The Beginning...

"It was only through seeing my reflection in the looking glass of other cultures that I'd finally be able to explore the dark continent I held inside. The outer journey and the inner one were stiched together by a certain inevitability, a shared momentum."

Where do I even begin...well, as Julie Andrews said in The Sound of Music, "Let's start from the very beginning, a very good way to start..."

Colleen and I spent the entire day running around trying to get ready for our big adventure. We ran to "The place that shall not be named" (ie: Walmart) to pick up last minute supplies and even made a stop as Sam' Club to get a video camera. To our pleasant surprise they had a DVD camera onsale for a VERY reasonable price. We decided to splurge and bought the item...BUT we had to buy the floor model. As the woman was wrapping it up we were suprised at all the "extras" it came with...battery charger, disks, tri-pod, etc. HOWEVER, to our not so pleasant surprise, when we putsing with it loooooong after Sam's Club had closed, we discovered that the woman had forgotten to include...THE BATTERY. We called Wal-Mart, but they were unable to help=( And there starts and ends our dreams of creating a documentary of our travels through Aussie-land and NZ!

So, we continued on our mission of pulling an all-nighter so we could sleep on the plane, and I began packing!

I love Kiwis and Adventures!!!

Australia and New Zealand Here I come!!!



Back to Hawaii on the 30th of January and will post more adventures as soon as possible!

New Year 2007!!!

This New Year should go down as one of the best on record! Not only did I have a super fun date, but I got to see a TON of my closest friends. The evening started off at my friend Rachael's as I helped her prep for her party and as she helped me prep for Phil and Jenny's wedding reception.

Then, the best wedding date ever, Johnny, picked me up and we headed to the Silver Spring Country Club where we chatted it up with the Whitnall Boys and Girls and ate a delicious meal. Sadly, we had to cut out a bit early, but it was only to head back to Johnny and Bryan's house for their New Year's party!


There I got to spend quality time with my P-Tube, the hosts themselves, Ricky, Jim, Paul, Ashley, and so many more great people.


We played this crazy karoke game (which I ruled at!!! - I even beat Johnny!), danced around like fools in the kitchen, ate yummy rum balls (thanks Ashley) and basically had a blast!

I pulled an all nighter waiting for my 7:14am flight...which didn't take off until 5:30pm - LONG, mechanical error story, but on the bright-side, it allowed me to spend more time with my P-tube and Tom and jump in Lake Michigan with Tanessa, her husband Joe, Billy, Johnny, and Amy...I sported old boy lifeguard reds and 2 XL MCLC T-shirts as all of my belongings were sitting in the plane!


I'm officially a non-virgin Polar Bear anymore!!!

Home for the Holidays 2006

So, I made the trek back to WI for the holidays to see the family and friends. The first couple of days I was there I spent hand sewing a blanket for my sister. I took all of her old High School and Summer Camp T-shirts and sewed them onto a fleece blanket. She thought the shirts had been accidentally been given to Goodwill long ago and cried when she opened the box and saw the blanket (pics to follow shortly)

After I finished making the blanket, but before Christmas I drove up to Stevens Point to pick up and spend time with my little sister in her college house.

We ended up going out on the town for a bit and I even ran into one of my college friends, Andy Dan and my little sister in the sorority, Laura! And, although I felt a bit old being back in my old college stomping grounds, her friends made me feel quite young when they innocently asked who was older - YES!!!

After my Mom's exteneded family Christmas, my sister, cousin Melissa, and I met up with my friends Johnny, Bryan, Ashley, Paul, Stich, and many more at Paddys.

We then headed to Brothers where I met up with my friend Todd!

Finally, it was Christmas Eve and my Mom gave my sister and I a very touching present as well...when we were growing up we had a pine tree in our backyard that we named "the picture tree" It was in front of this tree that we took all of our first day of school pics, prom pics, etc. Well, when my Mom and stepdad moved out of the house a little over a year ago, the new owners decided to cut down the picture tree. My Mom happened to drive by the house shortly after this happened and asked to take some of the wood, which she then had made into decorative bowls for my sister and I! SUPER SWEET!!! (again, pics to follow!)

Christmas Day was spent with my Dad, which is always a treat. He surprised my sister and I with spa certificates, which I can't wait to use when I get home this summer=) Afterward I went to the Bosche in Hales Corners and engaged in a mini-Whitnall reunion. It was a blast to catch up with people I hadn't seen in YEARS!

Seattle

On my way home for the holidays this year I stopped in Seattle to visit my dear friends Therese, Pete, and Carl. Not only was it an oustanding time, but it was a good transistion between the beautiful Hawaii temperatures I have become accustomed to and the frigid Wisconsin winter I was about to encounter.

Although I only took one picture the entire time I was there...strange, I know...it is certainly no representation of the amount of fun I had there. Therese and Pete did an amazing job of showing me the city and making me feel right at home. We checked out the famous market where they throw fish where we tried yummy treats - including FRUIT ROLLS!!! We also checked out the Space Needle and the Sound.



The entire time I was there we ate AMAZING food! They took me to an amazing Soul Food dinner where I ate the best Mac N Cheese and Desserts EVER, to dinner at Therese's cousin's house, stopped for assembly line sushi, and had a homemade meal of Salmon, Aspargus, and Sweet Potato chips...YUMMY!!!

I also got my very first professional pedicure while I was there, which was an interesting and relaxing experience. I went with simple polish and little blue snowflake on each big toe!

I also got to see Carl while I was there, which was a treat. Neither of us could believe it had been 2 years since we had seen one another...in many ways it was as if no time had passed at all. I even got to hang VIP style with BoyCrush at a local pub, and although I could not attend, was honored to have been invited to a private jam session the following day. Maybe someday I will be able to see a live show...guess that will have to wait until my next trip to Seattle...unless they become SO big that they begin to tour?!?

Honolulu Marathon - Take 2 - 2006!!!

Once again I took on the 26.2! 2nd time in Hawaii and 3rd time overall...

This time I ran it with Alicia, my new roommate. Must be a Hawaii roomie thing cause last year I ran it with my roommate Colleen. This year's training was a bit rough, as was the race itself as both Alicia and I were fighting injuries - HOW IRRITATING!!! I made the difficult decision, as I am "somewhat" competitive to slow the pace as to ease the tension on my right foot...thus, I did not finish in the time I had hoped, but I did not do any serious damage and was able to walk around Seattle, Wisconsin, and in less than 12 hours AUSTRALIA!!!