A Perplexing Situation

Oh boy..do I have a hum-dinger for you. Even though I'm only in my 2nd week of class I think I'm doing fairly well at keeping my head above water. I've got a good grasp of alkanes, alkenes and alkynes in Chemistry....I'm following the cardiac chapter in Anatomy..and the concept of vectors in Physics isn't too bad - But there is one thing that qualifies as a big ol' head scratcher in my book.

Maybe you all can help me out. Or not. Whatever. Just enjoy the story, ok?

Last week, on my 2nd day of class, I arrived at my Chemistry class a bit early. I walked into the lecture hall that can hold....oh...say...100+ students. At the time there were 2 other people in the room - one way in the back and the other off to the right somewhere.

So anyway, I walk down to the 2nd row and take a seat. Since I had some time to kill I started going over my notes. In an attempt to get more comfortable, I put my feet up on the seat in front of me. Not so much on the BACK of the seat, rather on TOP of the seat so that my little toesies were hanging over the edge. Can you picture that? Yes? Good.

After about 5 minutes I hear another student walk in the lecture hall. Let me reiterate this again - this specific lecture hall can hold over 100 students...ONE HUNDRED students. Not 20, Not 50 - ONE HUNDRED.

And please remember, at the time, there are 3 people, including me, in this room. So, mathematically, about 3% of the seats are occupied...which leaves 97% empty.

This girl slowly walks to the front of the room...slowly makes her way across the first row.....scans for a seat....and conveniently chooses the one directly in front of me - you know - the seat I have my feet on. Apparently the 15 seats to the right and the 25 seats to the left just weren't dog-gone good enough.

Naturally, I had to pull my feet down lest I wanted her back crushing my toes. But I'm not gonna lie...part of me wanted to hold out. I wanted to keep me feet up there and jab her back for a few minutes. You know - to point out how unbelievably obnoxious her seating choice was.

But seriously..this case asks the classic question of WTFrech!? Am I right..or am I right?

Such a mystery. ::sigh:: The world will never know.

Another Installment of Miscellaneous Monday

Three days too late...but, whoa! Michael Jackson died! I know we've all been bombarded with the MJ news but I can't help and say a few words about this. Now that I'm back in class [more on that later], I was a tad bit late in hearing the latest developments. After logging onto facebook, I couldn't believe the vast amount of status updates pertaining to this. First off, I had no idea Farrah Fawcett had passed earlier that day so that was saddening enough, but when I saw all these freak outs about Michael Jackson, I couldn't help but log onto CNN, MSNBC, Perez Hilton and TMZ at lightening speed. At the time, his death wasn't confirmed but come on..who didn't know that annoucement wasn't around the corner? So, I sat there watching CNN live and witnessed the confirmation. That was some sad stuff...

I come from the camp that Michael Jackson belonged to the looney farm. And I'm not convinced of his acquittal from the child molestation case either. Let's call a spade a spade, people...he was weird. However despite his inner demons and scandals, during the following hours of news coverage, I just sat their amazed at how unbelievably talented he was. I could not stop watching all the clips of him performing. My favorite was when he busted out the moonwalk for the first time while performing Billie Jean [Jim's favorite MJ song, by the way]. Wow. I seriously can't stop watching it. People probably dedicate a ton of bucks and time with a dance instructor to gain moves Michael was born with.

His music was utterly fantastic as well. On Friday morning as I drove to class, every radio statio was playing his songs and I was forced to listen to ones that I wouldn't have given the time of day to before [ie. "Man in the Mirror"]. I'm now ashamed to say that I'm one of those people who downloaded MJ tunes and my playlist has grown from 5 or 6 songs to probably 20. Yes, I have broadened my horizons beyond "Thriller" :)

I don't agree with the way he lived. I don't agree with his endless plastic surgeries or his wacky obsession with childhood. I most definitely don't come anywhere close to agreeing with his Jehovah Witness beliefs or his apparent drug dependence. While some people might be quick to judge and point fingers at his many disgraces, I can't help but be a little sad that he didn't take the time to resovle these issues and find peace. I think one of the hardest things to watch is his performances with the Jackson 5. His innocence and smile is both heartwarming and gut wrenching, especially since we all now know his final fate. But man, oh man...could he dance and sing! Anyone who denies this is...is...is just plain blind and deaf. I guess what I'm trying to say is, I'm choosing to focus on his talent and the fantastic music and performances he gave to the world rather the scandals and weirdness. It's a shame the entertainment world lost such a talented and innovative performer. To say that he paved the way for future artists is quite the understatement.

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After 6 luxurious weeks off, I finally headed back to class this past week. Those of you who live in Wisconsin know the slow start to summer we had, so it wasn't shocking to me to see our first 90 degree temps at the end of my break. I could sit and whine about it but let's be real...I could either be sitting in a stinky, drafty, sun deprived office for 8 hours a day or I could read my Anatomy book while sitting in the sun between classes. I choose the latter.

Regardless, this semester might be a tad rough. I'm taking close to the same workload as I did during the spring semester. But this time, instead of doing it in 16 weeks, I'm forced to cram it all into 8. There's pros and cons to this. It's going to be tortorous working at lightening speeds [2 Chemistry labs in one week...ugh...my own personal hell] but it is only 8 weeks. As my mother-in-law put it - "You can do ANYTHING painful in 8 weeks. There is an end in sight." That's my mantra during my 2.5 hour Anatomy lecture on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Plus, I can't help but think my professors are hating this as well. On Friday, my Chemistry prof informed us we are officially 12.5% done with this semester already. My kind of teacher!

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Last night Jim and I took a spontaneous trip down to Summerfest. Jim has been dying to see this band who I really could care less about and he had plans to head down there with his brother. Well, yesterday afternoon, Jim still hadn't heard from Joe to confirm their plans and I could tell he was a bit disappointed, so I offered to go down with him in the event Joe bailed. Shortly thereafter Jim got a phone call nixing their plans and I would be lying if I said I wasn't bummed to have to sit through an hour of hard rock music. About an hour before we left it started raining and there was a part of me hoping Jim would cancel..but of course he didn't.

My mood changed though while we were driving down to the grounds. Jim told me he was kind of hoping Joe would bail after I offered to go the concert with him. He said he would much rather spend the night with me :) The night turned out to be quite enjoyable if I do say so myself. And I actually ended up digging the band! Who knew?!

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There aren't too many more updates on my part. I have another photoshoot to post soon. I had the joy of photographing a 3 month old. So freakin' cute. But now I must work on my physics lab write up. It's due on Tuesday but my Mondays are dedicated to The Bachlorette.

Have a great Monday!

Boys will be Boys || Mr. M

I love love love outdoor photoshoots. I understand that as a wannabe photographer, I should learn how to utilize windows for indoor sessions but for now I can easily say being outdoors is my fave. You get to run around, change scenery and let kids be kids.

We had to reschedule this shoot due to the crummy Wisconsin weather we've been having. And I'm so glad we did - Friday was just gorgeous, darlin!

So, check out this cutie patootie!





It was a bit windy but I can't help loving his hair in this one :)







And of course we ended with a family portrait. Cute family, huh??



This may have been my best shoot to date. I had tons of favorites and yet again, learned some more new editing tricks. There's always something to learn in photography :)

Sneak Peak || Mr. M

Yet again...had to post my instant fave!



Boys will be boys, I suppose :)

More pics are on the way.

From the Vault || Then and Now Family Style

I've always wanted to do "then and now" pictures but I really didn't have the time to go through really really old photographs. You know, like the ones you have to actually scan. However, the chance recently presented itself when we put together my grandma's slideshow. Now I have a plethora of great photos just waiting to be displayed.

Let's start with grams and I. Here we are THEN - 1981, the year of my birth, no doubt. Chubby and all.


Another THEN - maybe my 2nd or 3rd birthday?


And NOW - my wedding rehearsal dinner.


And my wonderful, wacky, "can't live without them" cousins. I think the three of us together would make a great reality TV show. We're all creeping up in our 20's, homeowners, and for the most part employed full time [with the exception of moi!] and yet we drop a decade or two in age when we get together. I love love love them!

THEN - clearly a birthday party. Becky's on the top. I'm below her and Sarah's to the right. My cousin Eric's in there as well. My favorite part of this picture? His bandaid!



NOW - At Sarah's wedding rehearsal last September.



NOW - At Grandma's party


And of course, here's proof of our maturity level. This was taken less than 3 years ago near the end of my dad's wedding reception. Can you guess what it is?



I took the liberty of pushing Becky around in my grandma's walker - all over the banquet room. You may think it was rude, but I can assure this was pure entertainment for my entire family - including grams. What can I say? We're a weird clan :)

Grandma's 80th Hoopla

May 29th was a huge celebration for my family. My grandma [dad's mom] turned 80 and we decided to throw her a surprise birthday party. This was a major cause to party it up...you see, my granny has survived 2 bouts of breast cancer, a heart attack, 2 hip replacements and a knee replacement. You think that would slow her down? No way, no how. She's still the most active 80 year old I know. This lady painted her entire downstairs within the past year, moves her refrigerator by herself to clean behind it and stands on her kitchen counter to wash her windows [which makes me entirely too nervous]. She's sharp as a whip, knows all the latest news and loves her family with all of her heart. If anyone deserved the party of the century, it was her!

My cousins, aunts and I have been putting our heads together for the past few months and I think we succeeded in giving her the surprise of her life. I have to admit...considering it was an 80th birthday party, it was a blast! Then again, any time my family gets together, it's a guaranteed good ol' time.

On that Friday, I decided to throw my grandma off by calling her and wishing her a happy birthday. I played it cool by asking if she had any plans and also making it sound like it was just another day for Jim and I. I hung up the phone giggling my butt off while Jim just rolled his eyes. Why I get a kick out of that, I'm not sure, but I do!

Anyway, Jim and I had the task of picking up my grandma's friends since none of them drive anymore. I thought it was going to be a bit awkward spending over 20 minutes with these old ladies but I tell ya - they were a hoot! One of her friends bought my grandma a bottle of wine which was called "Sweet B*tch". Jim and I were cracking up all the way to the restaurant. I'm beginning to realize old people rock....which further cements my decision to pursue physical therapy!

So, how did the surprise begin? Well, my aunt made plans to take my grandma out for dinner. My grandma really thought it was going to be a small gathering so imagine her surprise when a limo pulled up to her door. As if that wasn't shocking enough, when the limo door opened, all 4 of her children greeted her with a flower.

Is anyone else tearing up over this? Cause I am.

Back at the restaurant Jim and I took the liberty of watching for the limo. We were standing outside waiting and we felt pretty confident that we could spot such a ginormous car. Wrong! Thank goodness my aunt decided to come outside for a minute because she spotted the limo when it was merely 10 feet away from us. Driver dude decided to take the back roads so while we were looking south...the limo secretly pulled in from the north. We all booked it as fast as we could and since we were behind some cars, my grandma completely missed us.

I haven't been part of many surprise parties, but I can confidently say my grandma's reaction was priceless. Do you think she was shocked?


She cried all night...and the whole next day...and the day after that. No lie. She was majorly touched.

It was a simple but fun gathering. We mingled, drank and ate dinner. While we were all waiting for our main course, we played the slide show which my cousins and I put together. My family LOVES to reminisce because that baby was played twice over the course of the evening. After cake, my grandma opened her gifts.

80 one dollar bills, ya'll!



Someone's going to Potowatomi!



Thank you for all of your input regarding the "grandchildren" picture. This is the one we decided on. My cousin Sarah got it mounted on a canvas and it looked great!



She absolutely loved it!

Here are some more pictures from the evening.



[Can you believe we are going to be married for 3 years this summer?!?!]



Putting her slide show together was such a treat. I don't know about you but looking at old pictures is just amazing. It's so strange to look at photos of my grandma and realize she was once my age!

Because I'm not going to show the entire slide show, here are some of my faves that made the cut.

I believe this is my grandma and grandpa on their wedding day! Doesn't he look like Leonardo DiCaprio?!?!



Sunbathing...is that what they called it back then?



Here she is with all of her children. My dad's the little boy on the right looking down. Too too weird!



A more recent one....me and grams on my big day.



Finally, I undertook the job of fixing up my grandma's high school graduation picture. It got damaged throughout the years and needed to be fixed. At first I was intimidated by this task but I'm happy with the results. Grandma was shocked as well. We had this blown up to an 8x10 and framed right next to her cake.



So, all in all, it was such a fun night. My aunt thanked my cousins and I left and right afterwards and asked how on earth we put on a wedding for 200+ guests. We thought the planning was unbelievably easy...no sweat off of our brow. But I tell ya...even if it was the hardest task in the world, I'd do it again in a heartbeat. The joy of giving my grandma such an amazing night would be totally worth it. I love her to pieces.

How Could I Forget?

Of course he took me for a spin.



Picture courtesy of Elizabeth Kay :)