what I'm working on...

This quarter of classes, I have an adorable mini BOOk...

I also have this lovely project I'll be working on for the month of November; a November daily by the talented Katherine McElvain

Perhaps I'll be really on top of things and finish my December daily from 2010 so I can start one for 2011 : )

birthdays can be fun afterall

I was lucky enough to get a birdhouse (yes, a birdhouse!) for my birthday. It's vintage-y looking, and I love it! Just have to decide which room it will go in, and if I want to attempt to spray it white...(I wanted to title this post "make a little birdhouse in your soul", I know my dear friend Katherine would've appreciated that

; ) Cal came into my bedroom very early the next morning (not having seen me open the present) and asked excitedly, "Are we getting a bird??" Um, no.

I also have a lovely watch on my wrist for the first time in ???? I am excited that when I want to know what time it is, or when someone asks me for the time, I can simply glance at my wrist instead of fumbling for my cell phone.

Thanks Mom, Dad, and Maria for great birthday presents!!

Speaking of birthdays, a certain little someone will be two in less than two weeks. Time DOES fly.

I also spent a chunk of my evening looking for AWESOME & unique birthday party ideas for a certain little someone who will be 7 on the 7th of January...thinking a princess themed party with friends might be in order!! Not sure I want to attempt it on my own. It'd be so much easier to just go somewhere, but cheaper to stay home and make tutus : )

Door County--photo loaded post!

Instead of taking a big trip, we opted for a smaller getaway over my birthday. Perhaps in winter we will have the chance to go somewhere warmer and for longer. Door County was the perfect little place for a quick last minute break. It's only a 3 hours drive from Milwaukee. If you are one who loves fall and you haven't been there, you must!! While we went a bit after peak time (leaves changing colors) it was still nice and there was still some color. There's several state parks for hiking; we liked Peninsula State Park the best. Mike made fun of me for taking SO many pictures, but I love fall so much!! And I'm still having fun learning tricks with my camera. There are numerous tours you can take; we did a lighthouse tour and a haunted Door County tour (they also have a wine tasting, haunted pub tour, and a culinary tour, to name a few). It's been dubbed the Cape Cod of the Midwest. There's lots of yummy dining choices, too. We loved Trio, Trattoria del Santo, and The White Gull Inn. There are NO chain restaurants or hotels (except in Sturgeon Bay, in very southern Door County). There are several famous celebs who visit Door County--Kevin Costner apparently loves it, even tried to buy a private island there (but zoning restrictions prohibited him from building the large house he wanted) so he instead built in Minoqua. There are several athletes that visit or own properties up there. Lombardi loved a golf course up there. I highly recommend you visit--with lots of shops, cute towns like Sister Bay, Fish Creek, & Ephraim, parks, lakefront, and apple and cherry orchards galore--you won't be disappointed!!

We stopped in Green Bay for lunch at Curly's Pub in Lambeau Field. Great appetizers, meal not so great.

Lambeau Field!!

On our hike through Peninsula State Park.

One of many orchards/wineries in the area.

Happy birthday to me, celebrating with a piece tiramisu

On the ghost tour we went to the supposedly haunted Thorpe House...look at the left side of the photo...ghostly apparition or not?!?! I know the whole photo is blurry, but plenty of people on our tour were fascinated by this photo I took while we were in one of the rooms.

We stopped by this little place for ice cream. Even though it was really rather chilly out.

At one of several lighthouses.

Another lighthouse.

A butterfly I caught a pic of while we were walking.

At the top of one of the lighthouses.

Another lighthouse. I love lighthouses.

Inside one of the lighthouses...pretty much left the way it had been from WAY back when. See the stick-like thing toward the footboard of the bed?? They would turn it and it would tighten the ropes of the bed, and this is where the phrase, "Sleep tight!" came from. Learn something new every day!!

On one of our hikes.

The fallen leaves...so pretty!

winning

I was lucky enough to get asked by a friend to tag along to game 5 Brewers vs. Diamondbacks. We were in the Air Tran zone (directly behind Corey Hart!). One of the clinics/companies she works for supplies physical trainers/therapists for the Brewers (my friend is a Nurse Practitioner). I must confess I felt a wee bit like a dud since I was hanging with a bunch of docs, N.P.'s, and other highly educated peeps.

Buffet, free drinks, and a WIN. It. Was. AWESOME.

creativity part 2

This is the destination album I made to use for Colorado way back when for a class I taught. I definitely have to do pre-made albums more often. It was fun to make the stuff "fit" and to add stuff & pages! I pretty much finished day one (have to type up some journaling)...and probably fit 100+ more pictures. Not sure how that will work. May have to reprint some pics wallet sized! Don't mind the glare on the photos...Walgreens accidentally printed glossy finish for me. Grrrrrr. I didn't want to reprint or wait for new photos.