Monthly-ish Updates :)

OCTOBER 2006

Check out Hunter's Halloween costumes :)

So, today is Halloween. Just passed out 4 bags of candy to the neighborhood kids.. they came in swarms this year! Even had to shut off the lights before 8pm. Not too much new going on with me. Congrats to my friends Jessica and Todd who just were married on Oct. 21 with the best Maid of Honor ever :) That's right!  Have a super spooky night!

*** JULY 2006 UPDATE ***

It's been a while since I last updated this website.. but I thought Chelsea deserved some kind of little memorial. She was so loved and loved and protected her family for the past 18 years.

On the work front, things are going well. I've been keeping busy the past month which has been wonderful. Have a few projects that are going on now, so things are going well.

Hunter is doing great. 1 1/2 yrs old in June and still quite the curious and energetic pup that I've grown to love over the past year. I can't belive it's been a year since I adopted him! Oh how the time flies.

Last weekend I went skydiving!  It had been almost 7 years since my last jump which was up in Omro. This time a group of friends and I went down to Skydive Chicago and I did my first tandem jump. It was awesome. We jumped from 13,500 ft. Had a minute of freefall at 130mph and I successully pulled my parachute at 5,500 ft and landed my instructor and I safe and sound :) Got to do some fun turns and tight spirals. It was quite a rush. The freefall was my favorite part, since I only had about 5 sec of freefall during my last jump - since it was a static line jump - and I don't really remember any of it. There was no 'falling' feeling, which was wonderful, just felt like you were flying through the air. So freeing!! I highly recommend it to anyone, just maybe not on a summer weekend - it was quite busy. But was interesting to see all the avid-skydivers getting ready and practicing their group formations.

Coming up I'm headed to Milwaukee for a girl's weekend on the 29th. Then Aug is full of some bridal showers for Jessica and a Van Eyck mini-family reunion. Followed by the bachelorette party in Sept which I'm starting to plan, it'll be fabulous :) of course! Then the wedding in October.

Plus, Packer training camp starts soon!!! and then it's preseason!! and then it's regular season!! Don't you just love football?!!!

But, in the meantime, I'm watching my Braves.. they struggled early in the season, but things have been looking up this month as we're 8-2 in the past 10 games. We're closing the gap on a wildcard spot.. but the 15th division title looks a  little out of reach (we're currently in second, 12 games behind the Mets, with only 60 games to go.. ) We'll have to wait and see what happens.

*** FEBRUARY 2006 UPDATE ***

Well, it's Super Bowl Sunday!! Steelers vs Seahawks. I think I'm leaning towards the Steelers.. Just have been a long time Cowher fan and am getting sick of the Seattle talk.. so we'll see what happens.

On Monday I'm heading down to Jensen Beach, Florida for a week with the family. I'm definitly looking forward for a nice break from work and spending some time in the sun.. Then on the 18th, I'm supporting special olympics and Freezin' for a Reason as I plunge into Lake Monona for the 4th time! So far we've got a team of 4 people - the Fabulous Frozen Techies :) If you'd like to support us check out my pledge page

I also only have 35 more days till leaving for the Dominican Republic, which I am absolutely thrilled about. I believe this year is going to be the best trip yet. I'm traveling with my friends Lisa and Dana, new traveling partners, but fabulous women so I just can't wait!  Paradise never looked so good!  We'll be staying at the Jack Tar by Occidental - an adults only, all-inclusive resort that I stayed at a few years ago. It was wonderful :)

Hunter is doing pretty well. As expected, the curious puppy in him leads to some irritations on my part, but I love him to death and enjoy watching him play every day. He's a regular at daycare and has made quite a few new friends. We'll see how he handles time at the kennel when I'm in Florida and the Dominican.

Work is.. work. Some days have been slower than other, some have been quite stressful. I'm in the middle of projects at the moment, a bit of a lull which I'm still adjusting too.. It's definitely nice having Lisa at work with me, always a friendly face who understands how stress and stupid people affect me, so she never overreacts and is a great calming influence on me :)

*** SEPTEMBER 2005 UPDATE ***

I've got my Spring trip planned :) Lisa, Dana and I are headed to Puerto Plata, Dominican Rep for a fabulous week of single gal fun in the sun! I am soooo excited. Paradise never looked so good! We're at 167 days and counting! :) We'll be staying at the Jack Tar by Occidental - an adults only, all-inclusive resort that I stayed at a few years ago. It was wonderful :)

Football season has finally started, though the Packers are off to a very very bad start. Things aren't looking too good at the moment, but we can only hope things will get better - after all, we are still only 1 game out of first in the division :) Yes, that is sad.  On another front, the Badgers are doing awesome :) and look to help Barry leave coaching with a bang!

Hunter is doing awesome. He's such a sweetie, I absolutely adore him :) He's fully house trained now and has been trying to take over the bed at night, but usually I can get at least a few hours of the bed to myself before he jumps in and curls up next to me. He's my life and I don't know how I lasted so long without him.

Work is going well. Things have been pretty busy/hectic lately. I have 3 large projects all pending production dates within the same week.. So I'm doing a bit of a balancing act and hopefully don't piss off too many people in the process. I try to keep the smile on my face, but sometimes it's hard.

*** JULY 2005 UPDATE ***

Grandma Lois passed away at the end of June, so the start of July was very tough on the whole family. It was a bit unexpected, but after a 6month struggle from her stroke, it was her time.  Now she's in a pain-free place, back with Grandpa Bill and all others who have gone on before her.

On a more upbeat note, Hunter was able to meet his new cousin Niki (pics to come) a 12 week old dalmation/lab/spaniel mix who is completely adorable. They love playing together and had a blast wearing each other out.  More pictures of Hunter have been posted - check out his webpage.  Not too much else is going on for us. Country USA was a blast.  After many days on the road, Hunter and I are settling into a schedule back in Madison. He just turned 7months on 7/12/05. He passed his first physical with flying colors and we're planning to start some training classes in a few weeks.  Hope you all are having a great summer! 

*** JUNE 2005 UPDATE ***

The big news for June ... I'm getting a dog!!! :)

His name is Hunter. He's a 6mo old beagle/black lab mix - beagle body w/lab head and soooo cute :) I'm very excited to add him to the family! I'm adopting him on June 18th.  Pictures of Hunter are on the Pets page

I also am excited for Country USA 2005. It starts on Wed June 22 and goes till Sunday June 26.

*** APRIL 2005 UPDATE ***

The big news for the April is... I'm buying a house!!!! :)

Yep, I finally got sick of renting and am going to become a homeowner. I found a wonderful house on the West Side :) It's only a year and 1/2 old and has a nice yard, deck and 2 car garage. I close on April 15th. Had the home inspection and didn't find any problems - as expected :) Here are some pics of the house - outside and inside. I got a bit carried away, but can you blame me? It's my first house!! :)

The big move is planned for April 30. The new phone number will be effective April 18.