Goodbye Summer!

I write this as I have one day left of my summer vacation! The end of the summer is always both a sad time and an exciting time for me. I look forward to returning to work, getting back into a routine, and seeing my coworkers and students. However, I know I'll miss the freedom of summer days to do whatever the hell I feel like doing. I did A LOT this summer, but I made sure to have a few days where I stayed in my pajamas until 2 pm drinking coffee, dilly-dallying, looking at old photos (in albums!), rummage through papers from my Beloit days (angry feminist!), call old friends or just do nothing. It feels so luxurious to go to a movie in the middle of the day or to my favorite Indian lunch buffet!

So, what did I do this summer?
1. Travel to California for a 2 week vacation - San Francisco, Marin, Oakland, Half Moon Bay, Pescadero, Big Sur, San Luis Obispo, Pismo Beach, and Los Angeles! This was an awesome trip and I was able to spend time with old pals from Beloit and family. It was also my first solo travel experience and I am hooked. I can't wait for my solo trip to ... New Zealand, Ireland, Italy, Spain, I guess I can't decide. I promise more photos from this part of summer. I'll probably get to them in December.
2. Get my Masters in Special Education! I can't believe I am done with school! I actually could be done with school for ever if I want. Never done learning of course.
3. Love my Eric. We had a month off together. Amazing! We are so blessed. Even though we couldn't do a big trip abroad it was fabulous.
4. Go camping. At Kohler Andrae State Park in Sheboygan, with a beautiful beach on Lake Michigan.
5. Lots of running and a little biking.
6. Friends, friends, and more friends. Eating with friends, drinking with friends, swimming with friend, eating with friends, laughing with friends, eating with friends. It was great to reconnect with golden friends.
7. Family time! Milwaukee, Fond du Lac, Los Angeles.
8. Swimming, swimming, swimming. I think I was a child the last time I swam so much in one summer.
9. Hire a new teacher at my school. Not exactly, but I was on the interview team. This was fun, interesting, and insightful.
10. Read and watch a lot of movies.
11. Get a new (to me) car.
12. Go through a foster parenting home study. Intense.
13. Lots of self care and love.
14. Dentist and doctor and all that fun stuff.
15. Go sailing and have a picnic in the middle of Lake Mendota with 6 other sailboats. I even conquered a fear and jumped into the middle of a really deep lake (with a life preserver on).
16. Fell in love with beets. Where have you been all my life?
17. Go to a Brewer's Game and knit with a bunch of ladies at the annual Stitch n Pitch.
18. Get my first eyebrow waxing!
19. Move into an apartment we love and plan to stay awhile.
20. Have our 2.5 year old nephew over for a weekend. He was so good and we also did a great job, even with no toys in the house!

The photos below are from one of the many lazy summer evenings. This one was in Fond du Lac, on the beautiful Lake Winnebago. What's more Wisconsin than lakeside sunsets and beer? If only I liked beer.

You are my home

Isn't this guy adorable? That's my beloved husband of 4 years, Eric. Here we are in Pescadero at the Pigeon Point Lighthouse. Some random guy snapped this photo of us. We left from Los Angeles at about 6:30 the morning this was taken. Eric drove all the way from LA to somewhere near Watsonville where he stopped at In-N-Out Burger with me (even there was nothing he'd eat there).

Next, I drove through the berry and flower farms, then mountains and redwood trees as the roads became windier. Eric began to have a terrible allergy attack and rubbing his itchy, watery eyes. He became exhausted and couldn't keep his eyes open anymore. This continued for the next hour or so. I was excited to get to the coast and show him the beautiful scenery - ocean, cliffs, and beaches. But, he could barely keep his eyes open. We made it to this lighthouse and I knew he just had to see the beauty of the place I was lucky enough to stay for 2 nights. I knew he'd appreciate the serenity, the smell, the sound, the solitude. And, he did. We listened to the roar of the ocean. Many more photos to come...

I write this tonight as Eric sleeps beside me and I am so grateful. My gratitude for him is beyond words or photos. Let me tell you some of the things I love about Eric.

1. I love that today when the nurse walked him to the bathroom (when recovering from surgery) he walked like a robot and asked her, "Is it normal for me to walk like a robot?"

2. I love that the other day he made a "secret" list of Harry Potter parody titles.

3. I love his generosity and caring.

4. I love his positivity.

5. I love his cheerleading skills. He has an unwavering belief in me.

6. I love his commitment to and relationships with his family.

7. I love that he is the one that always wants to talk about every little thing.

8. I love that he's not into watching most sports.

9. I love his talent and creativity. I didn't know I was marrying a great poet and playwright.

10. I love that he listens to me when I drink a lot of coffee and start spewing off random information I heard on NPR that he is not really interested in.

11. I love that he's also a great friend and has stayed in touch with a lot of old friends even though it seemed for a time that they didn't have much in common and stuck it out until he was able to recall that we all have so much in common.

12. I love what a great father he's going to be one day.

13. He's a great singer. No, really. Have you heard him? He really is good.

14. And many, many more

My love

Wow, it's been awhile. I have officially made it through 3/4 of the school year at a another new school! It is my 3rd school in 3 years teaching. I have finally found somewhere I want to stay awhile and that feels good. Here are some images I've been meaning to share.

This is a felted alpaca wool stocking I made at Christmas time this last Christmas. When we were in Peru for our honeymoon I bought this poncho. I haven't worn it since, for a few reasons. 1. Ponchos are hard to pull off well. 2. I accidentally felted it. 3. It smells like stinky animals. I love homemade Christmas decorations, including hand knit and felted stockings. But, I know I am never going to get around to knitting them. This was super easy to sew. I made 2 big ones and 2 little ones.

This was last summer at one of the many beautiful parks in Madison. Madison is a wonderful and beautiful small city. I feel like we've returned home. After all we fell in love here 7 years ago.

Sailing on Lake Mendota

Last Saturday we went sailing with an old Madison friend, Barry. Barry is dear to my heart since he came to party at my house with Eric the night we fell in love. It was an interesting evening and my life has not been the same since.

This was only our second time sailing ever and both times have been with Barry. It was a breezy day in the 70s and perfect for sailing, at least that is what Barry said. We sailed across the lake and stopped at the UW-Madison Union Terrace and had something to eat. Then we sailed back across as the sun set.

Editing these photos was a little challenging since there were so many that I liked. Additionally, I accidently shot in JPGs. I am used to editting my photos in Raw, but it was a good learning experience.

A glimpse

Here are some photos I took when walked around our lovely new neighborhood and at a nearby, lakeside park. I got a little happy with the Photoshop this time...

Walking down Baldwin Street. Lake Monona peeking out between the trees.

The beautiful man I live with.

Eric wearing the Angela Davis T shirt he bought for me.

Me.

Goodbye Milwaukee!

On June 19, just after school let out for the year and right before we packed all our stuff and moved to Madison Eric and I spent some time with my mom, sister, and nephew at the Bayview lakefront. I realized I don't have a lot of photographs of most of my family other than my adorable nephew and wanted to get some while they were still so near. Some of my favorites...

Mom and sister Leah

On June 19, just after school let out for the year and right before we packed all our stuff and moved to Madison Eric and I spent some time with my mom, sister, and nephew at the Bayview lakefront. I realized I don't have a lot of photographs of most of my family other than my adorable nephew and wanted to get some while they were still so near. Some of my favorites...

Tina's wedding

On June 13th I attended the wedding of an old friend, Tina. She married Bob at a golf course in Twin Lakes, Wisconsin very near where we went to high school together. Here are a few of my favorites. 

I loved the setting sun shining in the window here. Even with the harsh shadows it was beautiful.