Barb Goes Kayaking

I made my kayaking debut on Sunday.

We hauled the kayaks all the way home and then to the Eau Claire River.



When people ask me what kind of kayaks we bought I am quick to reply, "A red kayak and an orange kayak."


The orange kayak is mine. It has many must-have features including a cup holder.



Brad is a kayaking natural. Seriously. Give the man a fishing pole and some water and a paddle and he is in paradise.


Turns out my skills weren't too shabby either. I will admit that we did a "boring" stretch of the river with only one set of pretty tiny rapids, but it must still be said that I rocked the kayaking.


There was some fishing by Brad and Loren (his step dad). Ugly fish award goes to Loren for this adorable muskeye.


There was lots of paddling and fishing, but it wasn't all work. There was some play.



And there were some beverages.



Here we are right after the rapids. . . .


And, no trip is complete without a self-portrait.


And. . . here's how I'm spending tonight. It was a rough day back at work, and no matter how hard I tried to channel the inner-peace left-over from kayaking I was still beyond stressed.

Around here.

I haven't made anything in ages. I've got plenty of supplies around and lots of great pictures, but I just don't feel like actually making anything. I need to do something about that.


We bought kayaks on Sunday. There aren't many things that Brad and I actually both like doing. We're hoping that kayaking will become something we can do together. I bought some shoes to match mine. We're headed out on the river in Eau Claire on Sunday.


Natalie and Katelyn planted me a spider plant as a graduation gift. I'm notoriously terrible at taking care of plants. (I've heard that means I'm not a very nurturing person.) Hopefully, I can change my ways with this special plant.


I have a new favorite: iced caramel macchiato. Delish.

Hello, It's May

I turned around and all of a sudden. . . out of nowhere. . . May!
How in the world did that happen?
And, to top it all off - today I realized that May is half finished.

I'll sum it up in pictures.

May 1: Another calendar
I have this great calendar in my office (gift from Em) that I don't think I've taken a single picture of all year. Welcome to May.


May 2: Cupcakes in Minneapolis
In Minneapolis for the pre-conference of the International Reading Association annual conference. Had a long enough lunch break to catch a taxi to have cupcakes (and sandwiches) for lunch. The taxi ride was a real adventure! Luckily, my traveling companion was a great sport about the whole thing.


May 3: IRA Conference
Two days of listening to research about reading. Brilliant but exhausting.


May 4: Tired. Really tired.
Lots of driving and late nights and learning over the weekend made for a really painful Monday morning.


May 5: I feel appreciated.
Teacher Appreciation Week. Was showered with personalized goodies.


May 6: Rotten left-overs.
No food. Haven't grocery shopped in weeks. Have been eating out of the freezer - which is now empty. The fridge has a few drops of milk and some way-too-old to eat lasagna.


May 7: Strange details
Wore these lovelies to the NKOTB concert. Not much else to photograph today.


May 8: Grandma's buttons
Bought cards for Mother's Day today - they won't be there in time. But, the whole the whole thing made me really miss my grandma. Spent some time admiring the giant box of buttons I have from her. Wasn't quite the same as a conversation or making something together.


May 9: God-Mother's Day
Long, crummy day at class followed by a date with the Little Man. He has very sophisticated taste. We ate at Nakashima.


May 10: Katelyn is Two
Celebrated her special day and Mother's Day with a trip to the zoo.


May 11: Not much to say
Went home sick. Flu-like symptoms meant I needed to stay home both Monday afternoon and Tuesday just in case I was a victim of the swine flu.


May 12: Katelyn's a Momma
We got Katelyn her very own baby as a birthday gift - no more sharing with Natalie.


May 13: Wine
Email is brilliant! Turned in a paper from the comfort of my own home instead of driving to Madison tonight.


May 14: Chores
Nothing has gotten done around our house for a very long time. No grocery shopping. No cleaning. Brad finally broke down and mowed the lawn, so the neighbors didn't report us for neglect. What I should have caught in pictures, though, was tonight's Grey's. Totally brilliant and completely devastating all at the same time. Katrina kept me company with witty text messages.


May 16: Graduation
Decided not to go to graduation but celebrated with Brad, my parents, and Angie and Mike instead. Mom and I shopped the day away, which was captured in pictures. We all shared a great dinner, which was not captured in pictures.

Wednesday Dinner

I eat dinner at Panera every Wednesday. It's on the way to class. There's free wireless. I can do homework.

Tonight, though, I'm not doing any homework. I'm people watching.

There's a table across from me where two women appear to be opening Christmas gifts. The lady on the left side of the booth hands gifts to the woman on the right side of the booth. Right Side Lady opens them. Neither of them seem excited or surprised. At one point they went outside to spread out a quilt that was inside one of the boxes. I have no idea exactly what the gifts are for. It's very curious.

At the table next to me a girl about my age is eating with someone who can only be her grandmother. She just got engaged. They're talking about the wedding. The grandma asked me to take a picture of them to remember the day by. The girl was clearly embarrassed. I had to resist the urge to remind her to hug her grandma.

There's a guy on the other side of me. He's eating all by himself--sandwich and salad with a bag of chips. He's not reading or using the computer or anything. He's just sitting there eating. I've never been able to do that before. As much as I love eating I need to occupy myself with something else while I'm doing it.

Just another Wednesday night. . . .

My toes are angry.

My adorably polished toes are feeling very angry. They could only come out and play on Friday and Saturday because it's been raining / snowing ever since.

(I sure wish there was a good word for the rain / snow combo. The meteorologist keeps saying "wintery mix." I think it needs to be a combo word, though. Snain, perhaps?)

This little bit of mail-love yesterday couldn't end my grouchiness.


A cut-and-color today (along with a caramel latte and lots of great television and celebrity gossip with my stylist) didn't even do the trick.


So, Mother Nature. . . my toes and I are pleading with you to make the snain stop and bring out the sun.

Today is a sad, sad day

It's the end of Spring Break, my friends.

I'm always a little sad on normal Sundays because I know I have to go back to work the next day.

Today is extra sad, though, because I've had a whole week off. And, it's even more sad if I stop and think about what I did over spring break. . . lots and lots of work for grad school and two classes.

Here's a re-cap.

Friday:
Brewer's home-opener. Couldn't be there in person, but could enjoy some beers and burgers with friends.



Saturday:
A visit to the Little Man. Seriously. This kid is a-m-a-z-i-n-g. If babies came with a Just-Like-Luke guarantee I'm pretty sure I'd be forced to have one. He's smart and funny and always smiling. One of these visits I'm going to be forced to toss him in my purse and take him home as my very own.


Sunday:
A visit with the fabulous Miss Mirielle and her parents and a stay at the HoJo and a visit with its proprietor. I'm so happy for Em and Justin. Miri is perfect in every way! She (unlike Luke) would probably actually fit in my purse. Better watch out, Em. I might steal her away.



Monday:
Brad thought it would be fun to go to a Brewer's game. It was. Until it started raining and snowing all at the same time right as we were trying to tailgate. I ended up sitting in the car with the bag of BBQ chips. I did pass a few through the cracked window to Brad.


Tuesday:
Lunch at P.F. Chang's - Brad's first time. Too bad the food wasn't real great - the company was, though. :)


Wednesday:
What I wish I was reading instead of what I actually spent the day (and a good part of the night) reading.



Thursday:
Work. All day. Aspiring Administrators seminar followed by finishing my portfolio (due at midnight and pictured below). I did watch Southland, though.



Friday:
Fun day! Pedicure and lunch with Stephanie (Panera finally opened!) and shopping with Natalie. Little Miss needed a very special outfit in which to celebrate her fourth birthday. She had her heart set on a flowered dress and decided she absolutely needed purple sandals to go with it.


Saturday:
70 today! And I was in class. Memphis sure loved the sunshine, though.


Sunday:
Grocery store (quick stop at Penzey's). Laundry. Natalie's birthday celebration.



Off to bed. Must be well-rested for tomorrow's big return to work.

Randomness

Random Thing 1:
Why do I prefer cheeseburgers to salad? Seriously. Is this some kind of a genetic disposition? I have really never found myself thinking, "Gee, I'd love a great big salad." But, I do find myself thinking, "Yum. A big cheeseburger." I've even tried to think about nothing but cheeseburgers while forcing myself to eat a salad. It doesn't make it taste any better.

Random Thing 2:
The kiddos are taking a field trip tomorrow to the YMCA. Apparently, several of the children have been black-listed at the YMCA; their pictures are hanging at the counter, and they are not allowed in. How does one get on the YMCA blacklist? I'm just saying, there's no way I could work-out if I was on the blacklist. It would be the ultimate excuse.

Random Thing 3:
I haven't really seen Brad at a time when we weren't both asleep since Monday. I sort of miss him. It's so strange to live in the same house with someone but to be on such different schedules.

Random Thing 4:
Angie and I need to do a photo shoot sometime soon. A good picture of us together simply does not exist. Every time a promising opportunity presents itself, someone busts out a camera. But, each one seems to be a little stranger than the one before. My hair? Out of control. And, who knew that wearing a scarf would make me look like I weigh about 400 pounds. Someone really should have told me.



Random Thing 5:
I had "The Right Stuff" last night. I was "Hangin' Tough." It's possible I was even doing a little "Dirty Dancing." I may have been dolled up enough to be a "Cover Girl." Sigh. I continue to be amazed that even after all these years the Boys from Beantown are still so stinkin' cute.

Welcome to the World, Mirielle

I made a new friend today.
Her name is Mirielle.
I plan to spoil her and cuddle her and watch her grow up.










Congratulations to Emily and Justin.
I am so very lucky to have both of you as friends.
I so enjoyed watching you as parents today.
I'm confident that Mirielle will grow up to be a beautiful person.