Life in Denim and Flip Flops

Until I get them all done, I'll leave you with this. A pic of the 3 of us on a bus back to Amelia's after a wonderful dinner of sushi (for the girls/Frank) and Thai (for me) and ice cream. :)

Yay! Amy is here for the weekend. I'm so excited. We had a blast in Galena today. There was much shopping. Ok, more window shopping than shopping. :) There was also dinner and a movie in Dubuque. I forgot how much I love Ashton Kutcher. Now we're reading trivia questions and watching Gilmore Girls: 3 episodes from 3 different seasons! Tomorrow's plan includes coffee, cooking store, and the Calico Bean Market. Amy will be picking out her birthday present. I couldn't decide which bundt pan to buy her, so I'm making her pick out her own. I am a bit crazy like that. Fun times!

We're going back in time a little. I edited this video on the train on Saturday, but didn't have reliable internet/the time to upload it until tonight. So here's day 1 of our trip. The amount of video trails off in Boston, so you'll probably just get the Philly stuff. Photos soon too!

Today was another packed day. We saw Independence Hall (where the Declaration and Constitution were written and signed), the US Mint (where they make coin money), and the National Constitution Center. I loved the Constitution Center. I am such a geek for political history like that. First we got to see a presentation called "Freedom Rising." It was a combo of a live actor, video, pictures and sound in a round theatre. Very cool. Gretchen and I both got goosebumps, and not from yesterday's sunburn! Then you got to tour through a fabulous exhibit about the constitution and why it matters and how it was created and how it's been challenged. I think we spent at least an hour and a half to two hours in that exhibit alone. I learned I wouldn't have been able to vote in Wisconsin until 1919 (just before the 19th Amendment), we almost called the President his "elected Highness," and Alexander Hamiliton was only 30 when he signed the Declaration and was a bit of ...

Inevitably throughout the day you're bound to come up with a few questions you don't know the answers to. It's at times like those that I wish I had a Blackberry/iPhone. Here are a few of the questions that I could have answered today if I'd had one. Instead Gretchen and I had to remember the questions all day so we could look them up when we finally got back to the hotel (and my laptop) about 7pm. Who did the Twins played June 10? (Kansas City Royals) What was the name of the art installation of game board pieces in front of the municipal building? (It's Your Move) What name is Ned short for? (Edward or Edmund) What is Manet's first name? (Édouard) Where is the closest pharmacy that isn't actually just a pharmacy? (Market and 8th) Which Christ Church (Philly or Boston) is it in National Treasure? (Neither, it's Trinity Church in NYC) We had a fabulous day today. The Big Bus Tour was a great way to get around the city. We saw the Liberty Bell, Phi...

Gretchen and I are here! After a long day of transportation we're finally here and settled in. We made it to the hotel by about 4:15 local time. We decided to beat the dinner rush (really we were starving having not had time to eat lunch in Chicago) and wandered down to Chinatown. Great idea! Chicken Pad Thai hit the spot. Then after a little wandering and dessert, we came back to the hotel to look at options for tomorrow. I think we'll head out to the Fine Art museum, the Liberty Bell, Franklin Institute and maybe the Aquarium across the river in Camden if we can get tickets :) We've already scoped out lunch and dinner places too. I've taken some video so far. I'll probably edit that together when I get back. Or if we tire ourselves out tomorrow again I might get to it tomorrow night!

Yep, that's what I went to the store for today. Popsicles and caffeine. I had quite the headache, and it was getting bloody hot in here. (Also, I've been watching Doctor Who today. Sorry about the British-isms.) The weather is warm and stuffy again. And I was out of popsicles. Well, and food. But the popsicles was certainly a more pressing concern. After sleeping poorly last night due to the police pulling someone over on my street at 2am and their lights flashing keeping me up and the thunderstorm whose ridiculously loud booms woke me up too early, I was so not in the mood to battle the heat with a caffeine deficiency caused headache without the aid of popsicles. I solved that problem and now am feeling much better. Here's to hoping I get a night of no police or storms cause I've got lots to do tomorrow to get ready for my trip. Which has been tentatively titled "Cheesesteaks and a side of beans" by a co-worker on facebook. Well, that or something ending in...

I can't believe it's been 2 years since I started this job. They have flown by.  Sometimes it feels like I've been here forever, but I really just think that it's that I'm comfortable here. I love my job. I adore my coworkers. I'm really starting to become a Dubuquer. I'll never be an official Dubuquer. You have to have grandparents buried in the graveyards here for that. (So my imaginary grandchildren still have a shot.) No, you know you've become a Dubuquer when you start describing where things are by what used to be there. I heard it every once in a while in Madison, but EVERYONE does it here. Including myself. I did it a few weeks ago during break, and I got the knowing look from everyone before I could catch myself! In honor of being here for 2 years, I thought I'd look back and comment on some of my original observations about the city that I posted in my blog. *I moved to Dubuque just a week before I started my job, so close enough. ;) The...

Someday I will actually post a Things I Love Thursday on a Thursday. I promise :) It's been a bit of a cranky week for me. Not entirely sure what my problem was. Lack of sleep, general crankiness, computer problems all probably contributed to it. At any rate, by today I was in a better mood. And by next week I should be golden. the promise of a vacation- Gretchen and I are heading out east next Wednesday morning. I'm so excited. This is the first real vacation I've taken since heading to the UK/Ireland last spring. I'm stoked. We'll have a few days in Philly and a few in Boston. A whole week off of work will be really nice. new bread recipes- I tried brioche and a new cheese bread combo this week. Both turned out well despite looking rather odd. The brioche dough looked like soup when I mixed it up. And looked like slightly less like soup after the chill. But it baked up beautifully. I sort of winged the cheese bread recipe this time. I didn't have enough w...

Numberss/Ordinals in the title: 10 Things I Hate About You 13 Going on 30 27 Dresses How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days The Last Castle The Last Kiss Ocean's 11 People in the title: Akeelah and the Bee Bend it Like Beckham Bruce Almighty Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Juno Mulan Penelope Wall-E Places in the title: Elizabethtown Finding Neverland Gangs of New York Pirates of the Caribbean Pleasantville Under the Tuscan Sun Most represented females: Mandy Moore: Saved, Chasing Liberty, Walk to Remember Keira Knightly: Pirates of the Caribbean 1 and 2, Bend It Like Beckham Most represented males: Johnny Depp- Finding Neverland, Pirates 1 and 2, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory James Marsden- 27 Dresses, X-Men, Hairspray, Enchanted Shortest title: Up 1-word titles: 16 Longest: How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days Owned the longest: A Knight's Talke Owned the shortest: 27 Dresses Number of animated movies: 4 1/2-Finding Nemo, Mulan, Up, and Wall-E...

Yeah, I had every intention of writing this Thursday. And then...I didn't. Sorry. But here's your list 2 days late. watching/talking Doctor Who- I do adore this show. Every weekend I look forward to finding a copy of the new episode online somewhere. Last week I learned my lesson, I need to keep away from Twitter until I watch it. I follow too many UK kids and Doctor Who fans! I realize here in the states it's a bit of niche market. I love the show, but it's so much better when you've got someone to discuss it with :) going to the Brewers game- We went for my dad's birthday last weekend. What a blast! We got to see Corey Hart hit a grand slam home run. And then at his next at bat? He jacked another home run! What a fabulous night. Our seats we out in right field, and were pretty damn awesome. Stadium food, fun game, and family time. :) listening to the rain- It's been raining off and on all week here. Being able to prop open the window and listen to it ra...

I love online personality quizzes. The more random the better. I was totally stoked when I saw that Amy had posted the Color Career Counselor quiz . After reading her results, I was surprised at how accurate they seemed to be. Especially since all she had to do was a 2-minute quiz about picking colors. So I went and took the test. Holy crap was it accurate. It pegged me as a creator and a social manager . I put the screen shots below. Pretty much me to a T! And they got this all from the fact that I like teal and don't so much like looking at orange. Who knew?? You should go take it and then post your results on Amy's post . Part of why we both like it is how there isn't any way to cheat it towards what you think you should be. :)