My Guilty Pleasure

Its true, Im in love with Jerseylicious! This show is too trashy for words, but yep I LOVE IT! 

TWC

Mike and I were invited to see TOO WHITE CREW, a cover band for the friggen best tribute to old school hip hop music. Our friends Jon and Kelly had seen these guys at Taste of Madsion and fell in love. Needless to say, so did we. From the booty shakin' contest with a girl in (picture it) a pink leotard and heart shaped sunglasses and the BIGGEST butt for shakin ever,  (where the heck was my camera when I needed it!)
 to the best lineup of music. I think I spent half the night watching the awesome fly girls shake it as well but
thanks Jon and Kelly for telling us about this band, we had an awesome time. So awesome, I dont remember my ride home! :)   NICE!

Living life to the fullest... and the love that follows it.

I am struggling with a title for this post due to the circumstances, but as I type, I hope to find something that enunciates the feeling that I have for this situation... 




As everyone who reads this blog knows that I am hell bent on getting my BSN degree and become the best Registered Nurse that I can be.

In fact, last week Mike and I were sitting on the couch and were talking about our busy summer coming up with the Beyond the Booth events we have on the books and we got to the subject of school. I instantly started to cry... it was one of those cries when you feel like your SUPER overwhelmed with daily life activities, i.e. school, work, Beyond the Booth, cleaning etc.

As Mike asked why I was so emotional, I couldnt help but reflect my tears towards an exam that I had got a D on. A 'D' does not sit well in this stomach of mine, so I guess thats why it came out in tear form. Well, my "D" got bumped up via extra credit and I feel better about this situation but the tears that initially started all this were followed by my personal reflection of how MUCH I want to be an RN and the intense passion that I have towards my goal. Its something that I have wanted so bad for the longest time and the chance that I get to strive for my passion is so exhilarating!

My ever changing department of choice has changed about 10 times. First, it was Urology based, due to my many many years of experience, then I was obsessed with the ER, then OR. Now... I cant wait for my clinical rotation on the birthing floors and the neonatal intensive care unit. I work in the NICU currently and thats where this obsession started, so we'll see if this changes but I seriously dont think so. Im in love!

Today, however was another tear filled day and my passion for nursing went up x100! My boss had asked me to come in early and help out since the census and STATS were out of control. I got to the hosp. and grabbed my PDA (used to see what patient needs a blood draw and where).

I noticed that I recognized a name and she was in the Intensive Care Unit. I immediently went up to the department and sure enough, it was who I thought. As I walked into the room, my heart broke into about 110 peices. It was my dearest friend's auntie. My friend's family  surrounded  the bed, tears flowing from their eyes made me cry immediently. They had told me that she had been battling breast cancer and her treatments werent 'taking' anymore due to metastasis to her liver.
As I hugged them all, it was evident that it would only be a matter of minutes that she would be will us. As we stood around the bed, watching the monitor, it was at that moment that all you could do was reflect on what an amazing life this woman had lived and how many people she touched.

Her love for fancy recipe's and wine were her pleasures. She also worked as an advocate for the AIDS foundation in Washington D.C and traveled the world, as well as making a difference in the lives of people in Africa living with AIDS.

My favorite story about this amazing woman is the time when she had been working  in Africa, flew home for her nephew's wedding (my dear friend's brother) took a cab from Madison to Elkhart Lake, came for the ceremony and dinner, took a cab back to Madison and flew back to Africa.  The thought that she put towards others was selfless and thats how she lived her life.
I cant say enough about what I had witnessed today, and the emotions that Im overwhelmed with right now but I do know that she is, without a doubt, having the biggest glass of wine right now, knowing that she fought her battle with cancer to the end.... Just the way she wanted. :)



With this experience, I know that this solidifies my career choice.

( Love you Rose. You will be greatly missed.)

CHALK FULL!!!

I am the first to admit that this blog has been on the back burner... my last post was about pre-geriatric shoes on Dec 20th... and that post was pushing my creativity side of this brain of mine. I mean really... shoes??? and the best part is that I was totally obsessed with them and I still have yet to buy a pair. :) 

However...
I AM BACK! and i have a ton to blog about.  I will preface by saying that it is totally and completly random... no order what-so-ever! 

First... I thought since this is a fresh post, I will try to strum up a fresh background and I wont lie, Im really not a fan of this current one, but I loved the blue and orange together. The cheesy flower can go as well as the hearts, but the name is great; "A Day at the Beach."  How cute is that?  And for all who wonder why I never have a purple background (ya know, I have a giant obsession w/ the color, hence the name) but there is NEVER any cute ones out there. So, if that was just eating at you, now you know! ha ha :)

So, where to begin...

We finally got our new appliances. They are great, just a tad harder to keep a gas stove clean vs. the cooktop, but for all who dont have gas stoves and are inspiring Ina Garten wannabee's, they are fantastic!!!  I took a couple of pics but they are really really really blown out from the flash, but you'll get the idea.

Ive also been on a mission to find stuff for our wall around the house as well. I picked up these cuties at Shopko of all places. They are above our headboard and look super cute.

I also wanted to get some type of 'saying' that has that adhesive that you can cling on the any wall, but they are packaged in the worst way ever and look like a pain to adhere, so I decided that I was going to make my own.  Im a bit bias, but I think they turned out cute. :)

I also was on the hunt for a monogram "H" to put somewhere around the house, and long story short my friend Kelly invited me over for a post-stress wine night and she had a "K" that was absolutly adorable!  Of course, I HAD to get one similiar, and Kohls had this cutie for $6.99!

and this lonley(dying) tulip is just too cute not to add to the "around the house" portion of this post.

and last but not least I FINALLY found something I like for above the staircase heading downstairs!  

Moving right along, Mike and I were invited to a Bday party for his freinds/fraternity brothers this past Sat. They are identical twins and one (with glasses) works at a HOT club downtown Milwaukee called Apartment 720 and they had about 200 people invited to this parrrrtaaayyyy. We took up all of the VIP area and not to mention Nate's (in glasses) boss buys him a rediculous bottle of champagne every year and a little bird told me (his twin) that this bad boy is $2800!!!!!!!!!! WHAAAAT!!!!  I know right??  Anyways, you can tell what kind of night we had by the crazy pics! Happy Bday Jarrod and Nate! Cant wait til next year! ( the pic below is was posted on Apt 720's website for the celebration. Funny huh?) oh, and the very last pic is Mike post party. Couldnt resist! :)

the real Jay and Nate below

and of course... post champagne (ha ha)

Following this crazy night was my cousin-in-law's baby shower and let me just tell you that she is so adorable you guys!

Arent these the cutest ever?

As you can see it has been a busy couple of weeks with all of the above and school and work but now I can cross the "Need to update blog" off my list to do! YAY!  (Crossing it off is the best part!)

FootLoose

So Im officially old... I was with a friend shopping a couple weeks ago and I could NOT stop looking in the shoe department. Coming from a 'always wearing heels' gal to ballet flats through me for a loop at first, but now Im totally into these bad boys.  Now before you judge, let me remind you that I walk EVERYWHERE in the hospital that I work in, and have great shoes for that. (Danskos below)

 However, I have had it with uncomfortable totally trendy heels that make my feet hurt after 2.5secs for everyday wear, ESPECIALLY while doing Beyond the Booth events... that is the WORST!   So, im obsessed with finding the perfect shoe that is cute and equally comfortable. As you know, or dont, these two things dont mix usually except for these!!

and these...

They are 'Clarks' brand and insanly comfortable! So readers, this means that I am going to be sportin' these PLUS some open-toed dandys soon! (Stay Tuned)

Weddings, Weddings, Weddings!!

Its here!!!  The annual Wedding Planner and Guide Show!  We are super excited to be a part of the show for the 2nd year. 

B-O-R-I-N-G

Im at a loss of topics to talk about this week... WEIRD HUH??    So I thought I would post about fun trip to Minneapolis.

 Mike has agents that he works with in the Twin Cities and he invited me to ride up with him and meet up with old friends while he wasnt in meetings. The trip started out with us leaving Sun Prairie about an hour early (thank you low census) and arriving around 1:30pm.  Mike was a tad hesitant to invite me along thinking that I would be bored. He couldnt have been more wrong... I had the best day to myself ever!  
First of all, I will preface by saying that I friggen love having 'alone days,'  its not that I dont love Mike to death but there is just something to be said about having a WHOLE day to do whatever, whenever and of course wherever.

With that being said, Mike left for his first meeting around 9am, at that time I still was relaxing in bed. (I never sleep that late) Then, I went up to the health club in the hotel and ran on the treadmill for only 20mins. (Better than nothing right?) I was too excited to check out the shopping etc... I  got back to the room and took the most relaxing bath. I had brought stuff to give myself a moisturizing facial, new razor to shave the hairiest legs on Earth (gross huh.... ahhh whatever) and tons of magazines. It was perfect!  Then, I got ready and decided sinceI didnt have a timeline that I would try something different with my hair. After about 35 trys, I said "screw it" and just parted it on the opposite side that I normally do and I was adorable. Its so funny how something so little can give you a little boost.
At around noon, I was finally ready to leave the room. I decided instead of taking the car around the downtown area I would check out the area around the hotel (Radisson Plaza)  IT WAS AWESOME! Since I have never really been downtown Minneapolis before I had no idea that everything was accessible via a skywalk. Im talking a two story Target, Gap, Macys, Saks Outlet, the hotel, Panera Bread and a million other places!  

While I was out and about I had only ONE destination. I have a freind from H.S that designs handbags. Not just boring, run-of -the-mill handbags but gorgeous NY runway handbags!!!!( Seriously, they are featured in NYC boutiques) Im obsessed with them! They are called NELLE handbags. My freind, Laura Nelli, the designer had these beaut's at an Aveda salon called Juut.  I was on a mission to find her display and let me tell you... the display was beautiful! She has such an amazing talent you guys! Check her out  here .  So, long story short this salon was about 2.5 secs away from our hotel, which was absolutly perfect! While I was at Juut I decided to get a manicure.... ahhhhhhhhh relaxing again.
After my hour of pampering, I went to Macys and got Mike a new shirt and tie. Guess what color????  You got it... PURPLE! Its friggen HOT!  I love it when guys where fun, upbeat colors besides the classic grey, white, blue, white/blue, etc...   Then I headed to the two story Target. This place was rediculous! I love Target but this one makes "Super Target" look small. I rummaged around there for about 45mins and decided that I needed a little pick me up and since Starbucks is located inside. HA! The line for this place was insane. I swear about  30 people were in line to get their mid afternoon pick me up as well.  I decided that Panera Bread probably wouldnt be as crowded and I was right!  It was great, I walked in, and just the smell of the brewed coffee/baked goods madee me warm n' fuzzy inside. I decided to sit and relax in one of the comfy couch style chairs and enjoy my cup o' goodness.
  I am telling you, Panera is another great place to people watch. I sat for about 20 mins and listened to everybodys business and thought to myself "I am so lucky to have today off."  
After my cup of joe I headed back to the hotel and on the way back I saw a sign for Rock Bottom Brewery. I know there is a location in Milwaukee and thought hmmmmmmmmm maybe Mike will want to go here for a beer later.  When I got to the room, I turned on the computer (free WiFi) and lurked FB/blogs til Mike got in.
From there we went to Mall of America and that place is INSANE!  4 Victorias Secrets... really??? Give me a break!  I exchanged some things and we were out of there. Seen one mall you've seen em' all!  
On the way back I mention Rock Bottom to Mike and he was pumped for the microbrews so we ate and had a couple beers and discussed our weight loss challenge. (Stay tuned) It was great food too. I ordered the Halibut stirfry with extra veggies and Mike had a burger.  After dinner we walked back to the hotel and decided that we should have an 'after dinner cocktail' so we stopped in the hotel bar and had one more drink and Ive gotta say... that was the BEST ending to the relaxing day to myself.   Short story long...(ha ha) I heart Minneapolis.  I dont know if I would live there but certainly a GREAT city to visit!

Thanks honey for having clients in that city! I had a blast!