Plans

I was recently informed that about 94% of blogs go idle after six months.  While I’ve made it past that mark, I’ve stalled out a bit as of late.  I suppose it’s mostly because it’s summer and there’s other stuff to do, it’s been uber-busy at work, and I’ve been uber-busy with the union.  Though I think the real reason is that my mind has been scattered and coming up with any coherent thoughts has been rough.

I’m hopeful, though, that this will change shortly.  A week from today I will be embarking on a two-week vacation.  Hooray!  The itinerary?  Well, first let me say that it is a road trip.  In a new black civic.  With an i-pass.  Hooray!  Ok, we leave Monday for Dayton, OH to visit Papa.  Then, Tuesday morning we leave bright & early (maybe) to hit the road for NYC.  We’ll be visiting Kristin in Brooklyn (at last!) and the City until Friday afternoon.  Friday afternoon we head north for Amenia, NY to partake in Andrea’s wedding festivities.  That takes us until Sunday morning when we head out through Canada to reach Presque Isle, WI to relax on the cheerful waters of Presque Isle Lake with lots of family.  I think it’ll be a good trip and I’m hoping for lots of fun photographs.

Anyone else have fun, close-to-end-of-summer (can you believe it?) plans?

One year

I’ve been thinking about today for a bit now, and I’m still at a loss as to what to say.  Today marks the one year anniversary of the pumpkin.  As in most significant things in life, the time that has passed since that day seems so abstract.  I still clearly remember sitting in the courtroom, holding Ben’s hand, being handed Kleenex by the clerk, going to breakfast afterwards and buying plants.  Plants, I may add, that are still mostly with me today.  Anyway, there’s really nothing profound or interesting I have to say about this, just that it has now been a year. 

On a lighter note, the ladies in my family and I spent this past weekend together in Milwaukee.  We — Jane, Stacy, Terry, Maggie, my mama & I — met up at a very nice Marriott downtown (I know the Marriott is Mormon-owned, but it was sooooo nice and they sold wine) on Friday evening.  We had dinner at a pub down the street (I had an amazing grilled cheese — three kinds of cheese, avocado, bacon & tomato) and watched the awesomely exciting Badger game  game back at the hotel.  On Saturday, we got going and had an early lunch because we were all booked for spa treatments at a spa in Whitefish Bay.  So nice!  I had the world’s best manicure (it came with a back massage) and facial (it came with basically a full-body massage).  My facialist was a little nutty, though.  In addition to telling me not to panic that I wasn’t married — apropros of nothing — she made me guess how many years she had been married (40) and what product has the most irritants in it (soap).  Anyway, that night we had a lovely dinner (on the way to which Terry found $100!!) and the next morning a lovely brunch — both on the east side.  Lots of meals!  I think I really like Milwaukee.  She and I just need to get to know each other better.  All in all, it was a really great weekend and I hope that we can do it again next year.  Though maybe not on the first weekend of the NCAA tournament.

This is a super boring post.  Does anyone have anything interesting to share?  Stephanie is due today and she still hasn’t popped.  It’s funny because two or so weeks ago she was saying how she just wanted it over; she was very ready to be done being preggers.  While I think I totally understand that feeling, it also must be scary because it’s not like once you’re “done” with that, you’re done.  It’s really just the beginning.  It’s like Gwen said, you run for president and win.  Then you have to be president.

Bedbugs

So, Rose got married this weekend.  It was truly a beautiful wedding.  The weather was nice and the ceremony was outdoors, very close to an alpaca!  [Speaking of which, let's not forget the alpaca festival is this weekend!] My heels kept sinking into the wet ground, but I’m pretty sure that didn’t affect the ceremony.  It was short and sweet, with homemade vows and Rose looking so lovely.  Her hair is exceptionally cute — sassy and fun.  The dress was gorgeous — one of those classic strapless numbers with the beautiful satin ribboning around it.  You know what I’m talking about?  Anyway, Rose was, of course, gorgeous.  The bridesmaids’ dresses were a rich chocolate with really stunning rhinestone broaches.  I was really feeling the broaches.  I think Ellen, Rose’s sister, worried I was going to steal hers as she covered it up with a cute wrap after I mentioned how much I liked it. 

Anyway, the ceremony was just perfect and afterwards, we all went inside to the barn, which was decorated with pretty white lights and sunflower centerpieces.  The hors d’oeuvres were delicious — bruschetta, hummus, almonds, cheese & crackers — very Mediterranean and yumsville.  There was a copious amount of wine, which I thoroughly enjoyed.  The speeches were sweet, funny and heartfelt — exactly what you want at a wedding.  The dinner was really amazing — the Michigan salad was outrageously good and the grilled veggies were doused with yummy yummy olive oil and my beef tenderloin was grand.  Really, it was all so pretty and perfect.

I was lucky enough to be able to sit next to the star of the show, or at least when she was able to sit down.  As I remember from my own wedding, there’s not a lot of slow periods at the show when you’re the bride.  I watched to make sure she at least got something to eat, but she was up and circulating, it seemed, before she had more than a sip of her champagne.  Oh, Rose!  Such a great bride.

The best part may have been when Rosie said, “Where’s my husband?”  Not great because he was MIA for a moment, but great because it was so cute to hear.  And just as natural.

It was also great to see Claire, another old pal from Italy with whom I’d lost touch.  She was as fun and dynamic as ever and it was really great to be around a familiar and so-friendly face. 

This is really where the greatness of the weekend ends.  At around 10:30 I was ready to crash, so I decided to part ways with the DeLuca-Gollnitz crew and say goodbye to the Cobblestone Farm.  My chosen spot for the night, the Lamp Post Inn (which is a two-story, L-shaped motel with a pool like the one in Karate Kid), was about a half of a mile away so I was quickly in bed.  Before I hit the mattress, though, I needed to use the loo and the sink.  Normal bedtime behavior, I think.  This is when I discovered the toilet didn’t work in any way other than to serve as a receptacle and that turning on the water in the sink meant HUGE ants would crawl out of it, look me in the eye and ask me what I thought I was doing.  Ick!  I was really too tired to worry too much about it, so I curled up in bed — trying my hardest not to touch the bedspread as I shoved it off the bed.  Sleep came for awhile until around 2:30 am when I awoke to what had to be at least 30 twentysomethings screaming at the top of their lungs, blasting music out of their rooms, playing hackeysack in the parking lot and running up and down the cement hall.  This lasted for, I’d say, two hours.  I’ve really never seen anything like it.  I stared out my broken vertical blinds at the scene.  Doors were all open with folks sitting in the doorways, people were out and about talking and yelling, and everyone had at least one beer in their hand.  The place had really come alive.  I tried to go back to sleep and I must have, but I woke up at seven (six Wisco time), remembered the ants and packed up as quickly as I ever have.  I pretty much ran out the door, but was quickly stopped in my tracks by a totally freaky looking cat staring right at me.  I let out a pretty quiet scream and thought about what to do.  It started coming towards me.  I backed away.  It was standing between me and the stairs I needed to use to escape from the ants and the backed up toilet.  It walked towards the stairs.  I followed.  By this time I had told myself, “Kate, it’s a cat.  You are much bigger and somewhat brighter and just get out of here!”  So, I approached it as it guarded the stairs.  It arched its back and its gaze was now fierce.  I ran the other way, finding stairs on the other end of the motel.  I reached my car, threw my stuff in, drove off to the front desk, basically threw the key at the guy standing in the doorway, and didn’t stop until I hit Indiana. 

Well, not entirely true.  I got a coffee at a Shell station somewhere in western Michigan.  But, when I did make it home to Madison, I threw everything in the suitcase into the wash.  Everything except my toothbrush, which I threw in the garbage.  Ew!

Bienvenidos a la playa

I’m not sure that’s right.  Is that right?  Although I consistently maintain that Spanish is a simpler language to learn than, say, French or Italian, I do concede that I do not have it quite mastereed.  Nevertheless, I do write this post with waves crashing in my ears and the sounds of Spanish lingering around me.  I’m in Puerto Rico!  Our adventure started early — and I mean early — when my aunt Terry picked me up from my warm and cozy slumber at 3:40 am.  Puppy was not happy with the hour.  We got to Chicago by some crazy hour and spent lots of time in this so-called “Red Carpet Club!”  How the other half live — comfortable chairs, real CNN and bananas!  It was amazing.  From there, we boarded a flight to San Juan, via St. Thomas.  Who knew?  Again, God (in the body of my aunt) was smiling on me because I sat in first class.  A veritable dream come true.  I had a cheese omelet for breakfast and tons and tons of water!  It was divine.   I was slightly intimidated by the Chicago mobster seated next to me, but he really just snored so there wasn’t much to worry about.

I thought the thing I would be most excited about here is the greenery and the warmth and the blue of the ocean, but I think it’s really the humidity.  It’s so humid!  My fingernails may actually grow and I might save a couple of bucks not having to don a quart of lotion a day.  It’s really amazing what a couple of miles can do.

Also, I had a way delicious mai tai and some scrumptious brie.  I know that most of us think brie when we think Puerto Rico, but I admit this had not occurred to me.  Yum!

UPDATE: Cuidado al sol, indeed.  Or whatever Kristin said.  I should have read her advice before hitting the beach today as I am sunburned.  And when I say sunburned I mean, well, sunburned.  Oops.