Today is Kathryn's Birthday!!

Today is my best friend Kathryn's twenty second birthday.  It's crazy how time flies and how many things can happen in a year.  When I was looking for photos of the two of us for this post it was almost impossible to narrow it down. I think we were side by side for pretty much every single thing we did this past year, and I wouldn't have wanted it any other way!  

Happy Birthday Katarina, KB, KBrad, K-Bizzle! And don't forget you'll always be at least 45% mine:)  Did you read that Tim Beck? 45%... and I'm pretty sure she's 51% mine until you put a ring on it;) 

Here's a look back at some of the fun we've had in the past year, in no particular order...

(While Kathryn was on her internship she found time to come down to CS for my 1st annual Valentine's Day Party.  She was the first guest to arrive and the last to leave.  Duh!)

(After our last Turtle Tug we played crochet and frisbee golf in Research Park!)

(The gang (minus Chelsea) at Senior Brunch...)

(Who could forget TwerkFest 2012.  Kathryn's famous last words 

"okay guys, I'm only going to stay till midnight" riiiiiiiight.)

(As a senior in college and a legal 21 year old, Kathryn got "iced" for the first time!)

(Unicorn shots at Logan's during our last week out together in College Station.)

(The sweat shop that we turned our room in to for Recruitment 2012. Dream Team Baby.)

(At the end of the week we were both still alive.  

Hey remember that message you gave to Patsy at 7am? Hahaha..)

(One of my favorite pictures of us... Wes and Chelsea's Ring Day!)

(Bottom's up KB... Not gonna lie, I'm not sure if you would have

 made it without me yelling by your side;))

(Perfect shot of our excitement, fear, and fun.)

(Thanks for being the least judgmental and understanding friend and roommate I've ever had:)) 

(Halloween 2012.  I think this photo speaks for itself...)

(Summer nights at Mad Hatters.)

(ChiliFest 2012.  Why was your heart beating so fast?!?  Unsolved mystery of the year...)

I think for your birthday you should cash in on that cruise Wes promised you and Tim.  

And then naturally you would have to invite me:)

Come come. I love you.  Sparkle.  Glitter.  Jewels.  

Holler if You're Ready for those Summer Nights...

On Tuesday while I was at work, Jessica and Janet went to the Milwaukee Zoo!  I was extremely jealous when I received the picture below while I was sitting at my desk crunching out PO's.  

Oh the life of a SHW...

(White giraffe at the Milwaukee Zoo.)

(That night we went and ate downstairs at Grafitto.  I had the chicken parmesan, which was wonderful,  we then grabbed some diet coke, wine, and headed back upstairs to call it a night.  Jess and Janet got up and left for home at the same time I went to work!) 

Tonight was the start of SummerFest!! Anisha invited me to tag along with her friends and I had a blast.  Not only did she give me a free ticket, but her friends were super nice and friendly

(A few people decided to ride their motorcycles to SummerFest tonight.  This is the "Harley-Davidson VIP Parking Lot."  The only requirement to park there is that you are riding a Harley, imagine that.)

( Katrina and I waiting for the Big Bang Fireworks Display to start!  We got some great seats right along the shoreline of the lake.  I don't think I've ever been that close to a fireworks display before!)

(The Big Bang Fireworks Show was THE best fireworks I have ever seen.  Towards the end of the display I actually had to close my eyes and look away because the lights were so bright!)

 

(Look who I ran in to at the Lupe Fiasco concert!  I vaguely here "Rachel" shouted out behind me, and when I turn around, low and behold it's Chris!)

(Anisha and Katrina were able to work us into this awesome view for the Lupe concert.  It was a super fun show and he played almost all of my favorites!  Definitely a success!)

(After Chris and I decided to leave the Lupe concert we walked over to listen to Kool and the Gang.  We walked up right in time to "Get Down on It" and even had a little time left to "Celebrate" before heading home.  At 12:30am, this post is much past my bedtime.  

I'm sure I'll pay for this tomorrow at work.)

Tomorrow will be a long day at work.    

BUT I get to have dinner with a fellow Delta Zeta tomorrow night.  Exciting!

And then Ben Folds Five plays at SummerFest. Oh. Yeah.

The Windy City... and Then Some!

This weekend was crazy fun!  I did more this weekend than I have in the past 3 weeks combined, and I'm definitely three times as tired.  As my mom would say, I'm burning my candle at both ends.)

Here's a recap in photos.

(Here's the other doormat I painted for the condo.  You think it's too early for me to be putting our combined monogram on stuff? Nah... I didn't think so either;))

(I was SO excited to see Jessica in Janet.  We stayed at The Renaissance Hotel right off of Michigan and spent the whole day out on the town shopping.  Janet was in search for the perfect purse that would last her the next 5 years (which isn't an easy find) but she made the perfect choice with a signature Louis Vuitton.  Did yall know that you get champagne when you buy a purse there?)

(After a long day of shopping we had some classic deep dish Chicago pizza for dinner.  We then headed out and up to the Signature Lounge on the 95th floor of the John Hancock Building.  

What a view!)

(The next day we headed out to the ball field for a White Sox vs. Brewers game.  

Awesome seats, awesome weather, what more could a girl ask for??)

(I was in the company of two White Sox fans for the afternoon, but they were good sports.  

Probably because they won.  But that's okay, we've still got Ryan Braun)

(Me and my hotdog!  Who can resist a hotdog at the ball field!) 

(Then we headed to SIX FLAGS!!! I literally hadn't ridden a roller coaster in 10 years.  

I had forgotten how much fun they are!!)

(Ready for the Super Man ride!  We practically had to drag Janet on it, but I think she's glad she joined!  Next time I'm going for Cedar Point!)

Jessica and Janet spent the day out blazing a trail in Milwaukee and probably walked 100 miles.  They're taking their power walking to the zoo tomorrow morning.  As for me, it's back to the work week.  Can't wait for SummerFest to start on Wednesday.  

But until then, I'll enjoy one more day with my wonderful guests!)

Anticipation!

This week has been a whirl wind.  I can't believe it's Thursday already!! I'm picking up my friend Chris from the airport tomorrow night, and then headed to Chicago to meet Jessica and Janet on Saturday.  It's gonna be the most exciting weekend I've had yet that's for sure.

Last night I had my second meeting with my personal trainer, Alex.  He totally kicked my but.  I can barely walk today and definitely had trouble getting off the couch last night.  

Here's a look at some of the crafting/organizing/cool things I've been doing lately...

(A girls worst nightmare... floppy tall boots.)

(I got this idea off of Pinterest. (I feel like that's my life now)  but it is a really great idea!  I got these pool noodles on clearance at K-Mart (which I thought went bankrupt?) for $1.50 a piece.  I cut them into section about 14 inches long and...)

(Viola!  No more floppy boots!)

(I also went to Target last night. (I still had some money on my gift card from the Malcom's, so naturally I was dying to spend it.)  Wes and I have been needing a doormat for the condo, two actually.  I got these on clearance for $4.50 a piece and decided to monogram them myself...)

(It's not perfect, but I did free hand it.  The tape just wouldn't seem to stick to the mat.  I saw some very similar to this at TJMAXX this weekend for $15, so I think I got a little bargain.  I got two of them and I'm going to try and cursive monogram "RHW" on the other for the back door.)

(My sister booked her flight!!!! 

Jordan will officially be in Milwaukee on the 4th of July! 

I'm so very excited and can't wait to see her!!!)

Tonight is going to be full of cleaning the condo and Jazz in the Park with the other OLP's and Interns! 

Until next time..  

It's Getting Hot in Hurrrr.

So, the air conditioning in the condo has been a bit of a problem since we moved, and never seems to be working quite right.  At first it wasn't that big of a deal because it was still only in the mid-high 70's here in Milwaukee.  Well we broke 90 degrees this weekend, and along with that my AC broke as well.

Yesterday I woke up an hour before my alarm went off, because I was sweating so much.  I groggily walked over to my thermostat and saw this.  Well no wonder I couldn't sleep!

Thank Goodness for great people like Jim and Bea Malcolm.  They sent me a Target gift card for graduation and I immediately went out an bought myself a fan!  Thanks Malcolm Family!!

Also, this is my desk on this lovely Tuesday morning.  I had orientation yesterday and so I didn't come in to the SM location.  I also had 34 unread emails as of 6:45 this morning.  Should I remind you this is only my 6th day of work? I need to become less important:)

This week is going to be super busy because I'm workin' for the weekend!  I'm picking my good friend Chris Cline up from the airport late Friday night and then Saturday I'm headed off to Chicago to meet up with the ever-so-lovely Jessica Lynch!!! (And Aunt Janet)!!  I'll be spending Saturday shopping on Michigan Ave with them, and then they're coming back to Milwaukee with me.  They'll be hanging out until Wednesday when they head back to Arkansas.  I'm super excited to have my first overnight guests at my apartment.  I'll keep you all updated on my preparations for my guests!! 

Polka Time!

This Saturday Michelle went to our very first festival of the summer in Milwaukee; Polish Fest  

Due to her savy-ness, we got in for free!  Which was good:)

We started off the night with a trip to La Perla.  This was my first taste of Northern Mexican food.  I asked for my enchilada to be covered in "queso" and it came out covered in melted cheese.  Which as Izaris would tell me, is exactly what I asked for.  Oh well.  

(A great night for Polish Fest 2012.  It started to rain at the end, but that's okay.  There's only so much of the "Non-Stop Polka Stage" you can take!)

(Polish dancers?  There were a lot f of interesting sights at this festival.)

(You can ever play chess at Polish Fest! And there were surprisingly a lot of people playing...)

(In addition to the polka, and whatever those people in the above photo were doing, there were some very creative young children out there doing their thing.  Their act was literally 25 minutes long and included everything from Lady Gaga to traditional Polish music to some Grease numbers.  Oh and did I mention they sang as well?  Watch out for these rising stars;))

One Week Down... 51 To Go!

I officially completed my first week of work!  Exciting to be done, and I fully understand the song

"Everybody's working for the weekend."

This weekend I plan on exploring the Milwaukee Public Market Farmer's Market and possibly 

Polish Fest.  There is literally a festival every weekend in Milwaukee.  

Last night I went out with some co-workers (such a professional term, right?) to Jazz in the Park.  It's held every Thursday at Cathedral Park in Milwaukee and was super chill and a 

great way to spend the night.  I didn't take any photos, but I'm pretty sure I'll be back!

(My wonderful Mom and Dad sent me this office plant to congratulate me on my first week of work!  The carnations are just for color and can be removed.  I now have something to take care of at work.  I'm so excited for my silly little plant!)

(Today was also the Cooper Car Wash; you could get your car washed for $10 by your supervisor.  

Jim showed up in this awesome outfit.  

Not pictured are the matching jean cargo jorts, and khaki crocs.  Sweet.)

It's Been Awhile

So I haven't been blogging the passed couple of days because I've been completely overwhelmed with 

WORK.

It's a four letter word that seems to be very difficult for me.  Apparently since I have graduated college my memory has become worse, and my ability to comprehend anything has gone out the door.  Let's not even talk about my attention span.

Anyways...

(My stuff for the first day of work!  I finally got to use my awesome Kate Spade bag that my lovely sister got me.  It's officially the best bag ever.  My very professional green plaid lunch bag, and a hard boiled egg for breakfast.  Looks like I'm ready to go!)

(Dinner after my first day of work.  Shrimp Cake sandwiches!  They were super awesome and very easy to make.  I like to call them the "poor college kids idea of crab cakes".  These were simply chopped shrimp, zucchini, and chopped us Ritz crackers.  All held together with an egg white and a dollop of mayonnaise.)

(This is the postcard that Wes and I ended up sending out to our family and friends so everyone would have our new address.  Hopefully some of your guys got it!)

Needless to say my job is very challenging.  I'm so not used to this much responsibility at the age of 21!! Hopefully I can keep everything running smoothly and not cause any glitches in production!

Until next time...

Take Me Out to the Ballllllgame...

Last night I went to my very first Brewer's game with the OLP's, interns, and other employees at Cooper!  It was a super fun night with great weather and I was very excited to meet the people I'll be working with.

(This is what happens when you don't know what the dress code for the event is.  Kathryn, Jordan, and Mara received around 7 photos of possible outfit options.  Too bad I actually tried on at least 20 different outfits... ooooppps.)

(So in Milwaukee, people tailgate for baseball games.  Brewer's fans start arriving three hours before the opening pitch to grill, drink, and play different games.  My mother raised me to never go to a party empty handed, so naturally I brought this.  The Big Bucket of Margaritas.  It's available at your local Wal-Mart for a mere $3.47.  Needless to say, it was a huge hit at the tailgate.)

(There were two other Aggies working for Cooper at the tailgate!  Cliff graduated last year from the ID Department as well and happened to get Iced at the tailgate!  I'm becoming more and more reassured that I chose the right company!)

(Cliff, myself, Dan, and Kate at the ballgame.  The seats weren't the best, but the were free, so I can't really complain!  The rest of the night was filled with places named Trinity, Harps, and Jo Cats, tons of dancing and no bartender being able to decipher my drink order due to my accent.  Oh, and I also got denied access at a bar for my "fake id".  Sweet Milwaukee, sweet.)

(View of Miller Park!  Whenever the Brewer's score a home run, the shoot off fireworks.  And whenever the Brewer's score, their mascot slides down a huge slide!)

(Yesterday I made some cheese tortallini  tomato soup, divided it up in to cans to freeze and left one in the fridge for lunch today...)

(And here it is!  It's a super easy recipe and very delicious.  I walked over the The Market to get a fresh ciabatta roll to go with it, and then it's bon appetit!)