Bastille Days 2010

Thursday marked the start of Bastille Days in Easttown Milwaukee.

I went with my friend Becky on Friday to spend some time with her, see the Eiffel Tower, and enjoy some good music and food.

It was a wonderful morning.  

We heard a guy by the name of Ryan McIntyre play music at a stage there.

He is incredibly talented.

So much so that I bought his CD at the end of the set.

I love experiencing everything that Milwaukee has to offer over the summer.

There is always something to do, see, and attend near the lake.

Hopefully I'll get more opportunities to spend time with friends and enjoy all that Milwaukee has to offer.  :)

View of downtown from sitting on the curb under the Eiffel Tower.

A super cute ladybug cookie that came in a goodie bag at Bastille Days.

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Blackout

There were thunderstorms in Milwaukee today.

It was sunny and bright...then dark and pouring.

Lightning and Thunder and sideways rain.

Our power went out at about 3pm until 7:30pm.

In that time of darkness, I was able to take a nap and appreciate

some of the things I normally take for granted.

Such as:  lights, clocks, noise in general, a refrigerator and freezer, microwave, and other cooking appliances, a full-battery cell phone, and air conditioning.

Granted, I can live without all these things, but in the moments of silence and dark, I came to appreciate what I do have in my life.

God is good.  All the time.  

Regardless of the circumstances, God always has my best interest at heart.  I'm so excited to see where He takes me in life and pray that I will always praise Him in every situation.  

With or without power...with or without a plan...I know that God is in control of everything in my life and I have no reason to fear the unknown.

I pray that someday, if not today, you come to know the amazing love and mercy that God desires to lavish on you; and the awesome power He has over our entire existence.  You will never be alone or abandoned by God.  Unlike our earthly friends and family, God will never let you down or stop loving you.  Isn't that an amazing concept?

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Girl's Night

My Tuesday consisted of some wonderful (and not-so-wonderful) moments.

I started my day by preparing my final exam project for my summer class.  This is the last week of class and our group had to present on our client in front of everyone today.  Our made up client, Jessica, had alcohol dependence and borderline personality disorder.  As a group, we had to diagnose, assess, treat, and follow-up with Jessica from start to finish of our interaction with her in our hypothetical agency.  I feel like the presentation went well, but it certainly wasn't "fun".

I then went to BW3s (Buffalo Wild Wings) with Liz and Amanda to get 45 cent wings.

My first 6 wings had Honey BBQ sauce and the second 6 wings had Asian Zing sauce.

They were delicious with chive potato wedges, celery, and blue cheese.  :)

After dinner, us girls went to Target - where I made an impulse purse purchase - and we decided to see the New Moon Saga- Eclipse.

I'm not sure about any of you, but I read all 4 of the books in less than 3 weeks...during exam week of my Junior year of college.  I fell in love with the series.  It was the first time I really enjoyed reading a series of books.  I never read Harry Potter or the Lord of the Rings, so I was surprised to find out that I really liked the books.  Anyways, the movie was really wonderful-true to the books and visually interesting.  So, if you are contemplating seeing it, I would highly recommend it.

This Tuesday turned out to be a great day...busy, but great.  I loved seeing the girls again and going spontaneously to the movie.  What a way to "start" the week (since I had yesterday off).  Hope you are having a wonderful week too!

Liz and Amanda in the theater.  Notice: Amanda is eating her leftover BW3s wings.  

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Fireworks

Lisa and I got back from up North around 3pm today and then I headed, with my parents, to my Aunt Catherine and Uncle Brian's house to celebrate the 4th of July with them.  

I love being with my family.  My adorable 2nd cousin, Sienna, is so precious.  She's 4 years old and loves to play with me.  Today, we colored some Disney Princess pictures and talked about the Crayon names.  Her favorites were "Blast Blue" and "Burnt Sienna".  She would say "I'm coloring with Burnt Sienna.  I'm just Sienna, not burnt".  While we were coloring, she turned to me and said "Annie, you're my best friend".  I almost died.  She is so cute!

This is Sienna.  The first picture is from last summer and the second is from this summer:

(She has marshmallow on her lip in this picture)

Then, my Grandpa, my cousin Sarah, and I played Cribbage.  My Grandpa won 2 games and Sarah won 1 game.  I lost every game we played...

My Grandpa Tony:

After all these years, my Grandpa still plays a mean Cribbage game.  :)

On the way back from my Aunt and Uncle's house, I was able to catch part of the Hart Park fireworks.  Here is what I was able to capture:

I absolutely LOVE fireworks!  I'm so happy I was able to catch a glimpse of the big fireworks show in town before bed tonight.  The fireworks up North were wonderful, but don't really compare with the shows in Milwaukee.  Hope you all had a great holiday weekend and have a wonderful week to come!

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4th of July weekend

I spent my 4th of July weekend this year with Lisa and her family.  They own a lakehouse near Minocqua, WI and we went there to celebrate the holiday and Lisa's grandmother's 94th birthday!

I spent the holiday with Lisa, her mom and dad, her sister, her brother and his wife, Lisa's grandmother and her grandfather, plus two dogs:  Chloe and Maddie.  It was a full house (to say the least), but it was a lot of fun spending time with her family and getting to know her grandparents, who are both now 94 years old.  Did I mention they are both 94 years old?!

We played Scrabble, Cribbage, Wii bowling, watched "Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day", swam at the lake, shot off birthday fireworks for Lisa's grandmother on the 4th of July, went to a flea market, and ate wonderful food.

Pictures from the weekend:

View of the pathway leading to the lake

At the flea market-I found this straw hat with feathers hanging off the back

Lisa found this hat with a veil at the flea market

Eating a sno cone at the flea market

Lisa's siblings floating at the lake

Us girls eating fondue (unfortunately with Melissa's face cut in half)

Lisa's grandmother and grandfather (both 94 years old!)

Fireworks to celebrate Lisa's grandmother's birthday

Lisa and my Scrabble game

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Summerfest 2010

Rosie and I went to Summerfest tonight with free tickets from my dad.

We actually rode bikes to Summerfest from Rosie's

apartment (approximately 3 miles).

It was a great workout, but something I'm not used to

since I don't have a bike.

Highlights of the Afternoon/Night:

1.  Seeing my friend Tony play quad rugby!

2.  Spending time with my friend Rosie

3.  Watching the BMX Bikers do tricks!

(look above the ramp to see the biker in air)

4.  Finding a frog on our path during the bike ride home

5.  Seeing a man dressed up as a clown at the BMX Bike Show

6.  A scoop of Mackinac Island Fudge Ice-cream in a waffle cone

7.  Saz's Sour Cream and Chive Fries, Cheese Curds, and Mozz Sticks

8.  Corn on the Cob!

9.  And of course, being "hit on" by a drunk married man next to me during a concert we watched. Below is how it played out...

Blake (a teen in front of me)-to the drunk man referring to me:  "Is this your wife?"

Drunk man (Adam): "No....but she's really cute, so I'd take her home with me."  

Adam to me:  "I'm Adam, what's your name?"

Me:  "I'm Anne."

Adam:  "Nice to meet you."

Me:  "Nice to meet you too."

Blake to me:  "I'm Blake, this is my girlfriend Nicole and our friend Bridget."

Adam:  "I'll remember those names, I have two sisters named Nicole and Bridget."

After Adam nearly falls off the bleachers we're standing on:  "I'm really drunk."

So, I would conclude that Rosie and my Summerfest adventure was a success!  :)  Something unexpected always happens, and it makes for good pictures and memories in the years to come.

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2am Wall Insect

This morning at 2am, I woke up unexpectedly and just laid in bed in the dark.

I started praying and reflecting on my current walk with the Lord,

but I still couldn't fall asleep afterwards.

So, I turned on my TV and watched it for a few minutes.

Then, I noticed a dark shape on my wall above my bed.

I figured out it was a centipede.

And not just any centipede...it was at least 2 inches long

and had a thick body and legs...

I stood up, turned on my light, covered a flip flop with tissue

and squished it.

Then, I took more tissues and took the bug off my wall.

I proceeded to flush it down the toilet thereafter.

I don't know about you, but after seeing a nasty bug on my bedroom wall,

I have a hard time falling back asleep for fear that there is another

and it will crawl on my face in my sleep.

Watching TV for an hour helps you forget the gross bug you squished 

a little while earlier (in case you were wondering).

It was so gross.

Yuck.

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