Life on the Runn...

Last weekend, Brian and I spent some time in the fabulous North Woods of Wisconsin.  Saturday was a surprise 80th birthday party for my grandpa, so we decided to drive north Friday evening and make a weekend of it.  We left after work on Friday and managed to miss most of the weekend traffic.  By 10pm, we were in Lac du Flambeau, WI, where Brian's parents have a lake home. While I am never happy to sit in one place for a long time (car rides make me antsy...or sleepy), I was happy we drove up Friday.  Saturday was gorgeous; it was sunny and warm, and Brian and I spent some time outside and on the lake before we drove to Eagle Rive for the surprise party. Nearly the entire family made it to Eagle River (five of my grandpa's six children and 10 of his 14 grandchildren were there).  My grandparents have called Eagle River 'home' for a number of years and have quite a few friends there; most of their friends were also able to make the party, so it was really nice t...

I've spent the past few years balancing work, a personal life and grad school.  There was plenty of work (thesis writing is tough) and just about as much stress throughout the whole process, but on Sunday, May 22nd, I got to celebrate my hard work when I put on my cap, gown and graduate's hood and walked across Carthage College's stage to accept my  Masters degree in Education. I cannot believe that the whole process, aside from defending my thesis, is complete, and I cannot thank my very supportive husband enough.  There were many times where weekend plans had to give way to grad school work and plenty of evenings where he was on dinner duty so I could write papers.  Through it all, he remained supportive and was there to remind me that I could do whatever I set my mind to.  With the process nearing a close, I really am happy to have accomplished this academic success; it is something I have wanted to do since I was an undergrad. Today, we ho...

Needing some rest and relaxation, Brian and I took her up on her offer and joined our friend Kim on a little road trip to Kentucky.  Though the weather didn't look promising,  long weekends do not come along often, and we wanted to take advantage of the one we had.  The sun was shining most of the drive to Kentucky, so I determined that the weather people were absolutely wrong about the forecast (nothing new, right?!).  It turns out that I was the one who was wrong.  The weather people were right, and Kentucky got plenty of rain.  Almost as soon as we entered  Kentucky it began raining, and I thought we were really in for it.  Luckily, the rain let up and we were able to climb Friday evening without any weather-related interruptions.  Saturday, we had to hike in the rain and hide out for a bit when the sky opened and dumped buckets and buckets of water onto us. We had a really great time this past weekend and, as an added bonus, we got to v...

Today was a day devoted entirely to moms...and as one of my students said about Teacher Appreciation Week, one week/one day is not enough.  I know my mom deserves more than one day.  She's been just the best; she has taught me more than she realizes about life and about being a good person.  She has been encouraging and supportive, and I know I didn't always make it very easy for her to be so great.  What I admire most is that my mom understood the need for her kids to find their own way and to become their own people.  My mom encouraged us to be the people we wanted to be. Mom and the kids I really enjoyed spending the day with my mom today, as I don't see her nearly as much as I used to. We met my mom and dad for brunch, which was really tasty and relaxing.  We caught up on all that is going on with everyone, and after our meal we went to the Milwaukee County Zoo. It was a gorgeous day today, so walking around and getting some fresh air was a ...

A while back, Brian suggested that he and I take a few days and get away.  Normally, that would mean we would go to Kentucky and do some rock climbing, but Brian wanted to be sure life wasn't all about climbing (hmm...I think he may have heard those words from someone before), so he suggested we go to Chicago for a few days. We were seriously running out of time on our hotel reservation, so we decided to squeeze in the Chicago trip during our holiday weekend. Aside from seriously needing to get away and distract myself from everything that is going on, the trip was good practice for this summer.  Brian and I are going to spend a little over two weeks in Italy (insert jumping for joy here), so we will need to be well-versed in public transportation.  We'll be taking buses, trains and water taxis all around the country. We got on the train at the airport and were in Chicago within 90 minutes.  I was a bit worried because I often get car sick, and I wasn't sure how ...

Fridays have always been a great day.  After all, who doesn't love Friday?  It's the end of the work week and the start of the weekend.  In college, Fridays were especially great.  More often than not, Friday was a day of no classes.  We would go out Thursday night, sleep in Friday morning, get some work done during the afternoon, and be ready to head out again by dinnertime.  We rarely made it to bed Friday nights and found ourselves strolling in early Saturday morning instead. Times have changed!  I usually wake up Friday morning excited for two reasons.  First, it is the final time I have to set an alarm for the week (usually).  Secondly, I can wear jeans to work on Fridays, which is especially exciting.  Theses days, there are plenty of Friday nights where I barely see the other side of 10:00, and I have to admit that there have been times where I've even missed 9:30.  Instead of going out on a regular basis, we do things...

I've neglected to update my blog with much regularity as of late.  A number of things have contributed to that - work, grad school, etc.  As so many of us do, I have a lot on my plate right now, and it seems that I've been having to prioritize quite a bit just to get through my days.  I think I can say, with certainty, that I am more stressed now that I have ever been.  There are a lot of things that are up in the air, so to speak, and I am waiting for everything to iron itself out. In the mean time, I thought I would share a picture of some of our new neighbors.  They're a pretty cute bunch, and I am hoping that their diet includes lawn decorations, as my neighbor could stand to lose a few...or a dozen...or all of his.