Are elections always so exciting?

I don't know why I am finding the election so exciting this time around.  Does this really prove that I am getting middle-aged-ish?

I find it fabulous at the selection we have to choose from.  Are people so excited this time around because we've had reality television for so many years which people love and now we can find out so much about these 4 individuals in a race towards the White House?

I am excited to see a woman on the ticket, it is crazy to me that it has been 24 years since there's been a woman on the ticket!  I don't have a television to watch, but I do find myself checking cnn and the ny times frequently.  I don't check our local paper, as they didn't even have any bit of info on the front page about Obama's speech.  I thought newspapers were suppose to support the news.  Anyway, I am trying to find out about this sarah palin...who is she?  Other than a mom and governor of Alaska for 2 years?  Definitely a stark contrast to Senator McCain (experience-wise, anyway).   At least from what I've read so far.  Although, I imagine they have the same views on issues.  Is McCain really going to get the Hillary voters?

I am definitely finding it to be an interesting year.  Are you as interested in the elections this year, or am I abnormal?

Getting rid of our dead oak tree

Mat's boss, Chris, came over to help Mat cut down our tree that died a slow, sure death this summer.  It was kind of tricky to cut down as there are power lines on two side, a tree we just planted that we wanted to keep, our house and our garden.   So Chris cut off the limbs on all sides except for a few on a key side so that the tree wouldn't roll down into the garden.

Look how big the chainsaw is!!

Why doesn't the tree want to fall down????  It's cut all the way through.

Putting wedges in to make it fall over.

Mat hammering away at the wedges, you can see it is starting to fall over.  Yay!

And now we have a tree that we are splitting up in our yard.

wordle

dairy free for 2 weeks and 4 days...

So, I decided to eliminate dairy from my diet to see if that was aiding and abetting my many allergy attacks.  That includes milk, all types of cheese, cream cheese, pudding, etc.  It hasn't been fun...soy milk is okay but not getting to put cream cheese on a bagel is true torture.  Along w/ not getting any cheese on my burrito wraps and not getting to put parmesan on my pasta.  I avoid pizza as it is mostly just cheese.  I could go on and on.  But the main thing I've noticed is I'm just missing the wonderful taste of cheese.  My head is still congested and my throat is still very sore in the morning.  AND last night, I had another allergy attack that lasted about an hour even after taking meds.  So, now my dilemma is do I continue w/ my dairy free diet that I don't enjoy and see if I just haven't given it enough time to go through my system or do I just decide that it is something in the air or in our house and give up figuring out what it is?  (Although, it had been raining all day...if it had happened a few days ago when it was all blustery and windy, that might have been the case.)  Or should I be dairy and soy free?  Since lots of the nieces and nephews are also allergic to soy and I think I was as a child???

blueberry picking

We went blueberry picking this weekend.  Hard to believe, but it was still a bit early.  There was enough to pick to fill 2 nalgene bottles full, but there are more to be picked that will be ready in a couple weeks.  Maddy was eating the blueberries straight off the bush!

We also cut down our dead tree this weekend.  I will have to load the pictures up once Mat gets home from work, so you can check it out.

Fall is in the air

Since we have been back, I've been noticing it's cool in the mornings and the evenings and it is beginning to feel like fall.  Not that it hasn't been hot during the day, but the nice cool mornings and evenings make it actually pleasant.  It seems kind of early for fall.  I do love the cool weather, but I am all ready missing the long evenings.  Which does not fare too well for me, since the shortening of days has just begun!!!

Today is my first day of working on Fridays...

surprise, surprise, I am voting for Obama

I doubt anyone is surprised, really.

Last night while talking with my mom on the phone, we veered off into subjects I don't normally like to discuss with my family because I generally have a different view than some of them.  I don't like confrontations, some might say I am passive.  Somehow, we were talking about the election.  And because I tend to back down or agree (I am sure I could do a few therapy sessions to figure out why I do that!) when people have strong feelings about something, such as the presidential candidate, I just said that well, neither candidates are the greatest choices.  (Or something to that effect.) I don't really believe that...I lied. Mom, sorry for not telling you the truth.  I do think that Obama is the best choice.  I am ready for someone fresh in the office.  I want Obama to win.

Eight years ago, I think I voted for the first time for the president.  I voted for the green party because I wanted there to be a third choice in elections.  I wanted to support that avenue.  Well, I didn't realize that Bush would actually win way back then.  I am in no way a strong political activist or an avid follower of politics. So, I do not know all the ins and outs of what Obama or McCain stand for or don't stand for.  All I know is that in 2008, I am ready for some different options on how we get our energy and how we handle our foreign politics. America is beautiful and I want to keep it that way!

Okay, now that I've admitted and apologized for lying, I will go back to avoiding such discussion so I don't end up having to apologize again!

flying home...

On Sunday, we woke up and drove to Green Bay, WI from Marquette.  It is about a 4 hour trip.  It was a beautiful drive and we arrived at the airport w/ plenty of time to check in.  So we do and check our luggage.  The attendant gave us our boarding pass and told us to go to the gate attendant to get our tickets.  So, we went up there and she told they were for the next leg of our flight and we'd get it later.

We sat down and were waiting for the flight to be called.  BUT, I was worried because we didn't have a seat assignment on the boarding pass.  So, I went to the attendant again and asked her about it and she said that they would figure it out later and let us know.  Okay.

So, about 15 minutes later they called us to the desk, Mat went up w/ our tickets and they slapped his tickets on the counter after banging away on the computer for a bit.  Mat asked if he could also get my tickets and they said yes, started banging away, were having trouble, there was another lady in line, so they helped her (not very nicely).  Then the girl looked back up at Mat blankly and said "What do you want?" (not very nicely).  Mat said "I'm waiting on the tickets you were getting for my wife."

I don't think we've ever had anyone be so blatantly mean to customers as we witnessed there!  And it's not because Wisconsiners are rude people, everyone we met at gas stations and at restaurants were beyond friendly.

And then the rest of our trip was uneventful and we were excited at the end of the day to be home w/ our dog.

Wedding weekend in the U.P. = A blast!

All I can say is that the weekend was awesome.  The bride and groom were lovely, the wedding spot was awesome, the cliff jumping looked scary (Mat jumped, not I), and the every one of the guests were delightful!  The reception was fun, great food and an awesome bluegrass band.  On Saturday, we went on a nice hike and checked out the view from on top of Hogback Mtn.  We'll post pics when we have some time.

Frolfing

I know that isn't a word.  But since people put names together when they are a couple...i.e. Brangelina, I figured I could make Frisbee Golfing one word.  It rolls off the tongue so smoothly and makes you smile when you say it.  Because frolfing is fun.  You get to huck a frisbee in the woods with the goal of making it into the basket.  Mat plays par or better, I play double par okay.

This frolf course if a tight one...they are all tree shots.  When you look closely at the trees you can tell there are others like me playing!  It is a pretty popular place, so I am patiently awaiting our turn.

But it is definitely a great activity to do after work as it is only about 10 minutes away from us!

The best summer drink around...

This is the soda for a hot summer day!  Seriously.  It is a little less sweet than rootbeer and delicious.  Mat and I have been on a long kick of drinking these, ever since our friends introduced us to them.  (You also get some funny looks when you are at a stoplight and you take a swig.)  We are also huge fruit smoothie fans this summer...thanks to Mat's grandma for giving us a blender as a wedding present!

Operation Bear Transport

This is operation bear transport.  Mat is climbing the tree in order to place the bear on a higher branch, so that his parents will be able to see it while sitting up on their porch.  This was part of our evening entertainment at the July birthday celebration for Ron and Karen.  There was also a lot of really delicious food.

Mat's putting to use his skills he has learned at work.  After Mat was done, Chris allowed the little kids to swing on the rope with him.  They LOVED it.