in really great condition, the 'incident' happened.  Mom and I were innocently joking about how the car would have to be retired, not because it wasn't drivable but because the seatbelt wouldn't buckle.  Just moments later, a deer left the ditch and crossed the road...right in front of our car.  I saw it and called out to my dad as a warning; Dad carefully slowed the vehicle making sure to keep it safely on the road, which was icy (it was snowing), and then I saw another deer, which darted out in front of us and hit the car. ...

Today, I am wishing my friend Justin the happiest of happy birthdays.  Justin is one of those rare people in the world who is entirely selfless.  Justin is willing to do anything he can to help someone out or brighten someone's day, friends, family and students alike.  He's made many a days great -- we laugh till we cry (usually because of some inside joke or "Modern Family"), we shop till we drop and we can always help each other find a reason for fro yo. And to top it all off, he, too, is an English teacher. I count it as one of the many blessings in life to have Justin as my dear, dear friend, and I hope his day is fantastic!

It's no secret that I have some very unique quarks, one of which is my love for 'domesticity' -- of the re-organizing and vacuuming variety. And while I dislike wrinkly hands, I do enjoy dirtying a dish or two while cooking or baking.  This weekend I put some of my skills to use with my friends Justin and Amanda, and the three of us gathered around a few bowls of very colorful cake batter to make a tie-dye cake. We were a bit apprehensive; we expected food color droplets to be everywhere and stain our hands for days to come, and we wondered if our colorful concoction would meld into a brown, ugly mess in the oven. We put the cake into the oven, patiently waited and were pleasantly surprised by the final product.  I'd say it was a success! cake batter galore  making our design fresh out of the oven take a look inside tasty treat! 

Thanks to Mom and Dad, this cold weather has done nothing to upset my little tootsies -- they're tucked into some new Uggs... slippers  As much as I love my slippers and want to wear them all the time, I'll have to slip my feet out of them when I return to work after these two days off due to the cold.  The adorable pair of fold-down Uggs I got should be perfect actual footwear.  I have a feeling I'll be making really good use of them. newest boots to add to the collection Thanks again, Mom and Dad!  You're the best.

While neither Brian nor I are much (or anything) for the stay-cation, this year's mess that is our living situation and a bit of indecision about travel plans meant that we were home for the holidays. Brian returned to Wisconsin the Thursday night before Christmas, and after work on Friday, we were both officially on vacation.  We managed to squeeze in a few trips to the climbing gym and visits with three of the four sides of our families (we even had an Unti slumber party) before we both departed for Colorado on the 26th. While in Colorado, we visited The Wild Animal Sanctuary full of adorable-I-wanted-to-pet-each-one big cats (probably Brian's way of discontinuing all the "I want a puppy" talk, hit the climbing gym, did some outdoor climbing, went to the movies (we rarely do that...ever), hiked and snowshoed and went on a few dates :) It was really, really nice spending double-digit days (in a row) with my husband; it was nice seeing family and friends; it w...