Notions of an Ordinary Megan

Last night.

2010-12-02T18:24:00.006-06:00

James is getting more mobile, as well as grabbing items off the kitchen counter or from bathroom drawers. This means various household items are moved from their normal locations. They are generally discovered later. In obscure, unusual locations.

Last night, 9:45 p.m.

"Dan, have you seen my toothbrush?"

"No."

"Weird. I think James was playing with it earlier, but it's not in the bathroom."

"Oh...yeah... I think he threw it down the laundry chute."

"What??"

Sure enough, the rogue brush landed on top of the dirty clothes. So did the toothpaste and my contacts container.

Caught in the act.

Is that a Thanksgiving turkey I smell? No, just my child.

2010-10-23T06:56:00.005-05:00

James has not one, but two cupboards in the kitchen that he can play in. One is the Tupperware cabinet. Second is the spice cabinet.

Now most people would think the Tupperware cabinet is enough. Both of the grandmas understand this. They let him go wild when he visits their kitchens.

But this momma takes it one step further. The spice cabinet has become a favorite over Tupperware. He first started the obsession by just opening and closing the door.

Then he pulled one or two bottles out to examine. (His favorite was whole peppercorns.)

Next, he pulled the entire drawer out for his inspection.

Now he pulls out as many bottles as possible.

This means he's found those cheap, little 99 cent spices I've hidden in the back. The kind you buy when you only need a teaspoon of something obscure. They have the circular tops with 3 options: closed, sprinkle or pour.

Last week, he sprinkled and poured tumeric all over himself and the kitchen. Last night, it was the poultry seasoning.

I thought I had cleaned him up. The floor was wiped up and it was bath time. As he was sitting on my lap, waiting for me to check the water temperature, I smelled it. Poultry seasoning.

But how? He was buck naked. And then I realized it was all over his hair from shaking the bottle above his head.

"All right, you turkey! Time to get in the tub!"

I'm back. Maybe.

2010-10-15T08:02:00.004-05:00

I thought I wanted this little blog to die a quiet death. But maybe, now with more sleep and a more independent kiddo, it might be time to post occasionally.

I'll kick this off with the following photo.

And the note, from my mom, that came with it:

Great Grandma thought James could use a plastic plate for meals and thought you wouldn't mind if it was pink. Because it was sale.

Happy Halloween!

2009-11-07T11:28:00.006-06:00

It's been years since I've really celebrated Halloween. However, Toys R Us had a 50% off sale on costumes, so I couldn't resist. Watch out for James the Dinosaur!

Ok, enough with this costume! Where's the Milky Way?
(Ha! Get it? Milky Way? No? Ok, lame humor...)

A is for Apple

2009-10-30T18:48:00.009-05:00

The Ryan family took a trip to the apple orchard this month to pick apples and meet up with friends Sean, Sarah and their new little guy Owen (2 months younger that James). Sarah and Megan handled the kiddos while the guys climbed trees to grab apples. Most of the trees were well picked, but each family managed to fill a half bushel in about 2 hours of wandering around. More importantly, both children were able to witness their fathers providing a history demonstration as they were knocked on the head a few times with apples falling from the tree (or, from the person above them in the tree) above them.

(Gotta love the hat and James' facial expression!)

It was kind of tricky to use all those apples. I made a no-sugar-added batch of crockpot cinnamon applesauce and some apple crisp. Some apples were delivered to my parents.... What else?
PIE!

I love pie. I love to make pie. Could I make pie for a living, or at least a side job? Maybe that's something to ponder down the road, because I really enjoy this. Anyways...

I made a pie for my parents, for Dan's new work office (which, he reported, disappeared in under 5 minutes) and pie for church... and I have one more ball of dough sitting in the fridge, waiting for me to use. But thankfully, I am out of apples and need to get more from the store before my last apple pie goes in the oven!

Pre and post photos of "Crummy" Apple Pie.

Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon

2009-10-13T20:23:00.005-05:00

Well, Dan has completed his fourth marathon (and possibly last...or last for a long time). And since my family is fitness savvy (or fitness crazy, depending on your point of view), my mom and brother also joined him for a fun Sunday run for 26.2 miles.

The course starts at Grafton High School and runs all along Lake Drive down to the Art Museum area of the Milwaukee lakefront.

Being the awesome supportive wife I am, I drove the runners up to the start line. James & I cheered at the sound of the gunshot. Then what better way to support your runners than by eating a really big breakfast? :) Eggs Benedict from Trocaderos, to be precise.

With a full stomach, James, my dad and I headed to the finish line to cheer. Joel came flying in under 4 hours. My mom (who's competing in the Madison Ironman next September!) was just over 4:30 and Dan was under 5 hours with a strained hamstring. The worst part? Driving the runners back to our house for showers---it smelled like a sweaty football team in the car!

BumGenius is genius!

2009-09-23T09:11:00.011-05:00

As I mentioned we have been using BumGenius cloth diapers for James and (strangely enough) kind of enjoying it. Here's my most Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's) for your learning pleasure.

James in his stylish BumGenius diaper

Q: Ummm, are you crazy?
A: Nope.

Q: Ok. So are you doing cloth diapers to help save the environment?
A: Not really. Yes, it's a perk, but we got into this to save money. Most websites say you'll spend $1,500 to $2,000 on diapers for one child. We spend about $700 for diapers, pail and a few other accessories. We will continue to spend money for wipes (I just wasn't interested in doing the cloth wipes.) and an additional $2 per month for laundry water use in the newborn months. The bonus: This is a one-time investment because our next child can also use these diapers. Sweet!

Q: That's nice for you, but won't your kid be laughed at because he has to wear those loud plastic pants?
A: There are no plastic pants and no pins! The diapers look and function similar to disposables but there's Velcro to fasten the tabs in the front. There's really 2 pieces to these diapers: the colorful shell and the microfiber insert. There's a "pocket" at the rear of the diaper that we stuff the insert into. Voila! Ready to wear! Here's a picture---click to enlarge and read more.

Also, our diapers can be adjusted so as James gets bigger, the diapers "grow" with him. There's 3 different sizes and the diaper snaps make it easy to go from one size to the next.

Q: Ok, let's talk dirty. Do you have to rinse dirty diapers in the toilet? Do they sit in a pail of water? Is it smelly?
A: Well, since James is still exclusively nursing, the smell is nonexistent. We're not complaining, but that will probably change once he starts eating solids.
We don't rinse his diapers in the toilet. It's not necessary. And the dirty diapers sit in the pail without water (dry pail method). Seriously, there's no smell.

Q: How do you wash them?
A: Washing is easy. Dump the diapers from the pail into the machine (no need to touch dirty diapers---they just slide right in because we have a top loading machine) and do a cold wash. We use Trader Joe's powder detergent and you only use 1/4 of the recommended amount. Then wash again on hot, again with 1/4 of the detergent. Do an additional rinse to get any detergent residue out. Then we hang the outer shell and machine dry the microfiber insert.

Q: And then you wash your regular clothes in the same machine?
A: Yep. I intend to get a new machine once all children are done with diapers, but until then, we're sticking with this washing machine unless it dies prematurely.

Q: This all sounds kinda complicated.
A: It's not that bad. I like to think of the money we're saving. :)

Q: Any other perks you want to share besides the cost savings?
A: First, my diapers are colorful! Second, many families that use cloth report that their child begins potty training faster because they feel wet more so than disposable-diapered babies. I'm crossing my fingers that we experience this too.

Q: Any last thoughts to share?
A: Two things: Some people might be irritated when they change a diaper and baby immediately fills it within 30 seconds. What a waste of a good diaper, right? For us it's no big deal, because it just goes in the wash to be used again!
Second, if any of my readers want more info, here's a few links:
http://www.bumgenius.com/one-size.php (Info about the BumGenuis diapers)
http://www.fill-your-pants.com/pdf/bumgenius (British PDF with great info!)

If you are kind of considering cloth or know someone else who might be open to this, I'm happy to talk more.

Do you have more questions that I didn't answer? Just post a comment and I'll respond.

James: 6 week update

2009-09-17T08:11:00.004-05:00

Yep, I'm way behind on news and updates. It kind of happens. Between 3-4 hours stretches of sleep and feedings, my life has changed 100%. Everyone said "You're life is about to change with a child." I always mentally responded with "No kidding. That's an understatement."

Correction: My life has changed 110%.

Life is good these days. Yes, I'm looking forward to the first night of straight 8 hours of sleep, but the little moments like smiles and bath time make his cries at 3 a.m. more bearable.

At his 1 month appointment, he weighed 11 pounds, 10.5 ounces and was 22.75 inches long! Wow, this kid is growing like a weed! Here's the growth chart (click for a bigger picture). He around the 70th percentile for weight.

I've created a public site that houses our pictures and videos of James. http://jamesdanielryan.shutterfly.com/

Next post will be about our fabulous diapers. I will be raving for an entire post about them, guaranteed.

Tell me it's not true.

2009-09-05T15:31:00.002-05:00

Received a gift for James with this attached---too funny!

Excuses

2009-09-04T16:16:00.003-05:00

Ok, it's been almost 4 weeks since the last post. I am very sorry, but I have a few good excuses:
1. A newborn. Enough said, right? No? Ok, onto number 2.
2. Our computer broke, so we had to purchase a new one. Bummer. Good news is that we were able to salvage all our documents and pictures, so no major harm done, except to the bank account. ;)
3. New computer runs on Windows Vista, which our camera isn't compatible with. Bummer again.
4. Did I mention the time necessary to care for a newborn baby?

I promise something by next week. We have his 1 month appointment to report back about, plus some big Ryan family news, Labor Day at the Corn Festival in Randolph, WI, plus a review about our cloth diaper experience so far!

So stay tuned!

James Ryan arrived!

2009-08-13T06:49:00.007-05:00

James Daniel Ryan arrived on Friday, August 7, 2009 at 3:13 p.m. He was 8 pounds, 8 ounces and 20.5 inches long. He truely is the love of my life and I swear he is more beautiful every day.

A couple notes about the first week that lots of people have been asking:
-My experience at Aurora Sinai was beyond every expectation. The staff's attentiveness, attitude, care and patience for all of us went beyond my wildest expectations.
-Nursing (breastfeeding) is not easy. We're on day 6 right now, and there's still adjustments and challenges that we are facing every day.
-James had no jaundice issues! Yay!
-My labor & delivery experience met my expectations. Ask me more if you want more details; I'm happy to share.
-Dan deserves a ton of praise and my eternal gratitude for helping with labor, taking care of all the household stuff, and patiently caring for James at all hours of the day. He's a super husband and dad.

Here's a few of pictures from James' first week.

James hanging in the hospital bassinet

Dan, Megan and James at the hospital

James first birth about 10 minutes after delivery

James has been an excellent sleeper

Momma and her beautiful boy

Proud daddy

Hanging with granpa in our Harley-Davidson outfits

Guitar Hero with a 10 year-old

2009-08-06T18:58:00.004-05:00

Dan's little brother from Big Brothers Big Sisters is here with his Guitar Hero paraphernalia. Dan is rocking the drums and T is on guitar. I've heard "Eye of the Tiger" approximately a dozen times because it's the only song T recognizes from the radio.

Dan says "Hey man, why don't you increase the difficulty level?"

T responds "I like playing 'bass' (rhymed with grass) on easy otherwise it's too hard."

Dan responds "Are you playing large mouth or small mouth bass?" The joke was way over T's head but I had to leave the room before bursting into laughter!

Festa and the Brew Crew

2009-07-27T19:16:00.003-05:00

Ok, as promised, I made it to Festa Italiana--finally! First of all, I got in free! (Perk of pregnancy?) A family behind us had a 5-pack of tickets, but only 4 people. They asked if I'd like to entire the fest for free with them. Heck yes! So I entered with these ~~strangers~~ friends and met Dan after he bought a ticket and met me inside the main gate.

We trekked over to the Italians in Hollywood tent and checked out the massive sand sculpture devoted to Pinocchio. Dan got a meatball sub and I grabbed an amaretto cream puff (it wasn't as good as the state fair bakers, but who's complaining?) then made our way to see the cannoli eating contest. It sounded like a great idea, however, it was packed and then when the contestants started eating, everyone stood up so we couldn't see anything. Bummer.

We continued wandering around the fest grounds, but were both pretty full and didn't eat anymore. The bands weren't catching our interest, so we just headed back home after that. (Oh, and this was on Dan's birthday, so I think he wanted to save room for the fresh made Oreo cheesecake that awaited us at home. ;) I still think Irish Fest is my favorite Milwaukee festival to date. What do you think? Leave me a comment and i'll start planning for 2010 festivals. :)

Last weekend, we had no plans, but scored free tickets to see the Brewers...twice!
Dan won some tickets from his office for second level seats for the Friday Brewers vs. Braves series (They lost.) Not bad. But it gets better! My mom had tickets and was supposed to take clients to the Saturday game, but the clients had to back out last minute. Dan and I were only too happy to help her use those remaining 2 tickets! So we tailgated with my parents and headed to game number 2 for the weekend. These seats were about 8 rows back from the Braves dugout--sweet! And the Brewers won that Saturday game, so my record when watching the team at Miller Park stands at 1-2 for this season.
Here's the picture of Dan, me and my mom.

Open Letter to Coworker

2009-07-22T11:44:00.002-05:00

Dear coworker (whom I don't really like much anyways),

I am tired and cranky 24/7 these days. Given that, please don't corner me in the bathroom and start a line of pregnancy-related questions with "So how much weight have you gained?"

I wanted to kick you, but opted for a more pleasant response of "Oh, about 30 pounds."

Don't talk to me anymore until this baby is out. I guarantee I won't be so nice the next time.

Megan

P.S. I lied about the weight gain.

Check 2 more off the list!

2009-07-18T07:35:00.004-05:00

Ok, still working to get that list of 5 summer fun activities checked off.
1. Milwaukee Brewers game
2. Bastille Days
3. Festa Italiana
4. Jazz in the Park
~~5. Be spontaneous~~

#5 was accomplished last month as an early Father's Day surprise for Dan. And I took care of numbers 1 and 2 in a one week period!

Brewers Game: Dan got 3 tickets from work for a Tuesday night game against the Cardinals. We picked up his little brother (from Big Brothers Big Sisters) and headed to the ballpark. It was a great time, except the Brew Crew sucked it up. Too bad. But hey, I hadn't seen a game in 2 years, so this was great!

Dan and I are even trying to figure out how to get to a second game once baby is here. Maybe something in late August for an afternoon game... We'll see how things are going at that point.
And sorry, but no pictures of us at the ballpark. But here's Miller Park.

Bastille Days: So the Brewers game was Tuesday, then Bastille Days was that weekend. I thought it would be a festival full of French food, mimes and the Eiffel tower. Wrong, except the Eiffel Tower.
I passed food vendors for American, Asian, Italian and German cuisine before seeing a crepe stand. Bummer. And no mimes either.
This festival seemed like a conglomeration of any food and artsy vendor that could afford a booth. Oh well, I eventually found my crepe: Strawberries with whipped cream and some chocolate drizzle. It was fabulous!

So here's the new list:
~~1. Milwaukee Brewers game~~
~~2. Bastille Days~~
3. Festa Italiana
4. Jazz in the Park
~~5. Be spontaneous~~

This weekend is Festa Italiana, so you can count on a new post in the next few days. Also for anyone who's counting down... 24 days to my due date.

Santa vs. the roofing sign

2009-06-19T09:20:00.000-05:00

Picture this: You're sitting at the computer, minding your own business. The day is beautiful and windows are open. Suddenly, a red Ford pickup screeches (Ok, it didn't screech, but it stopped suddenly enough to catch my attention quickly) to a halt outside your house. You look out the window and see a man, who looks suspiciously like Santa Claus, get out and take the roofing contractor lawn sign off your property. WTF!?

You ask your husband "Hey, what's that guy doing?" and your husband shouts out the window "Are you with the roofing company?"

"Yeah."

"You don't look familiar to me."

"Well you're not supposed to have these signs on your lawn. I'm going to report this to the police."

Santa takes the sign, throws it in the back of the pickup and speeds off down the road.

WTF?!? What just happened here?

Your husband calls the police non-emergency number because this is just too bizarre for words. Police car looks for Santa and his off-season red pickup. Nothing. Police officer probably laughed at the idiocy of this complaint.

**Intermission**

It's 2 days later. Your husband gets a call from the police station. They have your sign and you can go pick it up.

WTF--Santa wasn't joking! He really did take it to the police. (You hope that the police laughed at Santa for being a sign vigilante.)

You take the sign and post it back on the lawn. You now understand that the city technically owns the land between street and sidewalk, so you carefully place the sign on YOUR property.

Later that day, you are taking the dogs out for a potty break in front of the house when a red Ford pickup drives by. It's Santa! Your jaw drops open, then you remember he stole your sign. You consider challenging him to a fight, but he's driving too fast to shout something. Instead, you give him the look of death. He knows you recognize him.

Until next time, Santa.

And just because you can't make this shit up----WTF?!?!?!

Hiking at Kohler Andrae State Park

2009-06-17T05:56:00.004-05:00

Remember back in March that I wanted to do 5 things before the baby arrives? Status update: I can only check 1 item off the list: Be spontaneous.I surprised Dan with an early Father's Day gift. I told him that Saturday was booked but I couldn't divulge what we were doing. He needed to wear both jogging shorts and longer pants, multiple layers on top (because it was brisk that morning), comfortable shoes and pack a swim suit. I packed us a picnic lunch and we headed off for an unknown destination. :)

Dan thought we might have been going to Noah's Ark (we never actually used the swimsuits), but I drove us north and exited near Kohler, Wisconsin. (I said to him "Surprise! Let's go look at Kohler bathroom fixtures for a remodeling project." He didn't seem to find it as funny as I did.)

We made our way to Kohler Andrae State Park, paid $7 for admission for the day, and started hiking around the different trails, including a boardwalk over the marsh and a cordwalk around the sand dunes. It was a fun trip, plus we stopped at one of the park demos to see dutch oven cooking. I've included some pictures that we took. In all, Dan was really glad that I could surprise him. We both love hiking, so this was a perfect (early) Father's Day gift. Now we just need to schedule that Brewer's baseball game...

I'm in my own little beauty pageant

2009-05-29T09:35:00.003-05:00

People at work have begun to ask if I’m feeling ok because I’m not walking as fast as I used to. Then I was informed last night (by my "darling" husband) that I was starting to waddle.

Bless the woman at work today who said “She’s not slow, she’s just gliding!”
Thank you, Marina.

This reminds me of the lines from Miss Congeniality:

Watch me. Glide. Glide. See? Glide. It's all in the buttocks. Don't I look pretty?

I'm not winning any beauty pageants, but at least I'm gliding. And if it's all in the buttocks, I'm doing doubly well---no one told me how big that area can grow!

Let's play Clue

2009-05-11T18:47:00.007-05:00

The evidence:

The answer?

Mrs. Megan, with the spoon, in the dining room. Oh yeah, and I licked the lid too...

God bless the person who came up with Turtle Sundae frozen custard.

Keep up with this, Mrs. Jones

2009-05-11T18:05:00.005-05:00

You know the phrase "Keeping up with the Joneses"? I'm that Jones once a year.

When we moved into the house a few years ago, I had no idea how awesome the springtime flowers would look. I can't take much credit -- I've only planted irises and more daffodils.

Apparently the previous owners had a relative who was a master horticulturist. In addition to dozens of tulips, daffodils and grape hyacinths, we also have this stellar Japanese Weeping Cherry tree that finally decided to bloom this year.

Here's the shots. Eat your heart out, Mrs. Jones!

Nursery? Check.

2009-05-06T21:05:00.003-05:00

I've been trying to describe our nursery to people over the last week or two.

"Well, it's kind of like beige or tan walls. Then we painted 8" circles in red, orange and yellow. Not like Crayola colors, but more earth tones."

Here's the proof:

I have an awesome husband that worked a full day to make the room wonderful. Thanks, sweetheart. The room looks great!

Notice the crib is assembled but no mattress or sheets are in place. Yep, that's still coming. We also have fabric so Dan's mom can make curtains. And there's a glider rocker in the basement that needs a slip cover to hide the forest green cushions (Thank God for Ebay).

That's all for now. I think I'm shopping for a baby shower dress this weekend. :) Yay!

Party time!

2009-04-14T20:01:00.008-05:00

(James with party hat, kazoo and streamers)

You're invited to a party, hosted by your favorite guy---James Ryan!

Party games include practicing Wii boxing moves (with Megan's bladder as the punching bag) and Hot Yoga.
**Hot Yoga is just like it sounds---yoga in a room that's between 95-100º. James likes to practice his yoga poses at a balmy 98.6º!

Date: Anytime you're available!

Time: All hours of the day. James especially prefers the afternoon between
2-5 p.m. right now.

Why: Who doesn't want to "kick it" with James?
(And now you're probably singing Vanilla Ice... "Yo VIP--Let's kick it!")

Ultrasound #2

2009-04-10T06:45:00.007-05:00

This was probably the last ultrasound we'll have for a while. But that's ok with me, because this one was really long so the tech could do all the measurements of the baby's anatomy and organs. Everything is looking good---all healthy---and my due date is still right around August 11.

A funny thing happened during the appointment. With my bladder at maximum capacity (doctor's orders), I had a strange feeling that sometime hit it, and I almost peed my pants. Strange... Wait, it just happened again! And this time, I swear I saw the baby move a split second later on the monitor. Do you think I was finally feeling it kick? Sure enough, I figured out that strange feeling was all baby (and not a gas bubble, which was my first guess).

Now that I know what to expect, I've felt much more kicking. Dan even got to feel it once this last Sunday.

Here's a new ultrasound picture.

Oh wait, you probably wanted to know if it's a boy or girl, right?

It's a BOY!!!

Maybe Baby James Ryan will write his own blog post in response to my previous letter to him...

5 Things to do before Baby Ryan arrives

2009-03-25T21:12:00.003-05:00

Truth be told, I was daydreaming during the HR-wide meeting this afternoon. I began to think about all the fun Milwaukee stuff that won't be so easy to partake in once the baby arrives.

So instead of focusing on what I might miss, I started writing down all the things I really want to do this summer... well, by end of July.

1. Milwaukee Brewers game Sure, I want to see the Brewers this year. This is closely followed by my continued need to have a corndog. (I didn't get my corndog in February---I had a small dinner, but still couldn't fit a corndog into my stomach later that night.)

2. Bastille Days I don't know much about this festival, other than the French theme. But I want to relive our short trip to Paris back in 2005. And I want a crepe. (You'll notice a food theme...I blame this on the pregnancy. Ha ha!)

3. Festa Italiana This one is totally food related. I've actually been trying to visit Festa for the last 2 years, but something keeps coming up like a wedding or previously planned vacation. Not this year! I'm going to Festa on an empty stomach---make room baby, cuz this is going to be delicious.

4. Jazz in the Park I've been to JITP once, so I'm due for another trip. I love the music (It's not as good as Concerts on the Square in Madison, but this is a good substitute) and the atmosphere is relaxed. We usually get together with the in-laws and find a good patch of lawn in Cathedral Square to have dinner together.

5. Be Spontaneous I can't share the details about this one, but I want to surprise Dan with a short adventure for just the two of us. I have an idea that I'm sure he'll like. More to come later.
Along with this, I want to take advantage of any opportunity to just up & leave the house for an afternoon. Everyone tells me having a baby will be wonderful, but the freedom to do anything, anytime isn't easy. So I'd like to just do something random a few more times in the next couple months.

I feel confident that I can get all 5 things done in the next 3 months. Plus it's down on paper, so to speak--like a checklist. I must achieve everything on the checklist. :)

P.S. If you're trying to find out what's going on around Milwaukee, visit Between the Bars. It's a great list of summer festivals, music, food and events to check out.

Open Letter to Baby Ryan

2009-03-23T20:15:00.006-05:00

I'm sorry for the lack of posts. To be honest, nothing exciting has really happened since the ultrasound. (Seriously, people ask how I'm doing or how the pregnancy is going. My response? "Fine. No complaints". I think that stops the conversation because I have no drama to share.)

However, here's something I sent my family today that others might like to read.

OPEN LETTER TO BABY RYAN

Dear Baby Ryan,

I am very excited to meet you in mid-August. That said, we need to discuss the current living arrangements.

I'm trying to give you a little room to grow, yet you are taking it all and causing some body organs to shift uncomfortably. My primary concern today is the increased number of Tums I've taken. I've eaten 4.5 today, yet it's not even nighttime when everything really kicks into high gear.

Please understand that Tums Smoothies might be the tastiest option on the market today, but they are getting old quickly.

Additionally, I would prefer that my esophagus be intact for the future (and not horribly scarred or deformed by all the acid you are pushing upward).

Thank you for your consideration.
Momma

P.S. It's in your best interest to take it easy on me during these remaining months we have to spend together (literally). Otherwise I might be forced to write another letter...

~~~~~~~~~~~

In case you're curious, the daily Tums count is now 6.5 as of 8:15pm. Hopefully just one more to get me through the night... And tomorrow is another appointment with the midwife!

Ultrasound #1

2009-02-05T18:45:00.002-06:00

We had an ultrasound today to check for any identifiable genetic problems. The Down Syndrome check came back normal and we're waiting on blood sample results.

Additionally, we had about 30 minutes to see Baby Ryan. He or she was kicking and moving around a bit, which was really fun to see. Dan says we have a soccer player in the making. ;)

Here's the best shot. Click on it to see a larger picture.

Enjoy!
Meg and Dan

(Temporary) Heaven on a Stick

2009-02-05T18:27:00.003-06:00

For the love of all things good and holy! I don't have strange pregnancy cravings. Truly, I have no crutch which I need to consume every day.

However, I want to make it clear that I have been waiting to eat a corndog for a long time. Actually, over a year now. I thought I'd go to at least one Brewers game last year, but it never happened. Thus, no corndog from the ballpark.

My next best chance is coming in about 2 weeks. We have tickets for a Milwaukee Admirals hockey game and I'm getting my corndog, come hell or high water!

Now, this has become a craving. Today, my coworkers asked "Why don't you just buy the mini corndogs from the grocery store freezer section?" Yes, I know this would be the easy solution, but I really want the real deal. Fresh, deep-fried, mystery meat goodness.

The countdown has begun: 22 days until my corndog!

Baby name dilemma, continued

2009-01-31T19:44:00.003-06:00

I think James is a safe choice...If only we could decide on the girl name.

"In a new study to be published in the March issue of Social Science Quarterly, David Kalist and Daniel Lee, economists at Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania, find that adolescent boys with unpopular names are likelier than other boys to be referred to the juvenile-justice system for alleged offenses. The researchers conclude that the Ernests, Prestons and Tyrells of America are significantly more delinquent than the Michaels and Davids. Why?

The short answer is that our names play an important role in shaping the way we see ourselves — and, more important, how others see us. Abundant academic literature proves these points. A 1993 paper found that most people perceive those with unconventionally spelled names (Patric, Geoffrey) as less likely to be moral, warm and successful. A 2001 paper found that we have a tendency to judge boys' trustworthiness and masculinity from their names. (As a guy whose middle name is Ashley, I can attest to the second part.)

In a 2007 paper, University of Florida economist David Figlio found that boys with names commonly given to girls are likelier to be suspended from school. And an influential 1998 paper co-authored by psychologist Melvin (a challenging first name if there ever was one) Manis of the University of Michigan reported that "having an unusual name leads to unfavorable reactions in others, which then leads to unfavorable evaluations of the self."

Our first names also say a great deal about the extent of privilege enjoyed by the people who picked those names for us, our parents. In the new paper, Kalist and Lee point out that previous research has shown that the name Allison is rarely given to girls whose mothers didn't finish high school but is frequently given to girls whose mothers have 17 years or more of schooling. On average, parents with less schooling are likelier to pick unpopular names for their kids.

How do you define unpopular? For their study, Kalist and Lee accumulated all 15,012 names given to the boys born in one large state between 1987 and 1991. (To get the boys' names, the authors had to agree not to reveal the state's name.) The researchers developed an equation that gave the most popular name of the period, Michael, a score of 100. The name David got a 50. Ernest, Preston, Tyrell, Kareem, Malcolm, Alec were each given a 1. Kalist and Lee theorized that the boys with the lower-scoring names might commit more delinquent acts.

Which is exactly what they found. The relationship is quite predictable and linear: if you pick a name that's 10% more popular than Ernest (Maxwell is the example that Kalist gave me), the population of Maxwells will have 3.7% fewer delinquents than the population of Ernests. Pretty neat, right?
The name doesn't cause the crime, of course, and the way people react to the name isn't the only other factor at work. Rather, boys with unpopular names are likelier to live in single-parent households and have less money. Those with unpopular names may also find it harder to get jobs because of the negative stigma toward certain names — particularly names likely to be given to African Americans, like Kareem. And the unemployed are likelier to commit crimes than those who work."
Original Time Magazine article

The Mormon Baby Name Game

2009-01-29T06:15:00.002-06:00

As I mentioned earlier, we are still up in the air about baby girl names. Casey has been completely bumped off the list, leaving Cassandra...And even that name is moving out of favor.

I was searching the random baby name websites last night to find "normal but not too common names" and here's one of the top pages from Google.

The Mormon Baby Name Game

This will definitely put a smile on your face. I didn't find any new, amazing girl names, but obviously I've learned that the name Madonna isn't recommended. :)

I'm Pregnant!!!!

2009-01-18T18:40:00.004-06:00

It's true! I'm pregnant and I can finally blog about it!

I had been feeling pretty yucky in early December and decided to test on December 5. I didn't even tell Dan I might test because we'd been pretty down about the previous negative tests. But lo and behold---I knew it was positive after 15 seconds! (I didn't have to wait 2 minutes--whew.) I grabbed a long-ago purchased gift of onsies for daddy, then bounced back into the bedroom to tell him the good news. Did I mention this all took place at 4:30am because I couldn't sleep? :)

After testing, I only told my work BFF. Everyone else was in the dark until Christmas Day when Dan and I hosted my parents, his parents, my brother and my grandma. How did we tell them?

Well, we thought everyone was in the dark, but actually, both sets of parents were already emailing each other because they noticed I wasn't drinking at a previous family dinner. Darn, we can't surprise everyone.

So here's the basic info everyone wants to know:

What's your due date? August 11.

Any morning sickness? Nothing major. A little nausea that doesn't go away, but I haven't thrown up, which is a major accomplishment. My goal is to have a baby as cute as Christine's, but have a better pregnancy. So far, so good.

Are you craving __insert food here__? No single craving, but I prefer salty foods. A Hershey kiss makes me feel yucky. So far, my random cravings have been: Chicken nuggets, french fries, Noodles & Co. Mac and Cheese, pickles, Jimmy Johns and anything that can be a vehicle for ketchup.

Are you going to find out if it's a boy or girl? Probably, but Dan and I are still debating about this. What if I have a shower and receive 50 pink frilly dresses and no receipts? Yes, it's the thought that counts, but really, a Diaper Genie might be more practical in the long run.

Do you have names picked out? Yep, we've had names for about 2-3 years now. Boy: James Daniel. Girl is less certain, but the top choice so far is Casey Judith.

Any other questions you have? Just post and I'll reply.

P.S. We have an ultrasound Feb. 5 so I will hopefully have a picture in the next few weeks!

Reading Rainbow...with Megan

2009-01-11T20:09:00.004-06:00

A little bit of fun Megan trivia: In 5th grade, my little catholic grade school had a "Read Across America" elementary-wide program. It was a similar concept to Book-It. Remember that? No? Here's a refresher.

Anyways, I ROCKED the Read Across America thing. I love to read. And thanks to my mom's genes, I read fast. She reads a little faster than me, but it's ok.....

So I rocked the Read Across America competition, won some corny pencils, prizes, stickers, and other usual gimmicky stuff.

Fast forward to sophomore year in high school. Here's the dialogue:

Mom: "I grabbed this book from Barnes & Noble. It looks like something you might find interesting. I guess the main character is a wizard and he goes off to a castle to learn magic."

Me: "Eh, ok, sounds like something I'd like."

Yep, drawn into Harry Potter before 95% of the world had a clue there was an awesome series about a secret wizarding world. And before my true Harry Potter dorkyness is further exploited, I'll end it here.

Anyways, I found my new series/author that I am in love with. I read the first 2 books around Christmas time, powered through 6 books while on vacation last week, and then read another 3 of her books this weekend. Yep, it's that good!

Author's Name: Janet Evanovich

General plot: Stephanie Plum, formerly a lingerie buyer, has been laid off and now works for her cousin as a bounty hunter. She's a terrible bounty hunter, rarely carries a gun, regularly loses her handcuffs and the guy she's trying to cuff and has 2-3 cars blown up in each book.

Why I like the books: Stephanie's internal monologue is laugh-out-loud funny. Just ask Dan. He'll confirm this. I've been giggling and snorting nonstop.

Second, the male romantic interests are to die for.

Third: The best reason of all-- Books take you places. Corny yes, but so true. Honestly, would I want to be a bounty hunter and get shot at on a semi-regular basis? No. But this series makes me reconsider if my life is a little too safe. :)

If you want to borrow any of books 1-9, let me know. After that, grab your library card and get the other books in the series.

One for the Money
Two for the Dough
Three to Get Deadly

Four to Score

High Five

Hot Six
Seven Up
Hard Eight
To the Nines
Ten Big Ones

Eleven on Top
Twelve Sharp
Lean Mean Thirteen
Fearless Fourteen

Finger Lickin' Fifteen (coming summer 2009)

P.S. Yes, I know it's been about 6 weeks since I posted. I have an excuse...Really, I do.

Big news!!

2008-11-30T19:25:00.006-06:00

Dan and I have awesome news to share! We've been waiting almost a year and now we're excited to announce....

We have a new puppy!

(Sorry to all the readers that thought I might be pregnant. I hope to tell that news to you in person, rather than via this blog. And no, I'm not pregnant. I managed to escape this whole holiday weekend without anyone asking that question. Don't ask me when we're planning to have kids, period.)

Anywho, onto the happy news. We found Baxter, a 5 month old beagle, on Petfinder and fell in love with this little guy. His first owners surrendered him because Baxter didn't play well with the cat. They also have an autistic son who wasn't getting along well with him.

Dan, I and Ben picked up Baxter in Gurnee Mills. We also got his crate, leash, food, toys, and bed. Sweet deal.

Baxter has been playing King of the House with Ben for the last 48 hours. Ben wins, of course, but Baxter still tries to be dominant whenever possible.

I'll post more pictures later, but here's a few to start.

Recipe of the Week: Shrimp and Black Bean Enchiladas

2008-11-23T18:41:00.006-06:00

There was a great restaurant in my college town of La Crosse called Manny's Mexican Cocina that served Mexican dishes, but it was based on the Pacific Mexican cuisine. It highlighted fish and seafood selections that paired with more subtle flavors. Manny's served awesome food and this recipe reminded me of the restaurant.

A winning recipe, though probably not a regular in the menu rotation because it's more work than I care to do. It comes from the Williams Sonoma - Mayo Clinic cookbook. I wanted a new, different recipe and this one was the winner.

I'm usually not a fan of cilantro, so I used less than the recipe called for (1/3 cup instead of 1/2). And I really like guacamole, so it was a good side to dip the enchilada in. If you're looking for a healthier, but kinda fancy dish, give this one a try. Both Dan and I enjoyed it.

For the black bean salsa:
10 oz. fresh tomatillos, husked
4 green onions, sliced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup canned diced green chilies
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 cup black beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup corn

For the enchiladas:
12 oz. cooked shrimp (60-70 ct.)
1 Tbs. grated lemon zest
1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper
8 tortillas
3/4 cup grated Monterey jack cheese

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°.
To make the salsa, chop the tomatillos coarsely. Combine the tomatillos, onions, garlic, chilies and cilantro. Stir in the beans and corn.

To make enchiladas, combine 2/3 cup of the salsa, the shrimp, lemon zest and pepper. Lay the tortillas flat on a clean work surface. Spread an equal amount of the filling in the center of each tortilla, roll the tortilla around the filling and place, seam side down, in the prepared pan. Sprinkle with the cheese. Cover the pan loosely with aluminum foil.Bake for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and bake until the cheese is melted and the enchiladas are heated through, 7 to 10 minutes.To serve, place 2 enchiladas on each individual plate. Serve with remaining salsa and guacamole if desired.

First aid skills are handy in everyday situations

2008-11-20T18:38:00.007-06:00

I took it upon myself to take care of some "deep cleaning" that was bugging me for a while.

1. Individually treat a few yucky spots on the carpet
2. Clean the bathroom sink drain
3. Clean the bathtub grout

The yucky spots on the carpet were no big deal. Then I looked down the drain in the bathroom sink. Ick. I knew it would be gross, but it's always worse than you imagine.

Time for plastic gloves.

I took this task upon myself because I'm the only one in the house that has hair longer than 2 inches. And unfortunately, I didn't realize how much of my hair ends up clogging the sink. Plastic glove on. And go....

You won't be able to look away. It's gross, but you can't resist a glance.

Ok, I admit this is not what I personally pulled out of the sink, but pretty close. I swear!

I had to use my best Red Cross CPR and First Aid skills to get the glove off without risking the gunk touching my skin.

Final job: Clean the bathtub grout. Scrubbing Bubbles is my friend. Then I remembered someone from work mentioned Lime A Way might be able to take care of some deep grout dirt. The Lime A Way spray nozzle wasn't working, so I improvised. Bad idea.

My sense of smell is a little off now and my eyes tingle a bit.

Lesson I learned today: First aid skills don't always apply to emergency situations. My hands aren't contaminated, but I might need to flush my eyes out.

Cha-ching!

2008-11-14T17:00:00.004-06:00

Guess what happened yesterday evening!

Need a hint?

I did the happy dance at home that night after spotting this price of gas.

Ho Ho Ho! Oh wait...

2008-11-01T18:40:00.007-05:00

Guess what I heard on the radio yesterday? (Maybe the title of this post gave it away, but...)

Christmas music!

In case you forgot, yesterday was Halloween. I should have heard the Monster Mash or maybe the Ghostbusters theme song.

When did Thanksgiving lose it's holiday status?

I will have to reprogram one of my car preset radio choices for the next 4 weeks. I hate Andy Williams and since when did Cannon in D or My Favorite Things become Christmas songs?

Oh well. I will ignore the Christmas lure and think about what to dress Ben up for Halloween 2009. Which do you prefer: ghost or gladiator?

How was my day?

2008-10-30T17:27:00.004-05:00

October 30th is the second-most dreaded day at my job. (Tomorrow is the worst, but today is a close second.)

By 10am, I was ready to pack up and leave. I felt enough had gone wrong and nothing had been accomplished, yet I was more frustrated.

What's a girl to do? My suggestion:

Prairie Fume white wine and a Kopp's Turtle Sundae.

I hope tomorrow goes better...

Election coverage from SNL

2008-10-27T18:22:00.002-05:00

Thankfully the elections only happen every 4 years. That's the bad news.
The good news is that the crew of Saturday Night Live is on their A-game. I loved last Thursday's 30 minute election update. My favorite was Fred Armisen's spoof on the nationwide election map. (Fast forward about a minute and a half to get to Fred's part.)

"Check out Michigan, I can make it bounce!" I think I'd like to play with that map. :)

Speaking of Michigan, Dan and I are headed to the Detroit-area to visit our favorite Ryan family (Dan's brother and his wife & 2 kids). We're both excited to see this side of the family again. It's always a blast, plus I get to watch my yearly quota of Sesame Street. See you soon, kids!

Are you a famous movie star?

2008-10-16T21:48:00.004-05:00

My name used to be Megan Coyne. Sure, it's not common, but that was kind of nice. Then I got married and agreed to change my last name to Ryan.

Yes, my name is Megan Ryan, however, people frequently say "Hey, that's like Meg Ryan!" (Cue my eye roll and fake smile.)

However, today took a strange twist. I was walking down a hallway and an employee (who I recognize but don't know his name) said "Hey, Nicole Kidman, how are you?"

Dilemma. Is he joking because my name is Megan Ryan? Is it because my hair was straight like Nicole's? Was I suddenly a size zero walking on a red carpet?

I think it was a compliment. Yeah, I've still got it!
** Licks finger, points in air and makes a sizzling sound**
:)

How much for a new roof?!?

2008-10-13T19:55:00.002-05:00

The joys of being a homeowner never cease to amaze me. Beyond a monthly mortgage payment, these so-called "joys" in just the past 2 years have included:

Learning that cleanliness is next to godliness, especially when it involves leaf-free gutters. Otherwise, you might have 7+ inches of rain pouring into the basement window wells, then breaking the glass and entering your wonderful new home movie theatre.
Learning how to use the snow blower and lawnmower so you can claim to be an 'independent woman'. (However, do not tell your significant other about this knowledge or you might be stuck snow blowing the driveway at 5am---and gosh darn it, that's HIS job!!)
If you decide to have more than 5 gardens on your property, please for the love of God, put cheap black plastic around the flower bed and invest in some mulch. And really, what compels you to have 5+ gardens?
Praying to the weather gods that they will be kind to your roof, which includes avoiding ice dam-making weather.

Speaking of roofs, we had an ice dam appear in the kitchen this March. It was kind of an ugly spot, but Dan patched the drywall and we did a quick paint job to make it look great again. However, we knew there was a larger problem lurking.

The roof was torn off and replaced in October 1997, so it shouldn't need to be replaced so soon, right? Wrong. There's some serious curling directly over our bedroom and a bit over the garage. What's a new homeowner to do in this situation?

Well, I called WeatherTight because Paul Joseph is their TV spokesperson and there are some unusual Ryan connections to the Joseph family. Apparently I didn't stress that connection enough, because we asked for a general estimate for a complete roof replacement. His response:
"Sixteen."
In my head, I thought "Ok, sixteen hundred is what I hoped for. So this isn't as bad as I thought..."

Then Dan clarified. "Sixteen thousand?"

It's time to pray harder to the the weather gods this winter. And also time to find a new contractor.

Sigh A wonderful evening

2008-10-09T19:52:00.013-05:00

I love this evening. With a cup of chai tea and some great music from Jason Mraz, I've been perusing TheKnot for wedding picture inspirations.

If I could have a career as a serious wedding planner, I would do it in an instant. I love looking at all these gorgeous pictures and getting ideas. (Seriously, if I could plan a new wedding every year, I wouldn't run out of ideas for over 50 years. I have that many photos and trend ideas saved on our laptop. Dead serious.)

I honestly loved planning my our wedding. Flowers were all calla lilies. Reception was at Hubbard Park Lodge in Shorewood. I don't remember the food because I had no appetite. But I remember the cake and asking myself "Would my guests be mad if I ate half of this cake? Jeez, this is awesome!" Here's one of my favorite photos, which we also used as our thank you cards.

So if I were to do my wedding all over again for 2008, here's how I'd do it: September wedding: Late afternoon ceremony on a grassy Wisconsin hill, then sunset reception in a tent and some dancing under the stars.

My Favorite TV Show

2008-10-02T18:13:00.002-05:00

The TV networks are pausing for an evening of fun-filled speeches that will either be mildly offensive or incoherent (Yes, that's how I feel about Biden and Palin) and therefore will not televise my favorite show, The Office. I'm sad about this, plus I hate debates and the Brewers are sucking.

Anyways, The Office brilliant. It's hysterically offensive at times. You might cringe or feel uncomfortable because it's so well done.

For the premiere on September 25, we had some couples over to watch and enjoy themed finger foods like bacon, pudding, a small pretzel bar and beets. (Thanks for bringing those Jess!)

My favorite segments usually involve health care, fitness or wellness, so the Season 5 premiere was hilarious to me! Sadly, a Biggest Loser competition seems to be popular but has not worked well at my office. Fortunately, no one cares enough to win by trying a liquid diet. :)
And employees have also asked me if they could have a yoga ball instead of a chair at their desk. All I can think of is this segment from The Office.

I puffy heart my iPod

2008-10-01T21:23:00.002-05:00

My exercise today was awesome! I think my iPod knew my mood and played songs accordingly. And then I wondered how I would answer the question "What's on your iPod?"

So here was today's list:
Billy Joel - We Didn't Start the Fire
Green Day - Basketcase
Garth Brooks - Standing Outside the Fire
Jessica Simpson - With You
Michael Jackson - Smooth Criminal
Fox NFL Football theme
Black Eyed Peas - My Humps

My guilty pleasures songs:
Britney Spears - Toxic
Rockapella - Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?
Burning Love from the movie Lilo & Stitch

Thank you Steve Jobs & Apple. You make me only slightly more excited to get on the elliptical machine every work day. :)

Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Cheesecake Pops

2008-09-28T07:12:00.004-05:00

Once again, Dan asked me to bake something for a birthday at his office. I suggested a few recipes, which included Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Cheesecake on a stick.

Dan: "Oh yes, anything on a stick will be perfect."
Megan: "Excellent, because I have a recipe from Paula Deen that I've been wanting to create for a while."

I've been pretty successful making cheesecake. I also like dipping things in chocolate. How hard could this be? To top it all off, I'll add sprinkles to my pops!

Well, this time Paula Deen let me down. The cheesecake never set, though I followed the directions to a T. Even with refrigerating and freezing before I dipped, the cheesecake was very soft.

The chocolate dipping sauce was WAY too thick and I added probably a third more butter than it called for. I think the best part was the sprinkles---they didn't let me down. :)

Sorry for the blurry pic. Maybe it's time for a new digital camera.

Of course, everyone loved this recipe. And who wouldn't? It's like a giant Reese's PB Cup--delicious! But for me, this recipe has left my personal recipe box. Sorry everyone.
Maybe I'll try a good berry cheesecake recipe with white chocolate if I do this again...

Ugg.

2008-09-20T20:23:00.004-05:00

I've got nothing. Life is flying by and I'm barely hanging on. Work is kicking my butt and there's personal stress that's been hard on Dan & I for a few weeks now.

Hopefully things will calm down in a few days. We had a nice date night at Haute Taco in Brookfield this evening. It was delicious--I recommend the Hot Pink Margarita and the Summer Tomato Salad. If you decide to go, get there somewhat early because they don't take reservations.

After that, we went shopping. It was bliss. :)
I don't think I've been properly shopping in about 6-12 months. It's been tough, but today made it worthwhile. I got a couple tops and a new pair of black pants. **sigh of happiness**

Dan's a great shopping buddy. He's honest when something doesn't look flattering on me and grins when I find a great top or dress.

Tonight, we both laughed at a"dress" that looked like a mumu on me. Seriously, if it doesn't look good on the model, there's no hope for me.

Thank goodness I could laugh tonight. It felt good after a tough week. You know what else makes me laugh?

My Ironman Brother

2008-09-09T19:17:00.006-05:00

This is my super awesome brother Joel. (Photo from our trip in the UK. :)

He just finished his first Ironman competition in Madison this last weekend! I can't stop bragging about him--he's just awesome!

There were about 2,000 participants at the Ironman Wisconsin race. The course starts in Lake Monona for a 2.4 mile swim, then run up the Monona Terrace to grab your bike for 112 mile scenic tour around Madison, then return to the Terrace to drop the bike and lace up your running shoes for a marathon. Talk about an intense triathlon!

Joel finished 5 minutes ahead of his time goal of 12 hours! You are such an awesome Ironman!
Here's his Ironman finish video:

It's Hurricane Season Again

2008-09-05T20:47:00.002-05:00

With Hurricane Gustav's landfall near New Orleans and some major storms brewing in the Atlantic, it reminded me of our vacation to Louisiana in November 2006. We worked with St. Bernard's Project and stayed at Camp Hope (which is managed by Habitat for Humanity) during our stay.

Dan and I drove around the Lower Ninth Ward and took pictures of the destruction, as well as worked for a week drywalling a new home for Ms. Joyce.

Here's the video Dan created and posted on YouTube to remember our trip. (You might need to turn the volume up high to hear the music.)

Humming at work

2008-09-03T18:49:00.004-05:00

Sometimes I get a song or video stuck in my head at work. (I've actually audibly hummed at work and my co-worker probably thought I was crazy.)

Today was especially difficult. :)

Update on the cross stitched stockings

2008-09-01T06:58:00.006-05:00

I found a picture of Ben's stocking (It's just the top part that I stitched):

And here's what I did for my Dad! (This isn't the one I did, but it's what the finished product looks like.)

A little thing you might not know about me...

2008-08-31T15:29:00.006-05:00

I hate filling out surveys that ask about your hobbies. I don't collect stamps/pencils/beanie babies/etc. I am not very good at gardening. I don't quilt, knit or crochet. (Though I tried the first two and didn't have patience for either.)

My hobby usually requires a long car ride or a weekend at the cabin in the middle of winter.

I require thread, a needle and fabric.

Confession: I cross stitch. And I like it. :)

My first project was a basic flower that's still framed in blue plastic and hanging in my dad's workshop area. (Aww, how sweet! :) Past projects also include a sweatshirt for a new baby and a tandem project with my mother-in-law for my neice that had cross-stitched squares and she helped with the quilting part.

My most common project is a Christmas stocking. I first made one for my dad that actually turned out well! Sorry, no picture of this one.

Then I wanted to make one for Dan. I did the whole thing while spending 4 months in Wales.

Next stocking was small for Ben, our beagle. :) It didn't take a whole lot of work, but probably took 4 months of on-again-off-again time.

Sadly, I lost both of these when we moved from Madison to Milwaukee. And then I decided to clean a part of the garage and found both projects just sitting around! YIPPEE! Here's the pro picture of Dan's stocking.

And I just finished stocking #4 today! I'm not sure who will receive this stocking, so there's no name on top. Check it out---First pic is the pro and the second is mine!

I cannot wait to start the next stocking! It's gorgeous and I'm going to try using a new fabric (lambswool linen).

105th Harley Rally + Me = Sigh of Frustration

2008-08-29T19:46:00.005-05:00

When I moved from Madison to Milwaukee, I knew I would be in for a few surprises. The biggest surprise was learning about my patience (or lack thereof) for Harley Davidson motorcycles. Yes, I appreciate that it's one of Milwaukee biggest claims to fame. (Add the new bronze Fonzie statue to this list too...) Yes, I know Harley is integral to the culture of this town.

Yet, I prefer peace & quiet. Now this 105th celebration is really wreaking havoc on my quiet time AND causing problems with my daily commute. Some of these bikes are louder than a semi! We have a HD dealership about 5 blocks away and they have blocked off some roads to set up a mini-version of the State Fair, complete with a daily Pancake Breakfast every morning.

I appreciate all the profits flooding into the metro area (thanks for spending your money here!), but I'm ready for the end.

So go ahead and flame me. I can handle it.

(But please turn off your Harley so I can hear you.)

Small vent

2008-08-25T20:41:00.003-05:00

I realize that I'm a sloppy writer on this blog. Sometimes things sound better in my head than on paper. I'm never too concerned about it, but I'm usually careful about grammar.

I don't know where this came from---In fact, I seriously disliked middle school English classes. But now all those lessons and diagramming sentences are coming in handy. I challenge anyone to a grammar game: Identify when to use 'accept' and 'except'. :) And no, I still don't quite understand adverbs. Anyways, onto the story:

I received one of the most annoying emails today. I don't know the proper rules for using ellipses. The source of all knowledge (Wikipedia) defines an ellipsis as:

Ellipsis in printing and writing refers to a mark or series of marks that usually indicate an intentional omission of a word or a phrase from the original text. An ellipsis can also be used to indicate a pause in speech, an unfinished thought or, at the end of a sentence, a trailing off into silence.

Apparently the person emailing me had unfinished thoughts... Or was trailing into silence....

The email was like this...
There were no periods...
The writer's sentences just ended like this...
And then I couldn't discern whether she was mad at me...

So I called her on the phone...
And she spoke like a normal human being...
She did not trail into silence...
And she didn't seem mad either...
Which is awesome for me...

I do not recommend this method of communication to my readers...
It will confuse others...
And then they might not email you in the future...
Good night...
And good luck to the readers...
Peace out...

Boundary Waters Recap

2008-08-24T20:58:00.006-05:00

Our trip to the Boundary Waters was wonderful! We woke up each morning with the sunrise, changed into our day clothes, then took camp down. Tents, tarps, food, sleeping bags, etc all went back into the packs. Breakfast was a range of scrambled eggs, Grape nuts, granola and even chocolate chip pancakes on 2 mornings!

Once we got on the water, we’d paddle for 2-4 hours until we got to our destination lake. The portages were sometimes brutal. On one occasion, I was trekking on a half-mile long portage and saw a large hill with crude stairs going up. (Keep in mind, I have a large pack, about 3.5 feet tall and weighing at least 50 pounds on my back.) I start making my way up slowly, when I began to tip sideways. There were no trees to grab hold to---so I fell sideways to the left. But I only fell about 2 feet because my pack was so big that it stopped me!

While canoeing, we saw some awesome wildlife! Bald eagles, otter, beavers, loons, deer, chipmunks and more! This is a picture of a bald eagle catching a fish.

Once we found an available campsite at our destination lake, we unloaded everything and unpack again. Lunch was a cold meal: cheese, crackers and summer sausage, trail mix, hummus & pitas or bagels & cream cheese. The afternoon was lazy. Mary & Sam brought a lightweight hammock which was great! We also played cards, read, took naps, fishing and even did some “laundry”. This was really just rinsing our clothes in the lake, but it works well.

Dinner was always delicious and warm! Pita pizzas, spaghetti, chicken fajitas and jambalaya were all on the menu. After dinner and dishes, Mary and I would chauffer the guys around the canoe so they could fish and we’d read our books.

Boundary Waters Reading List:
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire
Grade: A-
A fun and interesting portrait of the green Wicked Witch of the West. It’s dark and definitely NOT for children. Was the witch really wicked? Side note: The book and the Broadway play do not align very much in my opinion.

I Heard That Song Before by Mary Higgins Clark
Grade: B-
There’s nothing like reading a good mystery novel when you’re in the middle to nowhere. I think Mary was nervous to visit the latrine one evening after reading this book… :)

At First Sight by Nicholas Sparks
Grade: B
Oh, Nicholas Sparks! He writes for women and we swoon over his books of perfectly realistic romance. I love his style, but this story about a troubled pregnancy was not something I should read before becoming a first-time mom.

We had a wonderful time and enjoyed the time away from civilization. Thanks Mary and Sam for spending time with us. We really enjoy your friendship and willingness to be passengers for Ryan Tours, Ltd.

Boundary Waters 2008

2008-08-17T19:28:00.009-05:00

I'll write about the trip soon, but here's some pictures to start.

Siyanara!

2008-08-07T20:28:00.003-05:00

Dan and I, along with best friends Mary & Sam, are heading to northern Minnesota (almost to the border of the U.S. and Canada). The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness is over one million acres of pristine, beautiful land and water. This is also where Dan proposed 6 years ago. :)

I'll be back in a week to give an update and post some gorgeous pictures. In the meantime, here's 2 of my favorites from past trips.

What a busy summer!

2008-08-01T20:34:00.013-05:00

Dan and I, along with my best friends and their significant others, headed to Door County for a long weekend in mid-July. I love the cabin and we thankfully escaped some brutally high temperatures plus high humidity that settled over Milwaukee.

It was Dan's birthday as well, so we had a peanut butter Oreo cheesecake and a large bag of fireworks to celebrate. The guys got progressively more creative during the weekend to shoot the bottle rockets off using fun items, like remote control cars, pipes, airplanes.... the list went on.

I learned ladder ball. And I learned that I'm not good at it. Once again, my skills are lacking when it comes to ball-based sports like croquet, b-ball, soccer, etc.

We piled into the car to see the ostrich farm! There were a few ostriches, plus lots of chickens, a bear, pot belly pig, llama, camel, ponies, goats and sheep! Of course, we had to buy the ice cream cones of pellet food to make the visit more interesting. :)

Mary & Stef wanted to try out the kayak, and then we (hilariously) hauled it back to the cabin for safe keeping. :)

Then of course, we spent lots of time outside.

It was an awesome weekend. Time to start planning for the next trip!

Pewaukee Triathlon

2008-07-22T19:50:00.004-05:00

As I mentioned earlier, I wasn’t too interested in training for this tri. And really, I think finishing in the 91st percentile is just fine. :) I still passed some people, which feels nice!
My goals for this triathlon:
1) Finish.
2) Don’t walk.

With all the rain we received in June, the Pewaukee lake had risen over flood stage and some nasty bacteria began growing. About 3 weeks before the event, we were told the swim could turn into a run because the water still wasn’t safe. Bummer, since swimming is where I excel. In the end, the toxic blue-green algae bloomed and the swim was cancelled, to be replaced with a 1.5 mile run. Great, we all know how well I run. So now the triathlon is a duathlon (run, bike, run).

On the day of the event, everything went rather well for me. I took the first run slow so I conserved more energy for the bike and final run. The bike was very scenic, though there was a stretch along a frontage road of I-94 where a strong headwind caused everyone to feel the burn in your thighs. :)

Then I began the final run. What a beast. Shortly after beginning, you have to climb 100 feet over a half mile. I walked 75% of it. Bummer, since that caused me to not meet goal #2. At the top, my exercise-induced asthma kicked in, so I had to stop for about 30 seconds (I rested while leaning against a chain link fence overlooking a cemetery. I’m sure a funny person could make a joke about this, but all I could do was catch my breath and smile at the irony of the situation.)

The rest of the run was downhill, so it went well. I finished! Then there were pancakes at the end, which made the pain so worthwhile. (I love breakfast foods. In fact, the evening of this event I made brinner (breakfast for dinner): Waffles, eggs and hash browns. Yum!)

Do you want to see a picture? I realize I look goofy in this shot, but the rest of the pics make me look as though I’m about to keel over from the pain of the running.

Next event: Relay-style triathlon in Whitewater this September with my college girlfriends. I'm doing the swim portion and committed to a little more training.

Patriotic Red Velvet, White and Blue Firework Cupcakes

2008-07-03T06:05:00.008-05:00

Damn, I’m feeling pretty accomplished right now! Check out these freaking awesome jumbo-sized cupcakes.

Dan asked if I could bake something for his office potluck. I’ve made some darn good stuff in the past so I don’t want to let his coworkers down. Here’s kind of how the email string went:
g Dan: Want to make something for my office potluck?
gg Me: Sure. Do you have any special requests?
g Dan: Surprise me.
gg Me: Ok, pick one of the 4 options: Key Lime Pie with Fresh Whipped Cream, Monster Red Velvet Cupcakes, Apple/Peach/Strawberry/Blueberry pie, German Chocolate Cake.
g Dan: Anything with the word monster in it works for me!

Sweet. I've never made Red Velvet Cupcakes before, so I pulled the recipe from Culinary Concoctions by Peabody. She’s one of the most amazing bakers and I’ve made a few of her recipes with great success (including her delicious Key Lime Pie!).

I ran to the grocery store for a few ingredients and got started. The timing was perfect—Fourth of July is Friday, so I wanted to do something patriotic. Unfortunately, I have sprinkles and decorating gel in Christmas colors, but no blue sprinkles reside in my baking cupboard. However, I do have blue food coloring… I gave it some thought and wanted to try using the food coloring to make some kind of blue design. A star was too tricky, but a firework is just a big, fun messy explosion of color. Yep, I’ll try that.

My idea worked! So I’m excited to hear what Dan’s coworkers have to say about my Red Velvet, White and Blue Firework cupcakes. This might go down as one of my best creations ever!!!

My evening run

2008-06-26T20:07:00.009-05:00

I finished dinner this evening and would have really liked a bowl of raisin bran to perfectly complete the night. But in the back of my head, a little voice said “You really should go outside.” So I told Dan that I would probably head out for a quick run. “Why, are you training for something?” he said in a sarcastic voice. Jerk.

I’m ”training” for my second triathlon. And by training, I mean run every once and a while, hop on a spinning bike at work a few times, and hope that my previous high school swimming experience will be enough.
Hey, it worked last year!

Me and my mom finishing the Danskin Chicagoland tri last year!

So I (somewhat) reluctantly changed and went outside. Wow, what a Wisconsin evening. And by that, I mean a swarm of mosquitoes, 85° and what felt like 75% humidity. Ugg.

So I ran. I really dislike running. I’ve gotten better over the last year, but it still never feels comfortable like swimming or even biking. So I ran 2.7 miles in 34 minutes. A little less than 13 minutes/mile, which is pretty good for me.

And this is me afterward. I was tired. And now my face is red for at least the next 3 hours. Why? Click here for the answer.

So am I ready for this tri? Maybe. Come back after July 13 to find out.
More importantly, I think I earned a bowl of raisin bran!!!

The story about my dragon lawn ornament

2008-06-12T20:16:00.004-05:00

At my family Christmas gathering, we have a tradition my mom calls “Naughty Santa”. (Do not Google this term -- it will lead to questionable websites.) This tradition is more commonly known as Yankee Swap a.k.a. White Elephant gift exchange.

At the end of 2006, I received the Skymall Magazine. I flipped through and found many atrocities. Really, who needs an enormous piece of furniture to hold 2,262 CDs? Get an iPod.
Anyways, when I saw this dragon lawn ornament that’s placed at the end of a downspout, I knew that was my Naughty Santa gift! It was perfect!

(Side story: my family knows my intense dislike for lawn ornaments. My in-laws once purchased over 50 mini plastic flamingos and stuck them all over the front lawn as a Welcome Home gift in May 2007.)

The flaw in my plan: I shared my brilliant idea with my husband. As fate would have it, Dan was forced to pick the first gift to kick off the exchange. Wickedly, he smiled and grabbed my beautifully wrapped package and said “I think I’d like THIS one”. To my horror, the entire plan backfired as Dan opened my gift, told my family how much I hated lawn ornaments, and made a pact with everyone else to not swap for his dragon down spout decoration.

Sigh. So now every visitor we receive sees this dragon down spout decoration because it’s blocking the front walkway. Thanks honey.

The ending to the story…

2008-06-06T19:22:00.014-05:00

Part 3

The best part of the trip to Guatemala was the kids. They were energetic, curious, shy yet but friendly and all were endearing.

They loved our digital cameras. The teachnology was new and they wanted us to take millions of pictures so they could see the photo immediately. They crowded around us later to teach us the Guatemalan national anthem. Then we tried to teach them the Star Spangled Banner. Yes, the language barrier was a problem, but it was fun nonetheless.

The kids would visit us at the work site.

The entire town threw us a going away party complete with fresh tamales and a piñata.

And then as we left on our last day, we hopped in the open-air truck and blew bubbles as we drove away. The kids were shouting and running after us…

The one child I miss the most is Clinton. He was shy, but we formed a great bond during that week. He would come to visit each day and brought his father with him one time to visit the work site. He’s probably about 10 or 11 now. His family had one of the first Habitat homes in this town.

I hope he still has that charming smile that can melt anyone’s heart. And I hope I can one day see him again…

The Picture

2008-06-05T18:44:00.008-05:00

PART 2

Jeff Gardner was committed and dedicated to Habitat for Humanity. When he could, he worked on Saturdays at his local Habitat affiliate. As vacation time allowed, he traveled with Habitat and was a participant on work teams to Honduras and to Brazil. He was so inspired by his Global Village trips that he was going to attend team leader training and lead a Habitat team to Guatemala.

Jeff was at his desk at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. He did not make it out. Jeff’s family and loved ones choose to honor his memory by establishing the Jeffrey Brian Gardner Scholarship fund. Through this fund college students were given the opportunity to spend 10 days in Guatemala, and I was one of them.

Twelve of us from across the country met in Guatemala City on June 1, 2002. We traveled to a remote village called San Lucas Toliman. We spent 6 days building, then a couple days of touring the country.

Guatemala is prone to earthquakes and the homes are not able to withstand the force. Unfortunately, this means the 4 walls have a tendency to fall inward upon all the occupants.

The homes we built were reinforced with rebar to hopefully withstand in the future. The work was incredibly hard and I don’t think any of us were ready for 8 hours of heavy labor.

There were 4 rooms in the house. We set the foundation, mixed concrete and began building the walls.

It was thrilling to come on site Day 1 and almost complete the house by the end of our work week.

Part 3 coming soon to explain the original picture.

The story of this picture begins on September 11, 2001

2008-05-30T22:01:00.003-05:00

PART 1

Just like my grandmother could recall exactly where she was when Pearl Harbor was attacked and my mom can tell you how she heard that President Kennedy was shot, so each of us has a story about September 11.

It’s an unusual bond that citizens of this country share: each has a story and we like to share it with others. Weird, huh?

Well, I’m no different and my story begins around 7 a.m. on that Tuesday morning. My roommate (the wonderful Mary O!) and I were freshmen, about 10 days into school at UW – La Crosse. She headed off to a 7:45 a.m. class and I distinctly remember turning on the TV. Not normal for me, but anyways…

The first tower was hit. Matt Lauer and Katie Couric were probably as confused as their viewers were. Then the plane hit the second tower. Very strange. I continued to watch, but had to leave for my Biology 101 lab. I left a note on the white board for Mary to watch to news because the Trade Towers were on fire.

She came back from her class while I was in biology. She saw the tower collapse on live TV. She had a class to attend, so she left me a message that a tower had collapsed and left the TV on.

The day proceeded with chaos in New York and worry on the UWL campus. I couldn’t stand the lack of information---the news reporters just kept repeating the same information over and over. The one channel that wasn’t broadcasting news 24/7 was Cartoon Network. I have never loved watching the Powerpuff Girls more than I did on that day--I needed to escape from all the destruction and death that was blaring on every news channel.

And the connection between me, that photo and 9/11 is a man named Jeff Gardner, who was sitting at his desk at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.

Stay tuned for Part 2.

The story about my "Power Dress"

2008-05-28T19:05:00.006-05:00

Let me start off by stating that I love my mother. She’s wonderful. And I love my mother-in-law too. Both are fantastic women.

Now, I work a few hours a week at a bridal store. My mom calls it a hobby job, which is a great way to describe it. I actually enjoyed planning my wedding, so I found a job now selling dresses. I love the customers who say “You must have a great time working here!” because they remind me that yes, I do like seeing the bride’s face when she finds “The Dress”. It’s funny, because I’m excited for the bride, even though we’ve just met each other about 45 minutes ago. :)

And then there are customers that say “You must have stories about some bridezillas.” Actually, no. The brides I work with are usually wonderful. Honestly, they are nice women. For me, it’s the moms that can make or break my day.

Last weekend, I had a bride and her mom come in to try on wedding gowns. Both were very nice and we were all having a great time picking dresses. I suggested one of my favorites and she agreed. (Side note: This is the dress. I call it my “power dress” because it looks good on every girl, the bride exudes beauty, and it’s a darn good price.)

So mom, bride and I head into the dressing room and I help her with the first dress (my power dress). Her mom immediately starts gushing about the dress—“It’s just what you wanted”, “It has the right about of beadwork and sparkle”, “Oh, honey you look just wonderful in this dress”, etc—and I cannot get a word in edgewise!

Yep, I’m pretty sure this mom sold the dress. I didn’t have to say anything—she said it all. And I agree this bride looked stellar – after all, it’s my Power Dress.

It began on a windy day in May...

2008-05-27T21:13:00.000-05:00

I would never have expected a frost warning for the night of May 27. “We just finished a wonderful weekend in the low 80’s. How can Mother Nature do this to us poor Wisconsinites?” However, I stared outside at a tree across the street, blowing around in 30-mile gusts. Sigh.

I absently said to Dan “I sometimes think my life is ordinary.”

And then I thought about the life I’ve already lived. Sure, just 25 years. But it’s been packed with some interesting days. So here’s a personal tribute to my ordinary days.