confessions

confession #1 today I am cleaning my shower for the first time in a long time. It's so bad that I won't tell you how long.

confession #2 I wait in long grocery lines to read magazines

confession #3 I want a mini van something fierce. yes. it's true. but Ryan says not until we have multiple children and with only a dog so far, I think I have to wait awhile. I learned to drive in a van and have always loved the space and comfort. No more need to justify that one, that is why it is a confession I guess.

I feel so much better. What do you need to get off your chest today?

counting through the day

Cups of hot chocolate: two
Handfuls of marshmallows for those cups: I lost count
Times I left the house today: once
Hours of Christmas music as background noise: 4
Christmas cards completed and stamped: 68, woo hoo! they are on their way!
Chance of additional snow to contribute to this blizzard: 100%
Current Temp: 14 but it feels like -2 degrees F. I am not making this up.

Times I checked weather.com today: atleast 15. I think I have a weather addiction because I lost count

hope you are enjoying these wintery days by staying cozy and warm!

a day late and a dollar short

I was told I should have been her for Halloween:

I'm a day late and a dollar short. (ok 2 days late) but was curious about the recommendation from a good friend and found out that Flo, the Progressive Insurance Girl, has a cult following of fans. Who knew? He told me it was her bubbly personality; hmm..maybe I drank too much coffee that morning!

if I were to twitter

these would be some of my tweets from the past 24 hours or so:

...what is @ryanwallace always doing getting up so early these days?

...coffee coffee coffee. vanilla caramel creamer is gone but class french vanilla is just as good

...life is good. walking to farmers market with brother on a fall day

...wish I could justify buying myself a bouquet of huge sunflowers, saving for mums and gourds. wow I sound old. @debmcintyre would be proud

...watching biggest loser clips and eating pasta, not sure @jillianmichaels would approve

Lake Geneva Wisconsin, part 1...the retreat

A big part of what made vacation so relaxing was just that, relaxing. We completely took on the life of vacationers from the moment we arrived and started the first day out by breaking in the porch and exploring the place. this picture totally captures the week:


I was surprised to find out that the Grand Geneva Resort that we were staying at was not actually on the lake itself but 2 miles away, in its own little haven with a golf course and rolling hills and pools with umbrella drinks and an awesome fitness center in which I partook daily in spin, yoga, or pilates to my hearts delight.

The week quickly found a rhythm of days of waking up, choosing a pool, going into town for a few hours or just reading on the deck. It was so new yet natural at the same time to have my hubby be able to completely relax without the responsibilities of a company waiting in his inbox. He amazes me with his ability to disconnect and I tried to emulate that as often as possible. This was his perch for many of the afternoons of the week:


My favorite part of each day was the nightly dinners that we all enjoyed together. We were allowed to do whatever we wanted during the day but each night, a different couple was in charge of dinner. It was really good to have that time, to get to know Evon's kids better since we haven't spent any time with some of them since meeting them 2 years ago and get to know the ones we do know better. The menus for our dinners were awesome including grilled pizzas, stuffed shells, enchiladas, grilled roast & potatoes. And there was no shortage of Leinenkugel's sunset wheat and 2 buck chuck to accompany the feasts.
the girls in the kitchen

open air cafe ala family cafe

awww...

Stacey, Kara & baby Iris (8 weeks old)


part 2 of our adventures tomorrow...I have to go deliver the thank you that Toby made for the neighbors for taking such good care of him while we were gone:

N. as in "Gnome"

I had a giggle fest 2 nights ago silly enough to match any laughter I have had in the past year. It seems like in traveling, you start to see people and things and can make your own little "what not to do" list in your head. Not talking about the "what not to wear" portion of travel, when you see couples in matching wind suits and a family of 10 in matching shirts; although those situations provide humor too.

I'm talking about the customer service aspect of travel. Let me tell you my story and it will make more sense. Tuesday night I was booking long-term parking for Ryan as he is flying out of O'Hare this morning and the young man I was working with just couldn't quite seem to get it together. My first clue should have been when he repeated my credit card number back to me more than 3 times with errors. But here is the kicker. When it came time to validate the email address I was providing for a confirmation, I wanted to clarify a letter for him so I said something like, as in "d" for dog.

Well, this young phone operator decided that in that moment, he would go above and beyond the call of duty and repeat back the email address to me with a word to clarify each letter. g for girl, d for dog, e for elephant. and then we got to the letter "N". And out of his mouth came "N for GNOME!" GNOME! That starts with a "g" bud! I lost it and had to hold the phone away from my mouth for the rest of our conversation. He proceeded through the alphabet and after hanging up, Ryan entertained with things the rest of the night like "your nomenclature makes it difficult to understand you or "I don't gnome what to do next". Maybe this guy should get a job with Travelocity since they use a gnome in their advertising!

fits of giggles

Last night Ryan and I attended my little brother Austin's 6th grade graduation from ACT, a program that he has been in since 3rd grade. In fact, the boys had to remind me that I was the only one who didn't quite pass the test to get into this program. But sweet Austin says it is only because I am a bad tester.
Picture AP classes for elementary school kids and add in adventures, experiments, lego robotics, origami, creativity with no end, there you have ACT. And this was no ordinary graduation- there were skits, raps, poems and essays. and I loved every second of it.

These kids are brilliant and creative and uninhibited. I think that is the part that overjoyed me, their willingness to express themselves without shame. There was the part where they shared their posters about being able to change their world and the environment and things like "there are cooler ways to die than smoking" and my FAVORITE, "don't be trashy, recycle" said with 'tude. I thought I may have a little giggle fit in my seat.

I want to have that much fun, to express myself in FULL COLOR. Here is another little set of giggles from my older younger brother (make sense? the older of the 2). He has an appreciation for wit as well.

from waldo henry
i would say ‘legooo?’ instead of ‘hello?’
haaa nice, very nice

the rules of recycling

so last night BrieAnna met me at our house to carpool to our Monday night group and my recycling was proudly displayed at the end of the driveway. And as I backed the car out cautious as not to knock my carefully stacked cartons, bags, papers, boxes she began to giggle. Between breaths, I learned that I cannot in fact mix my wax covered boxes and cartons with the purest of plastics 1-7 and other sanctioned pieces.

Wow. I never knew plastic had numbers and I sure didn't realize what how much I have to learn when it comes to recycling. I'm willing to learn though and in our fits of silliness, this little rhyme came to us...

When in doubt, throw it out
When it can be reused, recycling we choose.

I bet if our drive to Michelle's house was a little further, she would have had a few more verses and a tune to belt out for me. She's good. Really good. She's the only friend I have who has their own musician page on myspace!

I just had to post a pic of her because she so bravely cut her hair way shorter as an act of freedom and expression & I love it!

just a little something to get us through

Thought I would share this fun little ticker (you can make your own @ this site) to countdown to your next vacation, an upcoming event, holiday, whatever it may be that you are excited about!

Just a little something to get us Spring Breaker's stuck in the Midwest through this:

feeling sicky

leave it to my little bro to post something that will cheer me up on a day where I am feeling very under the weather. The cold turned flu going around the office that was supposed to stop with the steady flow of Halls and Tylenol, well, it came to revisit me at about 2:34 a.m.
Which is why this MATH is ever the more relevant.


here are a few other faves:

Sisterhood...and Inspiration

Ok, so ever since I went to see the second Sisterhood movie last week with my sis-in-law I have admittedly had a bit of a hair crush on Lena. Rochelle and I sat in the back row and analyzed the fashion & hair (she is a cosmetologist) for the entire 90 some minutes. And we decided that I too could have rich dark hair and sassy bangs...If I ever get brave enough. And I don't know what would hold me back from that step. Why are some things so hard for people and so easy for others?!
Pros: It would be fun, different and in a way represent the way I feel, that I am stepping into a new phase of my life in my mid 20s, no longer being a new newlywed (ok, still relatively new), stepping in a new direction with my career. I even wore a brown & tan animal printed cardigan today & am experimenting with a bohemian braid...again Sisterhood inspired but we can thank Blake Lively for that one.
Cons...what if it doesn't turn out?! What if my bangs stick to my face when I run? Irrational thoughts as I type them b/c that is what semi-permanent and bobby pins are for right?



How can I be 25 and not quite know my style yet? I have always considered myself to be in the classic, "Jackie O" inspired category but there is something sexy about a little bit of fashionista that I sometimes reach for. My friend Christina says there are 4 types of fashion that people generally fall into:
Classic
Trendy
Natural, Earthy
Athletic? (I can't remember the 4th one for sure)

What do you think? What style do you feel most like YOURSELF in? Does it vary based on your mood and what is on sale at Target? I would love to hear if you think there are other categories and where you fit....(ok, and your thoughts on my hair decision making). Can't take life too seriously right?!