Day 130: Reflections and Shadows

Day 130: I don't know why, but I really love this photo. It contains the shadow of our charcoal grill on the deck, while at the same time showing the reflection of the rug on the patio door. I feel it's somewhat artistic, even though it was a last-minute photo-op. Could you have guessed it without my description?

Day 129: Clearance Halloween Candy

Day 129: It was almost like Christmas for me today. Well, maybe even a Black Friday/Christmas combo. I stopped at Target and they still had some Halloween candy on clearance. I was able to get pounds of candy for only $6. Not only am I happy, but I'm sure all of the students and staff that come and visit me for the candy will be thrilled! Especially during exam time!

Day 128: Worms!

Day 128: It was a very rainy day today and worms were coming out of the ground like crazy. I learned from my dad to pick up the worms off of the driveway, as to not run over them. I took this photo of a huge earthworm on the driveway/alleyway. They are so long and fat! In case you were wondering, I did save him and about 20 of his friends from being run over!

Day 127: Big Snout!

Day 127: This big, Labrador nose ended up in my photo today. He was sitting waiting for food...shocker of the century...when I took this photo. I made sure to get his huge snout in the photo. Huge snout, tiny body. What a cutie pie!

Day 126: Crackers

Day 126: It had been a long weekend and I just wanted a bit of a snack, so I ate some of the 34 Degrees crackers I purchased from Hyvee. They are an all-natural cracker and they are quite delicious--although I'd like to try some of their other flavors to compare. This is a photo of a few of the crackers next to each other. Neat design!

Day 125: Pretty Nails!

Day 125: I'm not usually a big fan of getting my nails done (fingers and toes both included) but a friend and I had plenty of time to kill before the wedding ceremony, so we decided to get our nails done. I went for the "Minx" option, which is basically a sticker applied to the nail. From what I hear, Beyonce gets it done all of the time. That's right. I'm just that cool. I ended up with a gold and black design on 8 fingers and a red and gold design on both of my ring fingers. Sassy! 

Day 124: Neat Architecture

Day 124: After the rehearsal dinner for Rick and Kate's wedding, we decided to head to a bar for a few drinks. This place was somewhere near the airport, but I for the life of me have no clue what the name of it was. I took this photo of the "architecture" on the wall. I thought it was unique--especially for a bar.

Day 123: A Rainy Halloween

Day 123: Halloween today was chilly and rainy, not spooky ;) That's about all I can say. The photo is my pink polka-dotted umbrella next to a muddy puddle. If you look closely, you can see the raindrops hitting the puddle. As a side note, it's not fun waiting for the bus in the rain...

Day 122: Badger Basketball Home Opener, Unofficially

Day 122: Today was the unofficial start to the Badgers home basketball schedule. They technically played an exhibition game against UW-Platteville, but it was their first home game of the season. It was closer than I'd like it to be for a while there, but they ended up winning by 30 points. It was fun to go back to the Kohl Center to watch a game. Hopefully we can catch another one this season!

Day 121: Ladybug!

Day 121: The weather has been pretty chilly lately, so I was surprised to see this ladybug on the way to the bus stop one night. This is a photo of him on the cement scurrying away. I managed to get him onto a stick in order to get him off of the sidewalk--hopefully he appreciated the move!

Day 120: Roar!

Day 120: In case you didn't know, one of my favorite animals is the extinct dinosaur. Love them. I have a few photos of the dino hanging in my office at work and this photo happens to be the T-Rex figurine I have sitting next to my computer. I like to think they're smiling at me. I can do that since they're extinct. :)

Day 119: Corn Husks

Day 119: Our neighborhood is like the perfect mix of suburb-living and country life. We're far enough out where we're still surrounded by farm land, but still only a few minutes from the nearest grocery store. I took this photo of the corn husks on the edge of the neighborhood. They obviously haven't been harvested yet, but I imagine they will be sometime soon!

Day 118: Army of Spiders

Day 118: I took on the task of making school treats for my niece's class today. While it didn't seem like hard work at the time, it ended up taking longer than I anticipated. 3 hours and numerous raw and bruised fingers later, I finally finished all 20 of them. I sure hope they enjoy their Halloween treats!

Day 117: Pumpkin Carving!

Day 117: Pumpkin carving has become quite the tradition in our family these last few years. Some of us sit down and carve pieces of artwork, while others just hang around and watch football and relax. This year I went for the Beaker and Dr. Honeydew pumpkin--which was quite the task. My sister opted for Snow White, while my brother-in-law drew a face that I should know the name of but don't. (Sue me.) Again, they turned out pretty well! I just wish they lasted more than a few days!

Day 116: Quesadillas

Day 116: Today I decided that quesadillas were in order for dinner tonight. (Okay, well, my student was having them for dinner and it sounded good :) The photo here does not do the quesadillas justice--they were pretty tasty. Homemade tortillas, beef, black beans, cheddar cheese, sour cream, guacamole and some taco sauce for Austin. Mmmmm!

Day 115: Sunset Sky

Day 115: It was a rather chilly evening for a walk, but anything is doable when there's not 2 feet of snow and ice on the sidewalks. The clouds during the sunset were also very pretty, so I ended up taking this photo as we were walking around the neighborhood. The reflection of the fading sunlight into the clouds really makes this picture. So pretty!

Day 114: Snow?

Day 114: This can't be happening. It's only the 23rd of October. No seriously. What is this? Yep, it might be a little hard to tell from the photo, but it's snowing. SNOWING. In October. Not cool, Mother Nature. I don't appreciate your jokes. Not laughing!

Day 113: Barry Alvarez

Day 113: A celebratory meeting was had at the Hotel Red this afternoon after work and look at who I saw! Yep, that's Barry Alvarez enjoying a beverage, after what must have been a hard day for him. We were tempted to buy him a drink from our table, but we chickened out. I bet he would have declined it anyway :)

Day 112: Look At Those Teeth!

Day 112: We have a very silly Labrador--sometimes he'll lay on his back attempting to chase his tail or batting his toys like a cat. In this instance, he was just waiting for some attention, to no surprise. However, the look on his face is priceless. He is such a happy dog!

Day 111: Moo.

Day 111: Today we hosted a party for Austin's softball team--a way for them to "celebrate" the season with some food and beers. The event also corresponded with the Illinois/Wisconsin football game (which turns out was a blow-out, as expected :) This is a picture of my cow straws I left out for beverages. The work perfectly with the red solo cups in the background!

Day 110: Pizza!

Day 110: Austin came to grab lunch with me today and I decided some pizza was in order. We ended up at Pizza Di Roma's--a favorite of a friend of mine. They have huge slices and their prices are pretty cheap. And did I mention that the crust is that perfect crispiness? If only it wasn't so greasy! But I suppose...it is cheap pizza. What else should I expect?

Day 109: Homemade Cheese!

Day 109: Today I decided to make a potato recipe for dinner--perfect for the chillier weather we've had recently. The recipe called for velveeta cheese, and since I try really hard to stick to my clean diet, I decided making a homemade version was the way to go. This is the result. It looks relatively tasty, but it didn't seem to have that velveeta taste. At least I tried!