even better yet

Alright, I'm thinking I might try and get away from the weekly blog. More impromptu, less boring "this is what I did this day and that is what I did that day" sort of thing. Any thoughts? I don't really get any feedback from you guys, so if you're reading, and you care for a certain format or want to see something new, LET ME KNOW!!!

Last Friday I went out for breakfast with Steph, Lisa, Jake, and little [little, but chubby] Nora! It was sooooo nice to sit down and talk with them. Both Jake and Nora were sleeping for a large part of the time we were there, so we got lots of talking in and then had even more fun when the babies woke up. Nora is absolutely adorable. I can't even stand how cute she is. She is the happiest baby I've ever seen, and has some of the cutest chunky baby rolls I've ever seen.

[sorry, this quality isn't great....from a phone to a phone to the internet doesn't look great. Damn you, technology!]

Even though I'd only gotten 3 hours of sleep the night before, I resisted the urge for a nap and spent a large part of the afternoon reading out on the porch, because it was so nice out. [I'm trying to readjust my sleep schedule, even by the slightest bit, but it's much harder than it sounds. ] I did end up taking a nap after I dropped Zach off at work, and then I got to see my parents for a bit (they stopped by on their way through town). 

Finally, Zach and I went to a friend's birthday party, but the most important part of the night was - a long overdue reunion with one of my bestest friends, Brianna!! She was in town for the same birthday party, so we got to spend the evening with her. 

When I got home from the birthday party, I made some cupcakes that I've been waiting to make for months. Going back to my earlier note about sleep schedules...why would I go to bed at 4am when I could be making cupcakes?!?! 

Anyways, Britny and Nick gave me a housewarming present ages ago that was a Chocolate Stout cupcake mix with a recipe for chocolate mocha frosting. They also provided me with a bottle of cherry stout to use in the recipe. The result was...delicious!

Saturday we did our usual routine - got up super early (for us...3 hours of sleep again!) to head to the Farmer's Market and get our spicy cheesy bread, doughnuts, and kettle corn. I didn't last long after eating my donut though, passed out for a few hours afterwards.

Alright, leave me some feedback if you have any feelings on the blog (or maybe just for fun...)

you and me together, nothing is better

Well, this week was definitely a bit busier than last - especially the weekend.

Work was pretty...entertaining...this week, to say the least. Had one of my first really interesting meetings, which I can't say anything about of course, but I can say it was a great learning experience. I was really late for work one day this week though. I now work early one day a week, because I needed a day that I overlap more with the rest of the department (who all work days). When I first planned it out, I thought it was going to be a good idea because I'd be done earlier, but going to bed early the night before isn't great. Either way, I woke up at the time I was supposed to be punching in, and ended up being 1/2 hour late.

I did get to have a 3 day weekend this week though. Friday Zach and I spent the day running errands, cleaning, etc. Then Saturday we had to be up early for an apartment showing, so we went to the Farmer's Market in Hilldale to pick up some Stella's Spicy Cheesy bread and then ran a few more errands (which has kind of become a Saturday tradition for us). Afterwards, Zach's Dad, Sam, and Meghan came over and we spent the afternoon watching Game of Thrones and eating [horrible] pizza. Later that night, Sam came back over and Ben came over after work and we played our newest obsession, HeroClix, until very late maybe 5ish in the morning...oops!. [I won't go into the details, but it's a strategy based board game that involves little superhero (or villain) figures, and it's awesome.] That was a bad decision, because we had to be up very early on Sunday - 2 nights in a row with 4 hours of sleep doesn't end well.

Sunday morning we went out for breakfast with Zach's mom and Sam at little restaurant on Willy St. To start with, we were sleepy and crabby. It was super crowded, and way too "self-service" for my tastes at that time of the morning. You ordered your food as soon as you came in the door, and then found a table (or whatever furniture you could find) where you then got your own silverware and water and everything.  Because it was so busy, all we could find to seat 4 people was an old couch, two recliners, and a pretty small coffee table with reading material all over it. Then you wait until the kitchen staff screams - literally screams - your name out and you go and get your own food. In retrospect, it doesn't sound that bad. And I've been to similar places that I didn't mind at all (Sunroom on State, which is always good), but this was just incredibly annoying to me at the time. I got a blackberry scone which was pretty awesome, but the rest of my breakfast was subpar.

We did a little bit of running around which included a stop at Petsmart. That was also terrible idea. We know we're getting soooo close to getting a puppy, but this didn't help our patience at all. AND when we were leaving, we saw an adorable tiny little Rottweiler puppy.

Then we went to Alyssa's graduation!!! I can't believe my baby sister graduated from college. It was kind of weird sitting up in the balcony thinking that 3 years ago I was sitting in that same spot, wearing my own unflattering black gown. [And of course I teared up a little bit when they started playing Varsity, as a true Badger always will.] CONGRATULATIONS, ALYSSA!!!!

Afterwards there was a celebration, with lots of good food and family time. It is always nice to see family, especially because I don't get the time or opportunity to travel very much. Unfortunately, Zach and I were pretty much zombies by that time. A beer and two plates of food did not help, because then my tummy was all full and I was sleepy, and my body just wanted to shut down. We came home and laid down (crashed) for a nap at 830 pm. And then I went to bed early and slept 10 needed hours.

Alright, off to maybe play some games or read. Have a good week everyone!

i gotta keep on running 'til the well runs dry

Nothing too exciting going on this week. It was nice to get settled into the new position with my actual schedule, and things are starting to fall into place there which is good.

On Friday night I babysat for Jake which was super fun, as usual. I love spending time with him, even if its only for a couple of hours at a time every now and then. Saturday morning Zach and I got up early and went to the Farmer's market where I stuffed myself with baked goods - a delicious raspberry cream cheese croissant and a loaf of super hot spicy cheesy bread (which was the best loaf I've ever had, AMAZING). We spent the rest of the day hanging out with our friend Ben, running errands, and playing games and stuff. Sunday Alyssa and I took my Mom out for brunch at Bonfyre. The food was pretty yummy, but I didn't get to eat a lot because I had their Bloody Mary (which they are renowned for). What I didn't realize was that their Sunday special on Bloody Marys is a 32 oz. version complete with celery stalk, string cheese, beef stick, pickle, onion, mushroom, green olive, lemon and lime. Needless to say, my belly was full of Bloody Mary, coffee, and water before I had time to eat much food.

Like I said, nothing too exciting. I'm looking forward to a 3 day weekend this upcoming weekend. Have a great week!

everything i can remember

It's been awhile, and I apologize. I wasn't terribly busy over the last two weeks, but I was training for my new position, and I was on a different schedule that really threw me off. As of yesterday, though, I've completed my formal training and am back to my permanent schedule!

So the new position...it was a little stressful at first, because things were pretty unorganized. The training process not only wasn't very defined, but also didn't have any documentation on the processes, so as I was learning and watching how to do things, I was also in charge of documenting all the processes at the same time. During the training I was working during the day so that I could shadow the other HR Assistant. An important part of what we do in the department is disciplinary action for employees, so the part I needed the most practice in was sitting in on those meetings, seeing what the process is like, and actually making the decisions on whether to keep or terminate employees. [That is a lot of pressure!] I'm also going to be in charge of a lot of paperwork and some payroll things, which I enjoy because I love organizing (and things are in a state of disarray right now). So I guess so far everything is going well. I'm especially enjoying being back on my regular schedule, because the day schedule was really messing everything up (especially carpooling with Zach whose schedule was still the same). 

The weekend after the last post was Zach's birthday, and we had a full weekend. Friday night we went out his family's birthday dinner (which he very nicely shared with his twin sister, Meghan). Saturday we had a party at our place with games, taco salad, drinking, and lots of fun. Sunday we had a nice lazy day. We ordered in Chinese food, and also had a Dairy Queen cake! 

This past weekend we went to the Farmers Market for the first time this year. Our main goal was to get some spicy cheesy bread. Unfortunately we got there a little later than usual (around 1130 am) and the bread was no longer hot (still tasty though). Afterwards we headed out to Sun Prairie and spent the afternoon with Zach's dad and brother.

Other than that, not too much is going on. I finished the last book of the series that I'm reading, and I am waiting [not patiently at all] for the next book to come out, unfortunately not until next year sometime. The series, however, continues to be phenomenal, and the HBO show is also living up to my very high expectations from the books. I started a new book - Anna Karenina - which has been on my list for years and years. It's a little slow going, especially compared to Game of Thrones, but I'm trying to make sure that I stay up on reading all the time. [Side Note: in 2009 I read 100 books, in 2010 I read probably around 80, and in 2011 I dropped wayyyy down, so I'm just trying to make sure I'm reading something at all times. 

Alright, off to play some Scrabble with Zach and Alyssa!

sailing over wave and tide

So BIG news.....

I got a promotion! I applied a few weeks ago for a position in the HR department, and about 2 weeks ago they offered me the position. They officially announced it last Thursday, so now I can finally announce it! I will be starting very soon - next week. So this is my last week as a supervisor. I'm very excited about the new position, but also a little sad about leaving my team members, as I've been pretty passionate about my work as a sup. My official title will be HR Assistant, and I'll be helping out with a lot of the disciplinary action, payroll, benefits eligibility, etc. I will be keeping a second shift schedule (the position was newly created specifically to cover those hours). 

Revealing other top secret news, the project Zach and I have been working on was recently released on his blog. Check it out here for all the details (including pictures). 

Zach's Awesome Blog

[You should really check out his blog on a regular basis, because he posts some pretty cool stuff (his illustrations and other design projects) that is wayyyy more interesting than mine.]

This past weekend was super busy. After about 2 hours of sleep on Thursday night, I got up super early and headed up to Baraboo to take my car to get fixed. I then spent the entire day hanging out with my dad. We just ran errands and hung around the house like we used to do on his days off when I was little, so it was really nice. After my mom was done with work, we went out to dinner and hung out some more before I headed back to Madison. Saturday (after about 4 hours of sleep) Zach and I went to Chicago for C2E2 which is a comic book convention. Despite being insanely tired, we had a really good time. As far as I know, Zach had a pretty good haul with some good deals. I also got a t-shirt for myself. We ended up having to take a 3 hour nap when we got home at 6:30, but it was definitely worth getting up super early. 

This upcoming weekend will be exciting, too, because it's Zach's birthday! Alright, off to do some reading!

what you thought was a hurricane was just the rustling of the wind

First, I still can't believe its April. March was one of those months where it seemed like it lasted forever, but was also over in a flash. At work March was particularly busy for me. I had a huge team (26 people), and a lot of extra stuff to take care of. I can't think of anything special outside of work in March, but everything seemed to be kind of rushed and busy. 

Now it is April. I have the smallest team I've ever had at work (17 people), and I'm going absolutely crazy because I don't have nearly enough work to keep me busy. It does mean I have some extra time to finish some bigger projects I was working on, but overall, I'm bored which just makes the work day go insanely slow. 

It also seems like I've got more free time outside of work, but instead of being the relaxing kind of free time, it's the kind that makes me feel really lazy and unproductive. So I'm actively trying to change a few things to remedy that. For example, I've been paying for a gym membership for the last 6 months, but in that time I've probably only gone 5 times. Last night I finally went back. I just want to get back in the habit of going, so I'm shooting for a minimum of 2 days a week so I'm halfway there now!

I'm also trying to readjust my sleep schedule a little bit, to try and be more productive before I go to work in the afternoon. My goal for last night was to be in bed by 4:00 am....I was a little off and finally got in bed at 5:00, but I also actually made myself get out of bed a little early. (Not as early as I'd planned...the bed was just wayyyyy too cozy and the blankets were just perfect and...getting out of bed is the hardest part of my day). 

This past weekend started a month and a half or so of weekends where we are absolutely booked. To kick it off, we had a really lazy Friday and didn't really do much of anything. I didn't even take a shower until 11pm that night, but the relaxation was definitely worth it. (Plus Zach had off for the day, so we actually got to spend the whole weekend together!) On Saturday we got up early and went and visited my family. Our first stop was Krispy Kreme, but after that we went to my grandparents house and saw them and my Aunt Lisa. My grandpa was in excellent spirits after his back surgery, so I'm very glad to see that. Plus we haven't seen them in awhile, so it was good to catch up. (And my grandparents are ADORABLE, and I love seeing them.) After that we headed over to my other grandparents' where we had a little grill out with my uncles and their families, and my parents and their puppy. That was a full house with all those little kids - that doesn't phase Zach at all, coming from a huge extended family and growing up with lots of cousins running around all the time. But I'm definitely not used to it since Alyssa and I were the only grandkids for a very long time. Again, it was really great to see everyone. Afterwards we headed back to Madison and went over to two of our friends houses to hang out for awhile.

Stay tuned, because in the next week I should have some very exciting [currently top secret] news for all of you!

reunited and it feels so good

I accidentally skipped a week, but I didn't have much to update on anyways. The week before last was a normal work week with not much else going on. Over the weekend Zach and I spent Saturday with his mom and brother, Sam. We went out to dinner at a pretty awesome Italian place that Zach's family has been going to for forever. (Thinking about it is making me really crave fried ravioli and eggplant strips...mmmmmm) Afterwards, Sam played a few songs at a jazz concert so we went and watched him play a little bit. Once we got home we had a friend over and just hung out for the rest of the evening. [Zach and I have also been working on a project - involving Zach's creativity and design skills and my sewing skills, but we're still in early prototype stages, so I'll fill you in more on that at a later date!]

This past week was actually pretty busy. I think I had to get up early every day during the week [early for me], so by the time it got to Saturday I was ready to sleep in - which I definitely did. Thursday was a very exciting day because.... we finally found an apartment! Well, it was actually one of the first apartments we toured in early February,  and we went back the week before last for a second tour, our application was approved early last week, and we signed the lease on Thursday. Its a three bedroom apartment in a nice, wooded, residential neighborhood. Plus the rent is pretty reasonable and the apartment is very spacious with tons of storage [for all my crap that I just can't get rid of]. The lease starts July 15th so we will have a 2 week overlap which will be really nice for moving. So it's a HUGE relief to have that out of the way!

Friday I finally got to meet my friend Lisa's 3 month old, Nora!!! She is ADORABLE. She's the happiest baby I've ever met, and she reminds me a lot of myself when I was a baby - superchunk with bright blue eyes. Lisa is my friend Steph's twin sister, so Steph and Jake were along, too. That was a great way to start out my weekend (albeit being very early). I feel like the theme for this week was reuniting!  - I saw Lisa for the first time in like 4 months. Later in the afternoon, I had a nice long phone date with Britny, and Saturday I went out for dinner with Marley. Sam also started spring break this week, so he came over on Saturday and stayed through Sunday night, which was fun (and Zach and Sam are super entertaining together). Overall this weekend was pretty awesome. =]

After this week, I feel like things are going to get very busy - which is probably good, but I'm starting to feel a little bit lazy, so it also sounds a little overwhelming. I feel like I already have all the weekends for the next month or so booked, so I'm hoping to find relaxing time somewhere in the middle.

And lastly, I want to wish my grandpa a quick, healthy recovery after back surgery this past week. I am sending lots of love and happy thoughts his way!