L'aissez les bon temps roulez!

I am officially here in N'Orleans for the Rock n' Roll Half Marathon this weekend!

Goals for this weekend include:
1. Run a sub-2:15 half (yeah, we'll see about that...)
2. Hang out with some of my running besties
3. Find (and visit) the New Orleans Lululemon Showroom.
4. Eat as many Shrimp Po'boys as possible.
5. Drink at least one hurricane a day.

If you need me, check Bourbon Street.




*UPDATE*

After our little shake out run around the French Quarter today I'm fairly certain my 2:15 goal is never going to happen. Granted race morning should me much cooler, but holy humidity Batman!

Top 10 of 2010

2010 had it's lows, and by lows I mean ass-kicking, gut-wrenching, super-duper-sucking lows, but it also had it's highs. It's true that what goes down must come back up, er, however that cliche saying goes.

But before I look to 2011 and share my thoughts and goals for the new year, I thought I should post the obligatory Top 10 of 2010 post. If not for your perusal and enjoyment, than to remind myself that 2010 wasn't too shabby.

Without further ado, in chronological order.....the Top 10 of 2010!

10. On March 15th 2010 we brought home all 10lbs of furry, tail-wagging, butt-wiggling joy, Ladybug! She's been part of our family for almost a year now, and despite the time or 10 that Wyatt threaten to give her back, she has been a love!

9. The beginning of April took me to DC for work, which in itself is nothing to write home about. But when your BFF takes the bus down from NYC to meet you for the afternoon, attention must paid! Not only did the BFF make a cameo appearance, but we had the chance to hang out with a few college friends and see the sites with locals.

8. June brought surgery for me, and mountain bike racing for the guys. Not even crutches could keep me from tagging along as the official "in case of emergency" contact and cheering section.

7. Once off crutches Wyatt and I embraced the mini-break, and took long weekends to the Twin Cities and the Windy City. 4-star hotels, restaurants, shows like the Blue Man Group, and leisurely strolls along the lakefront and river, it was fabulous to break up the summer with a trip here and there.

6. Biking! The few months of nice weather we have here in Madison would not be complete without biking. We are now the proud owners of an Xtracycle Free Radical (awesome!!). It served as my chariot while I was on crutches, and later in the season it was out grocery-getting, picinic-going, farmer's market-going station wagon.

Did I mention the Pinglespeed got some mileage too?!? Woot!

5. Arguably the most memorable moment of the year, and number 1 in my heart for 2010, on September 11th 2010 Wyatt closed down an entire state park to propose to me.

September 2011 we will be Mr & Mrs!!

Sigh.

Tear.

Squeeee!!

4. Later in September we headed down to Vegas for Interbike for work, followed by a few days of vacation and debauchery. And the cherry on top? My BFF joined us! Wyatt had his hands full keep track of not one, but two Vegas virgins.

The Palm, Cirque du Soliel, Peep Show, 3 Tiffany's locations, Ceaser's Palace, craps, the Playboy Club, and oh so much more!

3. Early November had me heading to the Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Clearwater...and as it was Wyatt's birthday, I brought him along. While I worked the event (booo), Wyatt's days were filled with sleeping in, long walks on the beach, seashell collecting, and general relaxation. In the evenings we did have the chance to meet up with another coworker of ours, see some friends and eat some delicious food. All in all, not a bad lil work trip.

2. November 20th we celebrated our engagement with our closest friends by throwing a little shindig at the local brew pub. Wings, cupcakes, beer, wonderful company, and an embarrassing toast made for a memorable and wonderful evening.

1. Every year we make it our mission to make it to at least one Badger game. Being a UW alum, these games are very near and dear to me. This year we were at the season closer, where the Badgers officially tied as Big 10 Champs and sealed the deal on a trip to Pasedena.

Storming the field was a must!

So there you have it, the Top 10 of 2010. Now that it's been posted I can officially close the 2010 chapter and focus on 2011.

Girls night out!

So what do you do when your boyfriend is out of town...again? Girls night!

I have to admit I am the worst at keeping in touch with my friends. I love my friends. I have great friends. I just don't always talk to my friends on a regular basis. Sad but true.

This past weekend I took the opportunity to catch up with a super awesome girlfriend of mine. We'd been trying to get together for MONTHS now and it just hadn't happened. My fault, I'm sure. Well I finally got my butt in gear, in the car and on my way for a long over due girl's night. It was not lacking secrets, stories, gossip of giggles. It was wonderful. I'd tell you all about it, but then I'd have to kill you.

I will pass on some censored tidbits tho.

We decided to head into the "heart of the Latin quarter" for so delicious Mexican food. Chile Rellenos, margaritas and guacamole how I love thee. What I didn't love was that our table was literally located in the waiter station. Granted we could refill our own water glasses, but seriously. It started the night off with a lot of laughter, that's for sure. And the fact the waiter was so...well...baked he couldn't keep his eyes open? Sweeeeeet. All of that aside, it was the start of a great night.

So my pal's crib is located right in the midst of a college campus which means college bars. Ewwww. Not usually either of our first choice but we took our chances with the local watering hole. We should've known we were in trouble when the bouncer seemed confused by our real, of age, legitimate ids, but as it was 10'ish or so it was relatively quiet and seemed worth a chance. Then there were the bartenders. Young and very concerned with lip gloss application, service was iffy. At best. But suprisingly she made a pretty darn tasty Hendricks and tonic. Slowly the place filled up with underage coeds and frat boys. And did you know that you can still smoke in public in places? WTF? Strange. Highlight of the night? When the frat boy bartender proceeded to BEND OVER in front of his brotha's to show off his tight new pants that were going to score him the tips. Woot! Woot! Shake that money maker.

What else, what else what else...

We capped the weekend off with brunch with some of her gal pals. Not only is brunch my favorite meal of the day, but to do it with the ladies is fantastic! More stories, gossip, giggling, and food. Perfection.

Well there's not a whole lot more I can say.

If I can leave you with one steadfast law of online shipping: Never EVER ever buy shoes on ebay. Don't ask for details, just don't do it.

I'm serious.

If I told you more you would be horrified, traumatized, disturbed and disgusted.

**Thank you friend for a wonderful weekend! xoxo**

Halloween...and everything else!

Wyatt showing off his new Game Bibs before we headed to the Badger game.  I also think he may have been trying to shake the rest of the leaves off the tree so we can rake and be done with it already!

At the game, in our matching bibs.  

It was windy, overcast and chilly, but the Badgers prevailed!

After the game (and a 2+ hour nap) it was time to lion-a-fy myself for the night.  The costume was waaaaaay more work than anticipated, but turned out pretty darn cute.  Even Burton put on his skeleton costume!  

We decided pictures with the pumpkin from Tom and Renee's wedding were in order.  

(Carved pumpkins  make possibly the cutest centerpieces ever.  Who knew.)

Don't worry, I'm a vegetarian. The cow is safe!

Just another irresponsible Sunday......