CAMERA PRACTICE 2

Just a little playin' around with my camera. Like I said before, pretty much just pictures of flowers and E. I need to find some new subjects. Wait... pretty sure I will never get sick of photographing her. never ever. :)

WE HAVE OUR FAMILY PICTURES TONIGHT!!!! YIPPEEEE! And I think I actually know what we are going to wear. That is such a battle, anyone agree?! You not only have to figure out what you are wearing, but the whole family and try to make it mesh well, but not be too matchy matchy. I will post the pictures when we get them back! So excited! I love family pics!

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT... OR AT LEAST MAKES YOU BETTER

Last Sunday I was a mess. I was just all sorts of out of it. I think I was tired b/c I worked both Friday and Saturday, our house was a mess, we had no food and my anxiety was through the roof. (I know, I know... first world problems. poor me.)

I do have some anxiety issues. It doesn't effect me much these days, but on Sunday it was through the roof. I had almost chalked it up to be a complete disaster of a day until 6pm, when we decided to pack up Ellis, the stroller, my camera and dinner and head down to the Willy Street neighborhoods (downtown) to take a walk. I am in love with that area of Madison. It just makes me happy. I love all of the old houses on the lake and how all the people are actually outside enjoying what is left of summer. I love how the trees canopy over the streets and how it always smells of a BBQ. There was a yoga class going on at a park and it was one of those things that makes my heart smile. I long to be a hippie living on Jennifer Street. :) We walked, talked, I took some pictures with my camera, and we stopped at a park and ate dinner and played with Ellis. It was a pretty perfect ending to a super crappy day.

I love photography. I am not sure how a creative soul couldn't love it. Photography is really such art. I stalk about a million photography blogs and would love to get better at taking pictures myself.  I know the only way that is going to happen is if I practice. what a concept, right? Practice makes perfect... or at least makes you better. :) I have thought about doing the whole 365 project where you take a picture a day, but there is no way I would be able to take an interesting picture every day. I would have a whole ton of pictures of my one year old, with food all over her face, in crappy lighting, in my kitchen.

Anyways, I have vowed to practice taking pictures with my camera once a week and I will probably post them on here. So get ready for a bunch of amateur pictures of flowers and E. Here are a few from our Willy Street walk.

NORA & PAT'S CANOEING ADVENTURE

As many of you know my good friend, Nora, is getting married this month and I have the honor of being her Top Maid. (aka - Maid of Honor... no, wait.... MATRON of Honor. Yes, that makes me sound very old. Let's just go with Top Maid ;)

Nora and Pat requested a joint bachelorette/bachelor party of canoeing down the Wisconsin River and camping on a sandbar. So no, not your typical high-heel wearing, panty-line, bar hoping, penis decorated, cab ride home kind of night. That kind of night wouldn't have been very 'Nora' and it most definitely wouldn't have been very 'Pat.' ;)

It took some planning, researching, and learning how to read a map, but all in all it was a FANTASTIC day of celebrating Nora and Pat. It was a 23-mile canoe trip down the Wisconsin River with about 30 people.  The plans were to camp on a sandbar half way, but b/c the river was so high, we couldn't find a suitable sandbar until we had canoed about 19 miles. eeeek! Let's just say we had some ladies with sore arms at the end of day one.

Here are some pictures from our canoeing adventure, followed by a few tips for the rookie canoe-trip-planner. I guess it is just a list of what I would have liked to know before I started planning.

representing ;)

YES! She is making hummus, avocado, sprout and roasted red pepper sandwiches for all of us! I about died I was so excited!

The Bride & Groom

Not sure what is going on here

It was pretty beautiful that next morning. Too bad I felt like death! UGG!

WHAT TO BRING:

Each person needs to bring:
- A tent
- Sleeping bag INSIDE A TRASH BAG in case anyone tips
- Bug spray
- Swim suit... duh!
- Something to cover up - the sun will cook you 
- Long sleeves and pants for night
- Sun screen
- A hat (if you want one)
- Sunglasses
- Some sort of cup to keep your drink cold - like one of these or a koozie
- A cooler with whatever you want to drink - beer, hard alcohol, whatever floats your boat... or canoe. ;) 
  Just remember - NO GLASS on the river - buy cans
- Snacks and food to eat for breakfast on the next day (we only organized dinner on day one)
- Toilet paper
- A plastic ziplock bag for your phone, wallet, camera, etc.
- Water shoes (nice, but not a necessity)
- Extra garbage bags for your trash - you need to carry out all of your trash
- Drinking water - the recommended amount is 2 gallons per person

One person needs to bring:
- Firewood, lighter fluid, lighter, and s'more fixin's of course!
- A small grill (if you decide to grill for dinner)

Things I wish we would have known:
- We were given the recommendation on putting our sleeping bags in a garbage bags, but I wish we would have put EVERYTHING in a garbage bag.  Even though we didn't tip, water still gets the the canoe from rowing and all of Logan's clothes and most of mine got soaked.
- If you have a group as large as 30, make sure you have a canoe dedicated to being the HEAD of the group and one canoe dedicated to being the TAIL.  We kept losing people because they kept thinking they were behind everyone when they were really ahead of everyone. It made it hard to stop and hang out all together when we wanted to take a break or to all decided on the camping location.
- This one comes from personal experience - If you are going to use a clip-on bug shield, do NOT shut yourself in your tent with it running and forget to open up the windows. I am pretty sure I killed a few brain cells and it was the cause of my puking sessions. Or was that the vodka? Maybe it was both. Either way, learn from my mistake and don't do it.

The canoe rental company we used:
Blackhawk River Runs
They were so helpful! I called them several times with questions and they even sent me a hand written letter about the trip with a map! 

The trip we took:
23 miles down the Wisconsin River
Started in Mazomanie - ended in Spring Green
They will pick you and your canoe up and shuttle you back to your car

How we organized dinner:
I had the groomsmen take care of bringing the grill, meat, buns, condiments, plates, napkins and eating utensils and each of the bridesmaids made a side - fruit, pasta salad, chips and dip, etc.

Cost:
$60 a canoe (2 people to a canoe - $30 per person)
I had one person buy all of the alcohol and each person pitched in $20.  You can do that or just have everyone bring their own. If you are going to buy a barrel, bring a back up tapper.

Ok, I think that is all my canoe-trip-planning knowledge summed up in one every long blog post.  It really was a great time! I hope this helps if anyone decides to plan a trip!

MIXED TAPE MONDAY - RUNNING MIX VOL 1

Is it really Monday? Can I pleeeeease just have one more day to recoup from yet another crazy busy, jam-packed, without a moment to relax weekend? Not sure who I am asking this question to. Is there someone I can talk to who is in charge of handing out bonus weekend days????

Anyways, people often ask me if I always eat healthy? HECK NO! I eat healthy a good 85-90ish precent on the time. I like (by like I mean love) my chocolate and truly believe throwing back a few beers (or vodka sodas w/ lime) every once in a while belongs in the "healthy" category... at least for your mental health. I guess I improved my mental health this weekend. ;)

I do have to admit, after a night out, it feels so, SO good to get back into my weekly workout routine. It somewhat throws me off and I do not quite feel "right" again until I hit the gym.  Here is what I will be listening to as a get my butt back into gear this Monday morning.  Enjoy!



And just to prove today is going to be fabulous....

Oh, and a few shots from of our weekend wedding fun! Congrats Brian and Theresa!

BALANCE

Logan and I are more than guilty of getting caught up in the rat race of life. We could be at work for hours, the house could be cleaner, the lawn needs mowing, food needs to be made, my freelance projects are never ending, and there could always be more money in the bank. Sometimes we get so caught up in getting things checked off our 'to do' lists that we forget to just slow down and have a little fun.  Life is all about balance and we need a little less work and a little more fun in our lives. This past weekend we took a little time out from our 'to dos' and had a little fun. On Friday I took Ellis and my Mom to the horse barn to meet Nora's horse, Sunny. Then on Saturday Logan had a bachelor party and I went hiking at Devil's Lake with some friends. On Sunday we took a long walk downtown around the Willy Street neighborhoods and then had some friends over for burgers and homemade pizza. It was a nice change of pace.

Besides meeting Sunny the horse, she also got to meet a llama and a donkey. She called them all "puppy". Sunny was very sweet and let Ellis stick her finger up his big horsey nose. :)

I was a little nervous about taking Ellis hiking without Logan b/c I didn't know if I could carry her on my back the entire time and I didn't really want anyone else carrying her. If he came, I knew we could switch her back and forth. Turns out our baby hiking pack rocks and I had no problem at all!  It puts all the weight on your hips instead of your back/shoulders. I LOVE it!  AND Ellis was a perfect angel! She loved it and actually fell asleep in the pack for the last 15 minutes or so.  We hiked for about an hour and then had a picnic.  I had a wonderful day with some great friends!

I think my favorite part of the entire weekend was walking around the Willy Street neighborhoods. I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to live there by the lake.  It always makes me so happy.  All the cute little houses that are actually different from one another (not cookie cutters like where we live) and people are outside playing music and just enjoying life.  The trees canopy over the streets and it just makes my heart smile. Someday maybe... someday....
(back in the pack Ellis went!)