Saturday, September 29, 2007

Picture Party Pooper

Last week, our friends Shannon, Ryan and Claire were kind enough to invite us to a portrait party at the home of one of Ryan's relatives. The photographer, Karmen Lindner, was great but sadly Gavin was not in the best of moods (OK, it was a pretty bad one, actually) and she was not able to take many pics. Karmen was kind enough, however, to e-mail me a photo she managed to snap of Gavin and said I was welcome to use it.


If she can manage a photo this great in the middle of the crying and snotty-nosing (hard to tell from the picture, but it was happening), think of what she can do in better circumstances. She's got some stuff on her Web site about doing portrait parties. I think it's a great idea and kind of fun because everyone gets something they really want, great pictures!

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

UW-Fugison

With apologies to one of my favorite blogs, please allow me to digress from house and family updates for a bit ... as you know I've been working on campus now for about 5 months. The start of September brought the return of the undergraduate students and after getting an eyeful of what the coeds are wearing -- it's no different from middle school, they all copy each other -- I had to sound off. Here are three trends I've spotted this week on campus:




Wellington Boots. I've seen them worn with dresses, leggings and short jean skirts (see below). I've seen them in bright colors, patterns and pastels. Please note, like many things, this look does not work unless you are Kate Moss.

Argyle socks. I spotted this for the first time today. Worn with the aforementioned jean skirt and moccasins. I think the wearer was going for a Gwen Stefani-Lamb vibe (or perhaps she saw the photo above from a recent Michael Kors show?). I loved knee socks ... when I was in 4th grade.
And that brings us to said jean skirt ... I have seen this all over campus, on a variety of bodies. Sometimes with leggings (Tim Gunn and I agree on this issue -- no!) and sometimes with me wondering if the wearer's butt was going to peek out from the bottom. It's a garment that raises all kinds of questions for me in terms of an academic setting... how are they sitting down, for one?

That's all for now -- as summer truly fades into fall, I may have more to say on this subject : )










Sunday, September 23, 2007

Saturday, September 22, 2007

Vocabulary words



We sat down tonight and tried to think of all of Gavin's words ... some of these have only been heard once, but we agreed that was enough to count it on the list...

Here they are, in no particular order:


Mama
Night Night
Upstairs
Dada
Girl
Draw
Shoe
Hat
Dog
Goldfish
More
Duck
Yogurt
Quack
Grapes
Show
Cracker
Elmo
Milk
Bubble
Water
Bottle
Octa (as in Octopus)
Car
Keely
Go
Icy (teething ring)
No
Uh-Oh
All done
Yeah!

Friday, September 14, 2007

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Sisters!

Everyone has always said Heather and I look like twins. It's been awhile since we had our picture taken together so I thought I'd post this one from her Labor Day visit she just e-mailed me and see if you all think that's true or not (if it was, it would be a high compliment to me!)



Our House-Take 10

The drywall is up and the siding is finished!





We have some great outdoor chairs and a love seat we got on end of season sale to put out here so we can hang out on the front porch.

Groovin' Gavin

Don bought Gavin a new CD and he loves it!

NYC Weekend

My friend Stacy and I made a quick weekend jaunt to New York -- where we had a true local experience. We started our journey in Brooklyn, which Stacy's friend refers to as "the better burrough." I have been to NYC a half dozen times prior to this trip, but never made it out there. It was fun to grab a slice and then visit with some of Stacy's friends who live in a Brownstone building there. And yes, someone was having a stoop sale. I guess when you have no yard you gotta do what you gotta do.






The real reason for our visit was to take in "Grease" on Broadway, starring Max and Laura, who were cast during the NBC reality show last spring. The audience was full of enthusiastic dorks just like us and the show did not disappoint. Great singers and dancers in the cast gave it their all and as usual when I see a Broadway show, I felt teary-eyed and happy for them because they are living their dream.

It was a wonderful time -- lots of good food and fun meeting Stacy's friends who she worked with and hung out when she lived out East before moving to Madison. My favorite line of the weekend was when her friend Sophie said she dreamed of having a washer and dryer in her apartment and her friend Erin replied "why don't you shoot for something more attainable, like becoming a billionaire!"

Special thanks go out to Heather, Stacy's friend in Sunnyside, Queens, who put us up for the weekend. One other trip highlight: I got to sleep until 10:30 a.m. on Saturday morning, something I have not done in years. Absolutely glorious!

Thursday, September 06, 2007

Our House-Take 9

It's been an eventful week at the home site. The lovely olive-sage green siding we selected based on a 12x12-inch square sample is looking great (Whew!). We walked through again today and it's starting to look more and more like home.

One great piece of news we have not shared here on the blog - we have officially accepted an offer on the South Ave house (selling is a blessing in this market so we are very happy).
The finish line is in sight!


Tuesday, September 04, 2007

Labor Day Family weekend




We made the most of the end of the summer and the gorgeous weather here at home to enjoy a visit from Jenny's sister Heather, along with Rick, Anna and Caroline. We hung out on the Edgewater Hotel Pier (try the Mendota Breezer!), some long overdue sister shopping time (OK, not outdoors, but still great) and checking out the Goodman Aquatic Center out in rural Verona (not to be confused with the Goodman Pool in Madison). Gavin was not so sure about the pool this time -- enjoyed his first 15 minutes, but after that declared he was "all done."


1-0! (good thing we're not playing Appalachian State)

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