Shawn and I got back into Madison from our Labor Day Weekend trip to Columbus. A ton of fun was had. Highlights include a Buckeye win over Navy, a post-game victory burrito from La Bamba’s, and seeing good friends at Kaci’s baby shower. Lowlights were a post-game trip to the car impound lot to retrieve the towed rental car and the resulting migraine that knocked me out of commission for the rest of Saturday evening. Overall, a good trip.

Now that the fun and games are over, it is time to panic. Why? My mother-in-law is coming to visit for a week. Not to mention, Shawn’s aunt and grandparents are joining her. Eeek!

I don’t know what it is, but whenever back to school comes around, I love to get organized. From the kitchen cabinets to my purse, I love to clean everything out and start fresh. This led me to search for a tissue solution. As an allergy sufferer of olympic proportions, I always have a packet of tissues in my purse. However convenient they might be, attractive they are not. Usually half-way through the pack, it turns into a rumpled mess that will no longer stay closed and looks like it has been mangled by stick-fingered first grader. So I went on a meandering little trip via the internet to find a simple tutorial on how to make a tissue holder. I came across this one on the blog tuttifruiti. Super cute and crazy easy!!! It took me five minutes to sew it up on the old Bro, but you could easily hand sew this as well, if you don’t have a sewing machine available. I could make a million of these! How cute would it be in a gingham print or a tweed? I am seriously going to make these for everyone. What great little presents they would make. Christmas, Mother’s Day, or just cute hostess gift. I can’t wait to whip up some more!

Once again, time has gotten away from me. I must apologize for my neglect. The month of July has been very busy with much traveling and visits with the family. I will quickly sum up so you can see what I’ve been up to, other than blogging, for the past weeks.

July 4th weekend: Went down to Club Ponderosa to share in the celebration of our country’s independence. Although torrential rain kept us inside for most of the day, I am happy to report that the skies cleared for Shawn to have his annual fireworks extravaganza. Fortunately, the safety record stayed in tact for another year.

July 11th weekend: Mom and Dad came up to visit us here in the land o’ cheese for the weekend. Highlights included sushi dinner at Takara on Friday night, (Dad is getting pretty good with those chopsticks!) going to the MMOCA Art Fair on the Square on Saturday – one of the largest and best juried shows I have been to in some time. Excellent quality and variety. Sadly, we came home empty-handed.

After the parents left on Monday morning, I drove down to Club Ponderosa the next morning. Had an amazing trip to the Modern Wing with Mom. (Will be following up with a separate post, since too much to say about it here.) Did a little swimming and general hanging out with Roz, Luke, and the parents. Shawn came down to join us for the weekend.

Back up to Madison, this time bringing Roz and Luke to visit for few days. Had a good time taking Luke to the Middleton pool – he is now the water slide champ. As well as just some good QT with my sister. Would love to have them as a permanent installment up here.

Thursday, July 23rd, we drove back down to Club Ponderosa to return our guests and to be able to fly out to Shawn’s nascent city, North Canton, Ohio, for his cousin’s wedding. (Congrats, Kara & Eric!) Was great to see his mom, grandparents, and Big Al. Wish that we could of stayed a bit longer, but Shawn had to get back to the salt mines so we came back yesterday.

And. . . we are here for this week and will then be off to Hilton Head, SC for a week of rest and relaxation. Quite looking forward to it, since we’ll be seeing some dear friend from CMH. Salty Dog Cafe. . . here I come!


Aarrghh! I went to the urgent care yesterday afternoon because my right thumb was hurting something awful all week. Doctor said that I pulled a tendon in my thumb and have to wear a stupid splint/cast thing for at least two weeks. Grrr! I have no idea how I did this to myself (playing with Walter, knitting injury, plain old clumsiness?) but I am really annoyed. Although I am left-handed, I am struggling with this thing. I can’t really do much strength training, I can barely type, and driving is a pain! I feel like I have devolved. No opposable thumb!

Today we had torrential downpours in lovely Madison. Storms started at about 8 AM and continued pretty much all day long. This didn’t stop the hubby and I from running errands for most of the day, although we did make a pit stop at the LE Inlet for a rain coat for me!

First stop was to pick up some beer from Steve’s. I can’t believe that I actually escaped from that lovely place without buying some wine. Only a solitary six pack of New Glarus Spotted Cow. How is this possible?

Next was on to Barnes & Noble, where Shawn was on the look out for a new Che book to add to his collection. It hasn’t yet hit the shelves there, so he settled for Living with Color instead. (Not sure where that he is going with that one, but I am sure that I will enjoy it as well.)

I got sucked into the vortex of knitting books while I was there. Of course, I did not make it out unscathed. I picked up Son of Stitch N Bitch and Last Minute Knitted Gifts.

I already have the original SNB book, it was one of my main resources while teaching myself to knit. I lurved it! Son of SNB is somewhat focused on knitting projects for men, but I feel that they are pretty unisex. Just a change in the color or type of yarn, and I think that I could girly them up, if needed. I really like some of their sweater patterns, which I am working up my nerve to try. They are relatively simple and straight forward, so I think that I can handle it. I picked the second because I really fell in love with the photography of the projects. They all had luscious colors and beautiful, simple lines. Right up my alley. It is also very thoughtfully written with lots of hints and tips, without sounding at all jargony. It even groups the projects by the time needed to complete them! I am hoping that it will help me with future gift ideas for family and friends. Now I just need to stop at the local yarn store to get some yarn for all these ideas!

After B&N, we decided to look at some cars! Dear Smokey is getting up in miles, over 115,600, so it is getting to be about that time that we put him out to pasture. I am not 100% sure what model I want right now, but it has to be AWD (a must for WI winter weather!) and good gas mileage. This will also be the car I have when Team Colley has kiddos, so it will need to be super-safe and have decent cargo room for schlepping around strollers and whatnot. I do not want a gigantic SUV, but no Speck either. Hmmm. Today we looked at some Jeeps, since Smokey was so good to me, and also the Honda CR-V. Although I am a Jeep-loving woman, I have to admit that I was really impressed with the CR-V. It was way more roomy than I though, and it was quite fun to drive. It is leading the pack right now, but I feel I need to do some more research before I commit. Any and all suggestions are most welcome!

Well, the carrot soup was a success! So easy to make and delicious. Will definitely make it again. Better yet, Shawn liked it! Huzzah! Its a miracle. He even took some of the leftovers for his lunch today. So proud.

Tonight I am going to attempt White Beans, Tuscan Style. Wish me luck.

I was reflecting back on 2008 yesterday and today and feel that we came through a rough year rather unscathed. Even though there was much stress with moving to Madison, selling and building of the houses, all in all it was a pretty good year. No major health issues, financially okay, and much love and good times with family and friends.

I am especially thankful that I am so much closer to my family and have the ability to be more a part of their everyday lives. As well as Shawn doing well at his new job with Lands End. I can see the difference in his stress levels and also how that effects our marriage My only regrets with the move is that I dearly miss our friends in CMH. However, we are doing our best to keep in touch and visit often.

I am hoping that 2009 will bring us the same health, wealth, and happiness as its predecessor did. May it bring it to you as well.

Here starts our annual Christmas Family Tour. Shawn and I will be driving down to my parents tomorrow morning, then we fly out to North Canton to see his family on Christmas morning. We’ll be back in Chicago on the 29th and will most likely stay through New Years. I am not sure how the postings will go, I might have to write them but not update the postings until we get back to Madison. Hope you all have a Happy Holiday Season!

Last night we got about 12 inches of snow. It is still coming down and blowing about. Schools are closed and Shawn even stayed home from work. (So you know it must be REAL bad out there.)

It is going to be a real hassle getting around in this mess, but right now I am thoroughly enjoying being snuggled up in the house with the hubby and dog. The fireplace is going and we are going to bake some cookies soon.

It is also coldly beautiful out there, quite like being in a snow globe. This picture is looking out on our back deck! We have to let Walter out through the basement because we can’t open the door without it avalanching in on us. I am thinking about taking the camera out there later today to get some more shots before it gets ruined by the shovels, blowers, and plows.