Happy Halloween!

Ok, wow, so I haven't blogged in over a month; oops. Well, it's been a busy October!

I had to be in Chicago twice for business trips, which was fun, but yet a little stressful at the same time. I didn't get back until after 8 on Dan's birthday, so we couldn't celebrate then. Luckily, we did that weekend.

I surprised him and took him to Ruth's Chris Steak House. Kind of a weird name, I know, but it was so good. I had the petite filet mignon medallions topped with jumbo shrimp; yum. Dan's meal was even better; he had a delicious breaded beef tenderloin topped with a red wine reduction sauce. We also had lobster bisque, au gratin potatoes (well, Dan had the potatoes; you all know my aversion to such things!) and a complimentary apple tart for dessert. It was really fun, and it was nice to go out on a "date" again.

Tonight, since it's Halloween, we'll be heading over to Tracy's house to see the girls decked out in their costumes. Rori is going to be Jasmine, and Kirsti is going to be a punk rocker. I'll be sure to post pictures tomorrow!

Well, I suppose I should get some work done. Have a great Halloween!

Can't really think of a creative title...

But then again, can I ever? Not really. :) Well, things have been kind of crazy for us. I just got back on Wednesday night from a publishing conference in Chicago. That was really fun; very informative. I loved the editorial track; I was able to take away a bunch of new strategies for my magazines. Woohoo! And, of course, Chicago's always fun. We went to some awesome restaurants, paid for by my boss, so that made it even better! We tried this delicious steak house one night, an Italian restaurant the next, and then a seafood joint on our way home. I actually tried mussels, oysters and frog legs. Can you believe it? I'm such a picky eater, I never thought that would happen! The mussels were ok, the oysters I had to spit out because I thought I was going to throw up, and the frog legs were actually quite tasty. Hmmm. It looks like I'm expanding my repertoire.

I actually have to leave for Chicago *again* next Sunday for another conference; this one is put on by one of my publications. Agh; I love Chicago, but I'm feeling like I'm there more than I'm in Madison! And, Wednesday the 8th is Dan's 27th birthday, so I'll miss that (since I won't get home til late Wednesday night). Oh well; I've planned out where we're going to go for his birthday (we'll do it on the weekend); it's this new Brazilian steakhouse right downtown. It's supposed to be really good, so I'm excited to take him there! It's going to be a surprise, so that should be fun.

This weekend was kind of laid back; we went and saw Tracy's play again, which was hilarious, and we babysat Rori a lot too. She's such a doll; I just love her. We were watching her yesterday, and she wanted to help me make banana bread, so we had to pretend that we were on a cooking show, and if I forgot to narrate what I was doing, she would remind me that "the audience doesn't know what you're doing if you don't tell them, manda." She's such a hoot; I can't even take it. I LOVE spending time with her; I can't wait until I can be a stay at home mom to my own kids!

Other than that, nothing really going on. Dan and I are both kind of sick, but I've been so stressed at work that there's no way I could call in. Ugh. Oh well; I'd rather be too busy as opposed to bored!

You know what I love?

Working 11 hours a day, especially on a Friday. Yep, that's what happened today. Had to be at work early, so I got there at 7, and I didn't leave until after 6. Oh, and I got a whopping 10 minutes for lunch when I ran to Cousins' Subs. Yay, right? Agh, I'm so frustrated. I had TWO magazines going to print TODAY, so that was obviously a huge contributor to the stress. And, one of the other editors for one of my magazines (I'm the sole editor for Parcel, but for Inside Wisconsin Sports, it's both Erin and me) was gone for vacation. So not only did I have to do my stories, I had to do hers as well. And on top of that, I am going to be gone Monday-Wednesday at a publishing conference, so everything absolutely had to be done today. *Sigh*. It was quite frustrating.

Luckily, I got out of there at 6:15 pm, and I'm now sitting on my couch, relaxing with a beer. I don't think Dan and I are even going to do anything tonight, since we're both so stressed from work. Oh well. At least the conference in Chicago should be fun; I'm looking forward to that (although when I get back from that, I have yet another magazine going to print.) AGGGH. It's going to be a crazy couple of weeks :)

My mom's a celebrity!

Ok, well, not really, but she DID get mentioned in a newspaper in California. She, my dad and my aunt and uncle (along with some other relatives) went to California this past weekend for the UW game against Fresno State. Not only did UW win (woohoo!!) but my mom and aunt Janet got interviewed by a reporter who was covering the game.

You can see it here; just scroll down aways.

Go Badgers!

Weekend Recap

Well, we had a fun and relaxing weekend. Our living room and kitchen are now clean, which is always the sign of a successful weekend. On Saturday, Dan and I went to see Righteous Kill, with Robert De Niro and Al Pacino. It was pretty good; one of those films where you think it's going in one direction, and then at the end, they totally throw you for a loop.

Today we went to lunch with Tracy and the girls at Lazy Jane's, which is this hippie type restaurant on the East Side. Afterward, we took the girls to Target, since they always like to go shopping. We bought Rori a computer game that was on sale, The Disney Princess Royal Horse Show, as kind of a "back to school" type gift (we had bought Kirsti some stuff the week before). Needless to say, Rori was thrilled (she loves ANYTHING with Disney princesses) and she played it for a good couple of hours. It's so funny to see a five year old so adept at the computer; when I was 5, computers were barely coming into popularity, and it certainly wasn't something that every residence had, like now! Computers are just second nature to kids Rori's age; it makes me feel kind of old, and I'm only 26! :)

So, we didn't do too much, but it was still fun. The only problem is, I feel like I'm coming down with a cold and sore throat, and I have a busy week at work coming up.... ugh. This is so NOT the time to be sick!

Seven Years

It's crazy to think it's been seven years since September 11. I was reading this article that asked, "Where were YOU when September 11 happened?" and I got to thinking about that and how much time has passed since then.

I remember that September 11, 2001 happened on a Tuesday. I was a sophomore in college and living in my lakeshore dorm then (that was my favorite residence through all of college!) On Tuesdays, I only had one class; my French III class at 12:05. Being the typical college student, that meant I usually stayed up late on Monday nights and then slept in until around 11 or so on Tuesday mornings.

So there I was, sleeping peacefully on my futon (which, as you know, is a staple for all college dorm rooms), and my phone rings. The first thing I think is, "Who the heck is calling me so early?" (10:30 was early to me back then.) I groggily answered my phone, and it was my mom. "Did you hear that the Pentagon was attacked?" she asked. That made me sit straight up, suddenly awake. I, of course, had not heard that, being that I was asleep up until that moment.

I turned on the TV then, and I really couldn't even grasp the horror of what I was seeing. It just seemed so surreal to me, like it was a movie. And no one really knew for sure what was happening; people were mixing rumors and hearsay in with the facts, since it was so hard to get a straight story at first. I called Dan (this is when he worked during the day at WPS, and only went to school at night), and he said he had heard about it, too. I think both of us were in shock at that point; it honestly didn't seem like something that could have happened, you know?

I went to my French class then, but my professor dismissed class almost immediately. She herself was from the East Coast (Boston, maybe?) and UW has a ton of out of state students from the East Coast, so I think that hit home for all of them. I went outside after she dismissed us, and I sat on the grass of Bascom Hill, just studying. It seemed so odd to me that I was sitting there, on a gorgeous, sunny fall day, healthy and safe, with all my loved ones safe and accounted for..... and there were Americans who couldn't claim the same thing at that moment. I couldn't really grasp it; in fact, I still don't think I've fully understood what those people must have gone through. It must have been hell for the survivors, the family members, and those who were lost.

Blah; it's Monday again

We had a great weekend; I'm just sad that it's over, and now we have to go back to work. Blah.

On Friday night, we went to see Tracy in her musical, The Full Monty. It was HILARIOUS, and she was amazing. I was laughing so hard throughout almost the entire thing. The end part was a surprise, however, since the guys really did, um, go the full monty. But it was only for a second, so Dan's not too scarred for life.

We did end up going to the Cafe Montmartre first, which was delicious. I'm slightly miffed at them, however, since they used to have this great, high-end turkey club that was amazing. They have since taken it off the menu.... grr. But Dan and I shared this delicious four-cheese pizza, and throw in a few beers, and it was all good :)

Saturday we just kind of hung around, cleaning up and trying to get our apartment in living condition once again. That night, we went to see Hamlet 2, which was fairly entertaining. Not "oh my gosh, run out and see it right away" funny, but good for a few laughs.

Yesterday we went to brunch with Tracy and the girls, and then we took the girls to the mall. They LOVE the mall; it's so funny.

So, now it's back to the grindstone. Hope everyone had a great weekend!