Working Out

Well, I took the plunge and decided to start working out again. Despite the fact that my office has a workout facility upstairs (that's right, not next door or down the street, but up-freaking-stairs) I haven't worked out in a looong time. So I decided to remedy that today and walked for 25 minutes on the treadmill. Was it the most intensive workout ever? Not by a long shot, but a girl's gotta start somewhere, right?

My goal is to lose 30 pounds by my mom's 60th birthday in February, so we'll see how that goes :) I have a feeling, however, that working out is going to be much more motivational once my blue ipod nano arrives (and it should be here tomorrow!) Yep, after seeing Kirsti get her ipod nano, I decided that would be the perfect motivational tool for helping me work out, so we bought one. I'm going to look forward to working out a lot more once I have that in my hands!

Our Dells Vacation....

Was so fun! Dan and I got up there around 7:30 on Friday night (everyone else came earlier). Dan H. grilled out and made hamburgers and hot dogs, which were really good. We just kind of hung out that night, played some cards, and generally just enjoyed being together.

Saturday we got up and spent most of the day at the pool. Dan, unfortunately, spent quite a bit of time in the lobby working on his final project for his summer class, but he was still able to spend some time with us in the pool. It was so hot out, so being in the pool felt wonderful. Rori is turning into such a little swimmer; she will swim a little ways to someone all by herself, and it's so cute that she's so proud of herself! Dan, Kirsti, Rori and I also enjoyed playing Marco Polo, and either Dan or I would hold Rori so we could go in the deeper end. That worked quite well, except Dan decided it was a good idea to use Rori as a human shield so that he didn't have to be it :) That's ok, though, she really liked being it, and we just moved to the shallow part for that round.

Saturday night, we went to Ishnala, which is this GORGEOUS supper club in the Dells. We went to celebrate Kirsti's 13th birthday (which was actually on June 1st, but because of the issues with my grandparents and their hospitalization, we weren't able to celebrate until now). She's very into Native American things, and Ishnala actually means "By Itself Alone" in Winnebago. So it was the perfect setting for her celebration. I'll post pictures when I get home, but you can get quite a good idea of the setting by clicking on all these links :)

The food was absolutely delicious; I had filet mignon and shrimp, and it was honestly some of the best steak I've ever had. Kirsti's uncle Greg came up, as did her grandmother Roberta, her grandpa Marty and his wife Carol, and good family friend Kerman. They're all so nice, so we enjoyed hanging out with them. Afterwards, Greg, Kerman and Roberta came back to our condo to watch the wedding video; we wanted them to see it since Rori and Kirsti are in there (not to mention Dan and Tracy). We also watched Kirsti open her gifts (her favorite by far was an ipod nano, which is THE thing to have in middle school!) and afterwards we played a game of Euchre.

Sunday was spent just relaxing as well and then Dan left early on Monday morning, since he had class. I took the day off work, however, so we spent the rest of the day just lounging by the pool (you can use it all day, even after you check out). It was a lot of fun; we just encountered a *slight* problem when Dan H. was loading up the van, and he realized that we wouldn't have room for all the people AND the luggage. So my Dan actually had to drive back up to come get my mom and me, but that's ok :) The Dells are only 45 minutes away, so it wasn't a big deal.

All in all it was a great vacation; I'll post pictures soon!

Mamma Mia!

We went and saw Mamma Mia on Tuesday, and it was AMAZING! I went with Tracy, her girls and my mom (who is here visiting; yay!) It was such a great, catchy movie, and I really want to see it again.

Wednesday, Dan, my mom and I took the girls to Concert on the Square, which is a regular summertime event here in Madison. We brought blankets, snacks and drinks and just spread out on the Capitol lawn, listening to the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra. It was a lot of fun; we also got a game of Euchre in there (Rori was on my "team;" she's quite the little helper!)

Today I have to work a full day (ugh) but then we're heading up to Wisconsin Dells for the weekend. We always stay in this condo in the hotel called Wilderness on the Lake, and it's absolutely beautiful. (You can view a slideshow of it here; this is exactly what our room looks like. It's awesome!) It's very relaxing and just fun to hang out with family. After the stress of this summer and my grandparents' accident, it will be nice to get away!

The Dark Knight

Well, we saw it.... and it was REALLY good. Heath Ledger was amazing! It was kind of dark, but yet funny at times. Christian Bale was great as Batman, too. We went to the 2 o'clock movie, and even that had a line practically out the door. But we ended up getting good seats anyway (even though we were next to a bunch of annoying teenage guys, but that's ok).

Then we went to the Dane County Fair with the Hines. Rori had a blast going on all the rides; she and I went on the bumper cars together, and it was so cute to see her so excited! Kirsti and I went on this awesome ride called the Fireball; she's so sweet, she gave me three of her tickets so I could go on it with her, since I was all out. Other than that, we just ate a bunch of yummy fair food and hung out for awhile. It was really fun!

Tomorrow is the Ehrke company picnic, so I will be going to that with Tracy, Kirsti and Rori. It's held at a park with a pool, so that should be fun!

Benvenuto's and Hellboy; our Friday night

Dan and I decided that we were sick of just sitting home on Fridays, like we normally do. So, we decided that last night, we would go out on a date like we used to. You know, dinner and a movie and all that jazz.

So we had dinner at Benvenuto's (this really great Italian grill right by my work; their cheese bread is to die for!), and that was a lot of fun. Then we headed to the movie theater to see The Dark Knight (the new Batman movie).... or so I thought. Turns out, even though we got there at 8:30, the nine o'clock AND ten o'clock movies were already sold out. Agh! I did not want to wait to see the 11 o'clock one, so Dan persuaded me to see Hellboy instead. I really didn't want to, but we were already there, so I agreed. He'd been wanting to see it forever, anyway.

It was actually tolerable; it was about some comic book superhero, so not totally my cup of tea, but that's ok. I still want to see the Dark Knight, though; I think we're going to go to a matinee today in the hopes that it's not as popular!

WE DID IT!!!

Yay! I'm so excited! We did it!!!

What is "it," you may be asking. Well, I'll tell you.

Last year, in August, I decided that I really wanted to have more control over our financial future. You know, pay down debt, save for a house, retirement, etc. So I got this great book called The Total Money Makeover. It's great, has lots of practical advice for paying down debt, etc.

One of the things the author recommends is setting small, reachable goals so you don't get overwhelmed. So, I decided that for my (our) New Years Resolution, we would pay off $5,000 of credit card debt during 2008. (Luckily, we have 0% interest, so all money we pay goes to principal).

Well, today was the day that we achieved our resolution!!! Yay! From January 1st, 2008 to July 17, 2008, we paid off $5,000 of credit card debt! I'm so excited!!!!! And, I'm doubly proud because Dan was in school for most of this time, so we were only living on two full-fledged incomes since mid-May.

True, we still have more debt to pay off, but it feels so good knowing that we made a resolution and achieved it! Hope I don't sound like I'm bragging; I'm just very excited!

Mackinac Island!

Dan and I had a great time in Mackinac Island, Michigan. For those of you who don't know, Mackinac is a beautiful, small (only eight miles across) island in northern Michigan. It retains the quaint, turn of the century atmosphere in large part because all automobiles are banned on the island. Transportation is by bike, horse-drawn carriage or by foot. We loved it; it was very relaxing and peaceful, with just enough to do to keep it exciting.

Here's our room; we stayed in the Murray Hotel, which was a very cool Victorian hotel, right on Main Street.







Here's our hallway leading up to our room



The outside of our hotel...



Our pool area, where we spent quite a bit of time (and now I have a tan!)







Yes, that's Dan's bookbag; stupid summer school! :) He had to study a bit when we were on vacation, but nothing too stressful. I got to read while he was doing it, so it was all good!




Here's the street; you can see how "quaint" it is. This is the Lilac Tree Inn, where my family and I have stayed before:


Here's the Main Street Inn, which also looked nice:



Us on our bike ride (we rode around the island twice; once on Friday, once on Saturday):



Some views we saw on our bike ride:






Me standing in Lake Superior (I think?); it was really cold but felt REALLY good after 4 miles of biking (we were about halfway around at this point):








Me at the entrance to Fort Mackinac



I just thought this lamppost was cool


Here's a really cool stone church from the 1800s; if we had gotten married in the Midwest, this church would have been a top 10 consideration!



Here is the Grand Hotel, where the movie Somewhere in Time (with Jane Seymour and Christopher Reeve) was filmed. It is so gorgeous, constructed at the height of the Victorian era. Unfortunately, they instituted a $15 charge/person since I last came here, which you have to pay to even get into the hotel OR the grounds. Pssh; I'm not paying that! So this photo is as good as we got. Next time we come, though, Dan and I are going to save up to have a fancy, romantic, five-course dinner here at one of their restaurants. I'm hoping they don't make you pay if you're coming in to eat!



Here is the hotel as viewed from the ferry



And, finally, our view as we left the island on the ferry. (It's actually a great picture, and I've always said that if I have a boy, I want to do his room in a Cape Cod/nautical theme, so maybe I'll blow this picture up and frame it for when Kurt comes along!) All in all, it was a great trip!

Happy Anniversary, Nancy & Jason!

Dan's sister, Nancy, and her husband Jason were married one year ago today on 7-7-07. It was a beautiful wedding and we were all so happy for them. Happy anniversary, you guys!

Updates on the Grandparents

Well, my grandparents are still doing fairly well, thankfully. Unfortunately, my grandpa had to have his lower right leg amputated due to gangrene that appeared at the wound site, where his bone went through his skin. I can't remember exactly when his surgery was, but it was at least a week ago; maybe Friday the 27th? Anyway, he luckily seems to be in good spirits; he put a positive spin on things, saying that this leg has bothered him for more than 60 years (it was the leg paralyzed in the war), so maybe now he will actually have more control of things via a prosthesis.

But still, it makes me so darn angry that some jerk thinks he can just drive all recklessly with no regards for others. ARGGGH. It infuriates me just thinking about it!

Speaking of reckless drivers, Dan and I saw quite a few of those coming back yesterday from Mackinac Island. Aggressive drivers in their huge SUVs or pickup trucks had to speed up and pass everyone, and since it was a two-lane highway, they were often right in the way of oncoming traffic. We saw quite a few narrowly-avoided accidents; it really irks me that our culture is so "me, me, me" that we can't even think about the safety of others even when we're doing something so potentially dangerous as driving. But that's another tangent....

I'll post pictures of our vacation when I get a chance. Hope everyone had a good 4th!