Here are photos from this weekend. It was such an amazing weekend full of lots of laughter, drinks, food, and photos. Mr. Scottie B. and I spent lots of time together, went to church, and saw a movie ("Our Idiot Brother"). We ate at an Irish Pub with friends, played darts, and got told by a police officer that we could not walk on the train tracks. Sorry for the lack of links and information. I am ready to be off this computer! I hope everyone's weekend was as incredible as mine.

Random Thoughts, Links, and Stuff

Just wanted to share a few links, thoughts, and such.

First is this awesome piece of street art in Madison (I usually pass it to and from work).

I've been listening to this song and this song on repeat for like a week.

And if you haven't watch THIS music video yet, you're missing out!

And I'm going to be honest with you guys... I've never actually been to a yoga class. I've done a few videos and when I was working out at the mixed martial arts studio in Boise it was incorporated into workouts. BUT never a straight up class. Tonight, I went.

I've talked about before that my gym is Gold's Gym. And they offer a few different classes. So when I went in today I talked to one of the friendly girlies at the front desk area. She encouraged me to go to any of them. She said I didn't need to bring anything and I wouldn't feel out of place. So there was a 5:15 yoga class. I ran a few miles and then went to the class. AND...it was awesome. I felt challenged and it was so good to really stretch again. I am stoked to go again. I'm thinking that depending on the times I may do an early morning yoga class and then run/strength training/normal workout after work. There is actually a few different classes I wanna try out! YAY.

One of my fave bloggers Elsie of A Beautiful Mess is starting to introduce the Autumn 2011 Collection for her store Red Velvet. Two dress in and I'm dying to get my hands on them already. On top of that, she's been featuring them in a "Three Ways to Wear It" feature to...well to show the different ways the dress(es) can be worn. SO great.

I'm trying to get motivated to muster the courage to get a tattoo. I have quite a strong fear of the pain of it all. I'm not too frightened by the idea that it's permanent. I'm okay with that. I'm just scared of the pain. I do think I'll do something small before my bigger ideas. But I'm LOVING this tattoo. Mr. Scottie B. if you're reading this, I LOVE THIS. So I've been looking at tattoos and reading stories and such to get inspiration and motivation.

(This is obviously not me and I apologize for the graphic nature of this photo, but this tattoo is SO lovely)

Another thought is that earlier today I found myself really annoyed with something silly. I won't share what it was, but let me tell you...it was ridiculous. After realizing that feeling the way I was feeling was so silly I said a quick prayer and asked God to help me keep things in perspective. So just a reminder to everyone to remember to let little things go and to always step back to look at things (big and small).

And lastly I wanted to share a blog real quick. Taking Two is the blog ran by a mom of two adopted boys from Ethiopia. She's actually taking a break from blogging but their story is worth reading (that's what the link will take you to). Adoption is something I feel called to do someday. And reading a few different blog moms who have or are adopting has given me more insight. It's been inspiring (I feel like I've used that word a lot this post). I applaud and admire those families who have adopted or fostered kids. I'd love to someday have the opportunity to do the same. But for now we'll have to wait and see what God has in store for me!

Back from another weekend with Mr. Scottie B. I picked up Mr. SB and friends in Kenosha and we made our way to Milwaukee for Rock the Lakes. The event was "a community-wide outreach event for youth and young families, featuring some of the most popular Christian bands and multiple presentations of the Gospel by Franklin Graham." (taken from their website). It was awesome. I also met Mr. SB's Aunt and Uncle (who were involved in the event) and that was fun.

The next day we drove back to Milwaukee and had lunch with his Aunt and Uncle. They are so nice and I enjoyed meeting them. We explored Milwaukee after lunch, which we haven't really done yet. We went to Comet Cafe for a drink and snack/cupcake. Then we walked around some more and ended up at Taylors! What a great name for a bar, am I right? :) We spent too long exploring and ended up not going back to Rock the Lakes. But overall it was such a great weekend!

And a quick review...

I'm pretty sure I mentioned in a previous post that I really hate bugs. Well Rock the Lakes was at the park right on the lake. I figured that by evening there would be quite a few mosquitoes and I did not want to get eaten alive (dramatic, I know). I also did not want to smell all gross like normal bug spray, so I bought Burt's Bees Herbal Insect Repellent. It smelled pretty good and I did not have one mosquito bite after applying it (I did get two before putting some on). It's a product that I would not hesitate to recommend as an alternative to products that use deet.

Ballet and Cupcakes

So yesterday my mom extended the invitation to attend Ethan's ballet "recital". My sister-in-law is super great about getting Ethan involved in all sorts of activities. I think the ballet class was great for him. Parents are only allowed to watch the first and last class and yesterday was the last. So Adam, Rachel, Mom, Christi, Jaxson, and I went to watch.

It was super cute. And for those who are thinking "the only boy in ballet?". My nephew is very much a boy still. First of all, he's quite the ladies man. Always hugging the girls. Also, when it was his turn to... (for lack of a better term) freestyle. He stomped around all sorts of boy style. So don't you worry. Plus, fuck you guys thinking that. Boys can do ballet, cheer, gymnastics, and anything else.

So I'm dying to make Mr. Scottie B.'s class cupcakes (or treats). Here's my dilemma. Let's go ahead and say I bake the cupcakes Friday afternoon or Saturday morning. Then I see Mr. SB and deliver the treats. BUT he's not going to take them to class till Monday (or Tuesday).

So my concern is that the cupcakes will not be good by then, just not taste well. And if I do homemade frosting it will have dairy in it and will need to be refrigerated. So a few thoughts are I could send the frosting and Mr. SB can store it in a fridge and frost them himself but I was looking forward to decorating them. Or I could use store bought frosting but I really don't wanna have to do that :( Anybody have any ideas?

For now I'm trying out recipes. Last night I made these Strawberry Cupcakes. A few things I did differently. The recipe calls for the strawberries to be pureed in a food processor. But since I don't have one I just used a little bullet/blender (worked just fine). Also, didn't have whole milk... used whatever I had. And I used salted butter so I did not add salt. And to avoid the cupcakes being TOO sweet I did not add strawberries to the frosting.

The verdict was... delicious. I really liked the texture/consistency of the cupcake. But I do find that homemade cupcakes taste similar to muffins vs. the normal VERY sweet boxed mixes. I think next time I will try using cake flour, maybe that will help. hm. I think I want to try a few different recipes before I decide on what I'll bake for the class.

To the moon and back

Once again I fell behind with posting. It's hard to be motivated to get back onto a computer after work since I'm sitting in front of a computer all day. BUT I do like to update whoever is reading with photos and stories. So here it is!

This last Saturday actually started with a trip to Devil's Lake. But a quick story about my adventure with Mr. Scottie B. On Saturday I drove down to the base. Mr. SB and I just enjoyed each others company for the afternoon. Then we got ready and went into Chicago. Our night started (and ended) in Wrigleyville. We went to Slugger's Bar. Which we thought was a dueling piano bar but upon entering it was just a bar. I did do a little more research and it is a dueling piano bar, check out their website for the info. So we danced a little and had a few drinks. We decided to head downtown to meet up with a friend. But soon after a stop for a slice of pizza discovered Mr. SB's wallet was missing.

After searching for a while we determined it was officially lost. Which was extra sad because I had placed my license and debit card in his wallet also (so I wouldn't have to take my purse). So that was a mess but it seems as though we both have pretty much everything taken care of, we're just waiting on debit cards.

Even with the unfortunate loss of the wallet, it was another incredible and interesting trip :)

As I said the fam went to Devil's Lake on Saturday morning. It was Mom, Dad, Adam, Ethan, Jaxson, and me. The day was a little overcast but still a lot of fun. I forgot to mention the pups came with. Molly (the yellow lab) stayed in the water pretty much the whole time. She's kind of a terrible swimmer, which just meant it was entertaining haha. Dallas (the border collie) normally hates water but ventured in a few times. We were all very surprised.

The fam packed a lunch (I headed to the base). If you live in the Madison area this is definitely a place to visit. No boats allowed, pets in some areas, tons of shade, picnic tables, and the water is so clear. You can rent canoes, there are two different shores, and quite a few paths. Perfect for a family afternoon (or morning).

   Molly and Dallas

   Dallas and Molly circa June 2009. Crazy how big Molly is now!
 

   Of course my nephew found the biggest stick on the beach
 

So Sunday afternoon we all headed to watch Ethan play soccer. Watching three year olds play soccer is awesome. Ethan struggles with actually playing (at least while Mom, Dad, and I am there). Jaxson happily sat in his wagon and had a few snacks.

And finally I went out last night and hung out with Adriana. I hadn't seen her in a while and we got to see our friend Mike who is living in New York (again). It was a fun night full of lots of laughs.

So I am finally catching up on photos and such. Last weekend Mr. SB came to Madison and we went to the Mallards game again. As usual we didn't pay a whole lot of attention to the game and in the middle Mr. SB and I walked over to the store. It was still fun. Afterwards we drove back to base and we spent the weekend around base and such. I failed at taking photos that weekend. I only caught these few.

This past weekend I drove down to Chicago on Saturday for 'just the day'. So I met up with Mr. Scottie B. and friends. We headed to Thai Uptown for food. It was a BYOB restaurant. I had never been to one before, it was awesome. So when we finished eating Mr. Scottie B. had a surprise for me. Now let me tell you, I hate surprises. So we jumped in a cab (which we never do) and we ended up at this little store. So we walk in and I'm still confused at why we're here and we walk over to this cuff bracelet. AHHH. A while back I tweeted that someone should buy it for me (found via this blog) and...sigh. Look blogreaders, my bf is so awesome. The cuff has an old map of Chicago on it. If you didn't know already, I love Chicago. And this city means a lot to me and it's where Mr. SB and I have spent a lot of time together. AMAZING.

So we met everyone back at the Tattoo Factory. Marissa got her belly button pierced and John got tattooed (sorry John, none of the photos I took came out well). We left John since it was going to be a while. We bought some more wine and the boys got cigars. Then we sat at the Navy Pier. I taught Marissa how to do a cartwheel and the day was also filled with lots of dancing. As usual, it was wonderful.

As expected I stayed on base and did not drive home. The next day Mr. Scottie B. and I went to church in the morning. We grabbed some lunch and went to Lake County Forest Preserve. So here's another confession, I HATE BUGS. I'm sure Mr. SB was so annoyed with me because I pretty much just complained the whole time that I was being eaten alive my bugs. I was right, I have like a million mosquito bites. But I was semi-tough and stuck around longer than I expected myself to.

We saw Crazy Stupid Love after our picnic. And then...I went home. I don't think either of us anticipated spending all weekend together, but I'm glad I did (I'm going to assume he was too). And I'm glad I got to see his mustache one last time because as of today, it's gone (for now). So here are photos from this weekend!