Long Transitions

Alright.

Last year winter lasted until the end of February, and by winter I mean snow and fun winter activities.

This year our last weekend of winter was midway through February. So what's the weather been like for the past month? One long transition. We had nice 50 degree weather for a couple days and then it was back down to well below freezing, but without any of the lovely snow to make it fun and exciting. And that's how it's been for the past month. Warm up. Cold. Warm up. Cold. I think this is a much more typical spring, but last year I was spoiled. It was winter until the end of February and by this time last year Mark and I had already been canoeing (yes canoeing) twice and had ridden our bikes countless times! There were flowers popping up everywhere. The grass was green!

This past week it finally started feeling like spring. The flowers are just starting to peek up their heads. Temps got up to 60 on Thursday. On Tuesday, the little girls I babysit and I had a picnic outside in the sunny 45 degree temperatures. Birds can be heard singing all over the place. Almost all the snow is gone.

BUT. Now it's raining. And tomorrow it will rain. Then it might SNOW! What's going on? Spring once you've come you need to stay! Thursday and Friday the lows are around 10! Silly me, I'd thought about packing up some of my winter clothes. Good thing I didn't because 10 degrees is going to feel mighty cold after a week of above freezing.

Luckily, I'm going to retreat from all this nonsense and go to FLORIDA next Sunday! Beautiful, warm, Florida. Hopefully when I return to Wisconsin a week later Spring will be here to stay. :-)

This is what democracy looks like!

So. In case any of you haven't been tuned into the news this week...something BIG is going on in Wisconsin. Our Governor is trying to get a bill passed that would limit the collective bargaining rights of public employees...this is bad for ALL public sector employees, but since I'm engaged to a teacher that's what I know the most about. Not having bargaining rights would mean that teachers would no longer have a say in class size, work hours, curriculum, school calendar, and a whole slew of other things that are REALLY important.

Some news media are trying to make this into a story about people protesting about pay cuts, but as anyone who has attended ANY of the rallies here the past few days knows, it's about collective bargaining rights. Sure...losing $5,000 (effectively) a year hurts...a lot. However, some of the big unions have agreed to these cuts as long as they could keep their bargaining rights. So if you see any stories saying it's about money...it most certainly is NOT!

Right now it feels like our lives revolve around these protests...and while it's cool to be standing up for our rights...it's also exhausting...and I rather miss "normal" life. Madison schools had a "sick out" on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, and many other school districts in Wisconsin followed suit on Thursday and Friday. Today will be Day 5 of us going downtown protesting. The numbers have steadily grown and yesterday there were probably about 50,000 people. Including......JESSE JACKSON! He gave a speech at the 5:00 rally yesterday and while we were standing in the capitol he passed by us, like a foot away.

We've seen tons of Mark's kids from this year, last year, and the year before which I think has made him feel a lot better! I think everyone would rather be in the classroom (including Mark), but they all support him (many of them public employees, themselves).

Hopefully, this won't last too much longer. Hopefully, Scott Walker will make some concessions. I'll continue to keep everyone updated, but now...off to the rally!

Winter Fun!

This winter we've had lots of fun.

Ice skating on Lake Monona

Connie and I competed in the Iron Cupcake Competition. We didn't win, but it sure was fun!

"Blizzard"

All that snow down there is covering the steps of our apartment building.

Snow shoeing on our SNOW DAY!

It got pretty deep in some places.

Mark on top of some snow drifts.

Snowy ski at Kettle Moraine

Can't wait for the rest of winter! Hopefully high (36) temps won't ruin all our nice snow!

You know it's cold when...

1. Your nose hairs freeze...and you can feel them freeze.

2. Your breath makes such a dense fog you worry it might obscure your vision.

3. You leave a water bottle in the car and it freezes solid.

4. EVERYONE you see is wearing about 6 layers of clothes, even those people who normally like to pretend they can wear just a skirt and shirt when it's 20 degrees out.

5. The news station recommends staying inside if you can.

Today. It is cold.

-7 with a windchill of -20.

I did NOT want to go outside. However, I survived my outside trip. I must say...-7 doesn't really feel that cold when the sun is out. Wisconsin winter you have not beaten me yet! Bring on the cold temps. (Or maybe not).

Catching Up

Funny. So often my blogs are posts about how busy I've been and how I need to catch up on blogging. And here's another one. Here's to catching up.

We went to Florida for Christmas break. It was wonderful. Full of relaxation, family time, and of course shopping with my mom and sis. My sister got ENGAGED, which is crazy...because even though I'm engaged...she's my LITTLE SISTER! Craziness aside...I am so happy for her and so glad that Jeffrey will be a part of our family now! We all love him! Christmas day was full of loveliness. Lots of wonderful and thoughtful presents (including a kitchen aid from Santa!!!!), and a day filled with family. We went to my uncle's and as per tradition had a crazy game of croquet. The trip felt way too short and I was sad to leave my family.

Since we got back to Madison we've been enjoying some fun winter activities (although the snow melted on an abnormally hot day for a Madison winter). Luckily there's still ice skating. This past weekend we went ice skating on Lake Monona. It was amazing! Conditions are rarely good enough to be able to go skating on the big lakes. It was magical. There were lots of people out there and you could see there tiny silhouettes all across the lake.

Ok...that's all the catching up I'm doing for now. Oh except I'm super excited about this. My friend, Connie, and I are doing this thing called Iron Cupcake. There's a theme (citrus this time) and you make a bunch of cupcakes. People come and judge who's are the best. I'll update you with what we come up with to make!

Where I've Been (A Quick Post)

Since Mark and I got back we've been BUSY! This week I'm swamped with grad school apps, but the light at the end of the tunnel is definitely getting closer. So I'll be back to post more soon.

Our new kitchen table...isn't it PERFECT?! Also...note red kitchen aid mixer in background (my present from santa...isn't santa the best?) As a reward after I finish my grad apps this week I'll be spending some quality time with my new mixer. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

I stayed up till midnight two nights ago finishing this for my grad app portfolio. I'm pretty happy with it. :-)

Enjoying Winter

Here's the snowy view from our living room window.

We've skied twice.

We ice skated near Picnic Point on Lake Mendota.

Thanksgiving Break and Christmas Decorations!

(We framed and hung some of my artwork)

It's been really nice having Mark at home for Thanksgiving Break. We've spent a lot of time just relaxing and enjoying each other's company. We went down to Mark's uncle's for Thanksgiving and had a lovely time. I made 2 pies and soup! Yum!

Friday we went and cut down a Christmas Tree!!! It was cold, but still so much fun. Then we decorated our tree, made cookies, and decorated those.

Saturday we went to the Badger football game. It was fun, but also cold!!!

All I want to do lately is craft and bake. I wish my grad school applications would finish themselves.

Cake Stand

I've been wanting a cake stand. Something nice to display my cakes upon. Low and behold there it was on the shelf at the thrift store. A beautiful, elegant, $2.30 cake stand. I am beyond happy!

Quick Post

I love birthdays. I know it sounds a little self-centered, but more specifically I love MY birthday! Maybe because all my friends and family always make my birthday so special.

(skyping with my fam on my b-day)

This year my birthday was especially awesome. The night before the night before my birthday Mark's brother Tom came over. He gave me a bunch of embroidery thread (which I can't wait to use) and we ate delicious cake with lemon curd and blueberries! YUM! The night before my b-day we skyped with my parents and sister and I got to open up my b-day presents from them. My mom is the queen of cute wrapping jobs. Seriously...I'm pretty sure she should have a blog or business on how to wrap things cutely because I've never seen any other presents wrapped so well. I should've taken a picture to demonstrate the aforementioned cute wrapping, but I was too excited to open my presents. My parents got me 3 adorable sweaters from target- a red one, a purple one, and a black one with white polka dots. There were scarves tied around two and a shirt tied around another. The scarf they got me to go with the red sweater is THE CUTEST! I'm tempted to wear it every day. I also got an assortment of other goodies and some money (half of which I've already spent on a cute vintage dress, a cake caddy, and a super comfy jacket from target). My sister got me Baked Explorations, which is a fabulous baking cookbook. I pretty much want to make EVERYTHING in it. I LOVE MY FAMILY! Have I mentioned how awesome they are? Cause they are!

On my actual birthday Mark and I got up early as usual. He hung a bunch of streamers and balloons up making me feel extra special. (Have I mentioned how awesome Mark is? Cause he is too!!!!!!) He got me a red digital scale for cooking (I think he's used it more than me to weigh how much water or tea we're drinking...just cause it's fun). I'm super excited to use it for baking!!!!!! Smitten Kitchen (my favorite baker) often includes weight measurements and I'm looking forward to more precise baking and less dishes (ie measuring cups) to wash! I went out to breakfast with Erin at Lazy Jane's. They gave me a free scone and a $5 gift certificate! Erin paid for my breakfast, gave me super cute earrings, and is going to take me out to dinner! Then I came home and just relaxed for awhile...watched some TV online. Then Megan came over. She gave me a bunch of sewing supplies and an awesome headband that I'd picked out when we went shopping the previous week. Then we went shopping. We went to Anthropologie (which my friend recently termed "an adult wonderland" and I must agree), and then to State Street. We met Blake for lunch (he bought our lunch...at this point I felt like a princess from being spoiled all day). We kicked around through a few stores and then came back to the apartment. I made THE MOST DELICIOUS german chocolate cake from scratch, and Mark and I got take out from Ha Long Bay. Then we ate cake with my fam via skype. My mom and sis made the same cake as me. It wasn't quite the same as being together, but better than just talking via the phone. It was an AWESOME DAY!

(cute new sweater and scarf)

Saturday Mark and I lazed around and did some sewing. Mark made a drawstring bag, 4 baby bibs, and a bunch of small bags for snacks. He LOVES sewing. I worked on cutting out a bunch of fabric to make a garland for our wedding. We hung it up in the living room and it looks super cute!

Yesterday I reserved a park shelter for our WEDDING!!!!! July 9th, 2011. Now that a date is set it seems so much more real. Did I mention I love my life?

Keeping up

Mark and I had another lovely weekend.

We bought lots of apples and squash at the Farmer's Market (saving up for the winter).

Saturday night our friend Erin had a birthday Halloween party. Mark dressed up as a guy who cuts down trees.

I dressed up as a 1950s Flight Attendant. We didn't have to buy anything for our costumes!

Sunday we painted a little white dresser we have in our guest room. Mark just happened to have some red paint so we used that!

I think it looks pretty darn cute.

Sheet Forts

This weekend was a rainy weekend.

Saturday we suited up in: rain pants, rain boots, and rain jackets and walked to the Farmer's Market because guess what? I NEVER MISS THE FARMER'S MARKET! Seriously. Especially now since there are only a few weekends left.

The worst part of winter? No outdoors Farmer's Market.

If they had an outdoors Farmer's Market in the winter. I would still go. Even if it was -20 degrees and there was a blizzard. That's how much I love the Farmer's Market.

Anyways...after the Farmer's Market I babysat and the kids and I made a sheet fort. We mostly just sat around in it and then while the 2 year old was napping I cleaned it up so that there wouldn't be a big mess for the mom when she got home. The older kid and I played 1.5 hours of Uno.

Saturday night Mark and I went over to his parents house for dinner. We hadn't been over there in far too long! It was wonderful as always.

Sunday it was another drizzly day. Mark and I made a sheet for in the living room (which I'm currently sitting in). We baked and hung out in the fort, and also walked over the to the co-op.

It was a wonderful, relaxing weekend!

I wish weekends were longer!

Another Lovely Weekend

See? I told you I'd keep up with posting.

Mark and I had a lovely weekend.

We went to the Farmer's Market Saturday morning with Mark's mom. It was a beautiful crisp morning, and the leaves on the trees near the capitol are beautiful right now.

I made a pumpkin cake. Yum!

And hung up some fall decorations. Friends came over Saturday night and enjoyed some seasonal treats.

Mark and I went to Devil's Lake on Sunday to enjoy a fall hike. A lot of the trees had already lost their leaves, but we still saw some nice color and the temperature was perfect! It was a beautiful day. We hiked on the west side of the lake, which was a much more relaxed walk than anything on the east side. (Note to Roxy and Jtown- We NEED to do this hike next time you're here. No scary scrambling down rock strewn mountain sides).

On the way back from Devil's Lake we took the Merrimac Ferry. While our car waited in line we got ice cream. :-)
And we saw a train crossing Lake Wisconsin.

Fall is just lovely.

Photo Dump

Ok. I've been lax lately in my posting. Mark and I have been BUSY! Enjoying fall, working, enjoying fall, all the usual things! So...I'm just posting a bunch of pictures...I need to stay on top of posting (I know i know...I say this all the time). Enjoy! These are also completely out of order...sorry about that. :)

My most recent drawing

Indian Lake

Another recent drawing

Indian Lake

Willy St Fair!

Willy St. Fair!

Fancy venue in Chicago

Belle & Sebastian in Chicago!

Fancy venue in Chicago

Snap O'Lantern Ice Cream...literally impossible not to eat a pint in one sitting...

Apple tarte Mmmmmm!

Fancy venue in Chicago

Belle & Sebastian in Chicago with Erin!

Oh canning!

Mark in his classroom window at Lapham

Apple butter! MMMMMM!

Fall!

Cool yarn covered bus stop

Fall at the Farmer's Market

Fall at the Farmer's Market

Our pumpkins

Fall colors on campus

This is what I have to resort to without a digital scale.

Working on art