Merry Christmas to all!

I hope everyone's holiday was well! The end of this month has been extremely busy!

Thursday the 16th, I met up with some girlfriends at a bar to play team trivia. Although very fun, I don't think I was a very critical part of the team. You think I'd have more of a handle on 'random stupid facts', but apparently I cave under pressure! We ended up getting 8th place (ouch!)

Saturday was the work Christmas shindig at a hoity toity country club (I had to wear nylons - yuck!) I flew solo to the event this time (a small bummer) but luckily found people I knew right away to bum around with. It was a little fancy for my taste, but I'm not going to argue with free food and open bar!!! After the event, some of us made our way to another bar (yours truly roped into DD duty) for a little more chit chat and fun! Although remaining remarkable sober in lieu of free alcohol, I still had a great time.

Sunday I decided I needed some much deserved ME time and I treated myself to the showing of 'A Christmas Carol' in downtown Milwaukee at the Pabst Theatre (leave it to Milwaukee to name places after booze founders). I think the box office clerk was a little taken a back as a young girl was only buying one ticket and flying solo, but I didn't mind. The play was excellent and I am very glad I went! Hopefully additional interesting shows will come (rumor is Beauty and the Beast is coming in the summer!) and I can add them to my list of things to do. I've had a revelation that I'm not going to sit around all the time and not do stuff just because I am alone - I'll miss out on too many awesome things that way! Although doing things with friends is very enjoyable, I like to know that I'm confident enough in myself to not always have to depend on others for fun.

Christmas weekend I was able to go home! Christmas eve was spent with my dad. 'Tis the season for silly animal headwear apparently! I got a moose hat from a friend too! haha!

The rest of the weekend was Christmas with mom and brother. I am very thrilled to now be the proud owner of a new GPS (Hopefully I won't get lost anymore as my old one was getting a little finicky!) and a crockpot (maybe if I don't have to cook right when I get home I'll eat better? that's the plan anyway). I also co-won my first ever game of scrabble! Epic, I know. Mom and I went ice skating down in Rosa Parks Circle (her first time ever). It was a lot of fun but we could go for long as the rental skates were brutally painful!

Monday was my drive home, but not before a morning trip to Bittersweet for the first snowboard of the season! I called myself a snowbunny, but Nick more accurately labeled me a snow platypus! So I'm not the greatest...but I had fun and didn't break anything!

I'm a little bummed to be back home and facing work again, but hey, that's life! I hope your holidays were all you hoped for! Happy New Year! I'll leave you with a photo of my quirky little tree!

Who the hell taught the cat to read?

As I sit here typing this I am becoming increasingly aware of the longer and longer time distances between posts. It's not that I get tired of writing, but rather absolutely nothing exciting seems to be going on!

The majority of my time has been spent rounding up the last of the doctors appointments before the new year and insurance turn over! I'm pretty sure I've been to the eye dr. a half dozen times and the contacts I am currently in still suck :( And with the holidays fast approaching, it looks like I'll have to wait until January to get back in to try a stronger RX. Anyone care to pay for my lasik eye surgery? Anyone? Anyone at all?

Thanksgiving was lovely, especially since I got to go home this year for it unlike my last! And I think this was the first Turkey Day where I didn't feel completely gorged on food (way to pace yourself, Hannah!) As per ususal, I made my rounds visiting the fam. and going to see Geo. Poor Nick had his wisdom teeth removed the day before Thanksgiving, so kudos to him for still being willing to let me come bug him despite the chipmunk cheek fiasco. I stopped by a friend's place in Chicago on the drive which was a great time to as we had official Chicago deep dish pizza and spent hours in some bar playing board games! Too bad I didn't get any photos of that part of the adventure.

Mom and her classic smile :)

As always- huge thanks to Erich and Laura for always letting me crash at their place!

Poor Nick :( At least Geo doesn't seem to mind a little down time too. (don't hate me for posting this picture either! haha)

Back in Milwaukee the tree is up and decorated (with a few more ornaments than last year as I finally picked up the final box I had stored in my brother's basement). The Christmas shopping is also complete with everything wrapped and ready to go! Being the single cat-lady-in-training that I am, Echo had 3 gifts wrapped under the tree as well. Well...2 now. The damn thing found one of his gifts and tore it open leaving the wrapping paper carnage for me to find after work. You may be thinking "Well Hannah, that's what you get for putting a treat under the tree" and yes, you'd be correct, but he had left it alone for 2 weeks before his attack and I caught him just this morning nawing on another one of his presents - the one that happened to be his new collar. How the cat knows which ones are his - damned if I know. That's what I get for labeling his name on them... Good to know that he's just like me and can't help but want to sneak a little peek.

This previous weekend end was a little more full that usual: Jim and I went downtown to visit this used book store which was wild! 3 stories of wall to wall, floor to ceiling used books in this rundown, creaky, peeling floor building. Risking making the renters of a certain Brooklyn loft angry at me again for my impression of their place - one of the things that this bookstore reminded me of was the pickle factory that I stayed in with Robin back in my NYC trip. I'm still not sure if there was any rhyme or reason to the organization, but they had a lot of cool things to see and it definitely wasn't your standard Barnes and Noble! Maybe not the best place if you're looking for something specific, but I bet there are a lot of hidden treasures - I'd love to go back!See this - then multiply it by 10!!! An OCD nightmare!

And what would the holidays be without roping someone in to build a gingerbread house with me? I seem to be on a quest to single-handedly make Jim relive his childhood between the pumpkin carving and now the gingerbread frosting (while listening to such holiday classics as 'I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas' and the Muppets version of '12 Days of Christmas') We had a blast even if our house wasn't parade of homes quality!

I got me a career in roofing!

Our self-timer finished product shot!

Strategically placing the house outside the reach of Echo's sticky paws.

As for upcoming events...My work Christmas party is this coming Saturday and the staff here seems to be buzzing about the open bar (and setting up their DD's!) Free food and drinks? I'm in! I'll be braving the trip back to GR for Christmas on the 24th and staying until the 27th. Hopefully I'll get a day of snowboarding in there? Fingers crossed! I'm not set on my New Year plans yet, but I hear Milwaukee has a mini ball drop like GR does. On January first there is a polar bear plunge into Lake Michigan that I would love to do, but for some reason I'm having trouble finding an accomplice.... I wonder why? I've also found a rock climbing class I think I'm interested that starts in January. The one I'm looking at is all girls so if I chose to do it hopefully I could meet some new friends! I haven't been able to go to many meet-ups lately since they conflict with my schedule, and as much as I like the time with all my guy friends (speaking of my friend adam from Cali just moved here! But I haven't been able to see him but 1 or 2 times, again that darn schedule thing!) some girl time is always a must (Meg - wanna move to Milwaukee?!)

I think that about sums it up for now! So for everyone out there in cyberspace who might actually read this (Yes you, my 5 fans!) I'll keep you updated on what happens with the New Year (I joined a gym back in November so already a head start on that resolution ;p )

Vegas (the edited version)

Vegas, Vegas, Vegas..... what to say about Vegas? It was an awesome time!

In the airport

Did we gamble? If you call the penny slots gambling, then yes! We rocked the penny slots! Well, Meg rocked the penny slots with a $60 win. I lost consistently, but at least I was consistent!

Friday night we got in pretty late but that didn't stop us from having a drink and exploring a little bit! We stayed at Bally's right in the center of the strip which turned out great since it semed the most centrally located for anything we might want to do. The style room we requested was unavailable the first night so we got temporarily upgraded to a suite which was HUGE. Definitely larger than my apartment! It had a mini bar, 3 couches, 3 tvs, 4 la-z-boy style chairs, a king size bed, 2 toilets, and a bidet (see below) We wish we could have kept it the entire time, but even one night was fun!A view of our hotel and Paris (which we could see from our window)

Saturday during the day was spent walking. A LOT. We walked the entire strip on both sides of the street hitting up every single casino/hotel along the way. The weather wasn't as warm as we would have hoped, but we were told it was unseasonably warm for mid-November, so I guess we can't complain. By the time nightfall came, our feet were so sore (and poor Meg had plenty of blisters to boot!)

What's Vegas without Elvis?

We met some new friends while watching the fountain how at the Bellagio and spent the rest of Saturday night hanging around the strip with them. In true Vegas fashion we even got dolled up! 1 party bus, some beer, and even more walking and the next thing we know it's 6am and the sun is coming up again. Exhausted (but satisfied with the adventure we had: What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas) we went back to the hotel to nab a little sleep.


Sunday we went to Fremont street. We went during the day so we didn't get to see it all lit up, which is a bummer, but I guess you can only fit in so much in 2 days! We also hit up In-N-Out burger since I miss it from leaving California. We met a friend of Meg's aunt for a drink and once the sun went down, we caught the show at Treasure Island and finished up our Vegas experience by seeing Peepshow (what's Vegas without a striptease, huh?)

Ohhhhhh! Yum!

All in all, it was a great time! I'm sooo tired and glad to be back home but I definitely won't be forgetting this vacation any time soon.

Reminiscent of a photo I took with my mom years ago!

Halloween Festivities and more!

Hello once again friends and family! I hope this post finds you all well. For those of you not in the Midwest - brrrr it's getting cold! It wouldn't be so bad if I could get my garage door opener to work so I wouldn't have to get into a chilly car or scrap the frost off my windshield. But on a positive note - it means snowboarding season is coming up and I will once again get to see the pretty snow (give me a few months and we'll see if I'm kicking myself for leaving California's "winter")

Oct 22-25 I got to travel back to GR for many-a birthday festivities! So here's another HAPPY BIRTHDAY to all those October babies! Unfortunately, everyone in Michigan seemed to be sick with something and I ended up taking it back with me to Milwaukee :( So thanks, mom. Haha. Luckily it hasn't been too bad, only a mild sore throat, but I'm ready for it to be gone gone gone. I brought my camera with me to MI, but, in true Hannah fashion, only ended up taking pictures of the dogs.

Geo Dude!

Old man Elmo and his too long tongue

Halloween weekend was a howling good time (oooh - tacky!) Earlier in the week, I made Jim carve the pumpkins we picked at the pumpkin patch. Clearly it was an activity he hasn't dabbled in for many years as his final product lacked structural integrity. Not all of us can be amazing pumpkin architects! :) On Saturday, some friends from work invited me out and we traveled downtown to my first ever Milwaukee bar experience! My night included craming 7 people in a cab while the cabbie listened to the Backstreet Boys, walking all the way into a men's restroom, and getting a yummy street hot dog (all while dressed like a dinosaur). Yeah - I'm just that awesome. If there is any doubt on how cool I am: Sunday was spent watching glorious (and awful) Halloween horror flicks with Jim and topping off the night with a Pumpkin Pizza (which more just looked like a smiley face - but hey, it's the thought!)Awesome dino - before the coat covered it!

Yea - mine's the one not collapsing (and I'm pretty sure lighting candles on my deck is against my lease....)

Mmm - tasty tasty!

I hope your holiday was just as fun! Expect the next update to be Vegas!!! Woot!

My momma came to visit!

Hello again to all!

Things have been fairly low key since my last post. In work news: I am now working 10 hour shifts at the hospital (meaning I have every Monday off! So come visit me with my three day weekends!) The job is still going great and I'm very happy that I made the move out here!

On October 2 and 3rd - Mom came across the ferry to visit me in mynew city and man did we have a blast!!!!! Unfortunately the weather sucked (rainy and in the upper 40's low 50's!) which is only made a even bigger bummer since every weekend past that one has been gorgeous and in the 70's! Oh Midwest weather....yeah, I guess I missed you, too. Our Saturday was started bright and early with a trip to the Waukesha Farmer's market where Mom had her first experience with Wisconsin squeaky cheese! For those of you who don't know...the squeakier the cheese is, the fresher it is! It's quite humorous if you ask me! And we also talked milk with a nice farmer - because, hey, that's just how we roll. And no visit with me is complete without a trip to Goodwill :) Like mother like daughter: we love the thrift stores! We later explored downtown Milwaukee, saw the giant pumpkin, and the Bronze Fonz. Our plans were to eat dinner at the Safehouse, but they were full :( but (with a little password help from Jim) we still went in just to have a drink!

Dinner that night was the highlight of Mom's trip! Minding our own business at RockBottom brewery, poor Jim got roped into participating in a bachelorette party. Upon completion of his hugging task...Mom was thanked for being such a good sport and 'allowing her husband to participate'. Now normally when I see an older (not that you're old, Mom!) woman sitting down to dinner with 2 twenty somethings, I would automatically assume that, most likely, those people would be her children, but not this woman! So either poor Jim looks old, My mom looks young, or the cougar relationships are out in full force in Milwaukee! We all got a great laugh! When the confused woman learned that there was no matrimonial bliss between Jim and Mom, she proceeded to tell Jim about her "intelligent and voluptuous sister" who also appeared to be a bit older than I think a 24y/o guy would be into. Never a dull moment when you're out with us!

At the Waukesha Riverwalk

The giant pumpkin (that someone stabs and deflated every year)

My mom's the only person so far to stand by the Bronze Fonz and not automatically do the thumbs up pose!

After 'the incident', Mom with her newly betrothed. Watch out John!

Sunday wasn't nearly as exciting as the previous night, but still fun! We spent some time shopping and seeing the (not as pretty as Michigan's) Wisconsin coastline. In true Brew City fashion, I took mom on a brewery tour! We went on the Sprecher one as not many places provide tours on Sundays. It was a cute little micro brewery and we got tickets for 4 samples at the end. Tour = fun, beer = gross gross gross! We had so much fun laughing at the all the flavors we hated! It probably didn't help that we were a little tipsy, but we figured that if the beer was actually really good, we wouldn't have had such a great time! We learned that Sprecher's root beer out sells every other product combined. We are proud to say that now, we know why!

Mom and I before we tried the beer (cause we're still smiling!)

We drove by the intersection of Keefe & Richards (get it?!? Keefe Richards..Keith Richards?! Gotta love easy entertainment!)

A good time was had by all! I'll be heading to MI the end of October, we'll see if I have another adventure then! Take care everyone!

My Olympic dreams are dead, but my hitch-hiking career is strong

On the 11th, I decided to get out and run the TosaFest 5k (shhh, I didn't register!) and the results officially we the all time low of my running career. I was passed by the following:

1) Not 1, not 2, not 3, but 4 runners pushing strollers (which has to be at least an extra 20 lbs!)
2) A blind runner - not that being blind means you can't run fast, but it's pretty impressive since you have to completely trust the person leading you.
3) A woman so old that I'm pretty sure if you touched her, she'd turn to dust. Think less like a raisin and more like a old plastic bag left out in the rain.
4) A power walker.
5) A midget.

I finished in 35:56 (Don't knock the 12min mile!) and I can at least say I ran the whole thing (which, given the waistlines of the majority of Wisconsinites, is more than most can say!)

Unfortunately, this 5k was not in a loop. The end of the race dropped you off in a food/craft festival which was nice, but I then couldn't find my way back to my car. Thinking I could just walk the race backwards, I ended up terribly lost. Lucky for me, the first people I asked for help opened their car door for me and took me for a ride! While not nearly as epic as my 5am hitch hike with a trucker when my cars transmission went out on a roadtrip, it was a successful endeavor!

In other news...Earlier in the week, my friend Jim invited me to a Brewers game and had tickets for the front row! It was a great time - I could smell the dirt! And (amazingly) they won and fireworks were set off!

The 'oh so serious' photo

I had to capture the sausage races! The one I was rooting for lost :(

Also, the group of girls- we all went out to a comedy pub. It was a Thursday night so the venue was pretty dead meaning we got picked on being in the front row. The comic was a bit raunchy, but we had a blast!
The end of the weekend brought on a zoo trip! Woot woot! While thoroughly enjoyable, I think I was most excited about the 'Mold-a-rama's' First of all I was thrilled when recalling this childhood memory of the silly little plastic animals at zoos that Jim actually knew what I was talking about and then secondly the Milwaukee zoo actually still had them!!! We got a lion. If you still have no idea what I'm talking about, you need to come to the zoo here (so worth it!) Haha.

Elephants!

Here is the mold! Freddy Mercury the Lion

I make good friends who humor me and ride the Sky Safari with me (aka- glorified ski lift)

That's it for now! I hope wherever you all are you are having as much fun as me!

Mud Run Update!

As promised - here's the Mud Run update!

I had a whopping finishing time of 56:04.7!!! Pretty outrageous for a 5K, but I think most people were around the 40min to an hour mark. I'm pleased I was actually under an hour and I wasn't last! I really hauled butt the last stretch to not be beat out by the 60 year old guy (Which I think I accomplished only due to the fact that he had previous lost his shoes in the mud and was a little slow going over the gravel...but still!) Actually, looking at the age brackets at the times they finished, most of the people in the 60-64 range beat me! hahaha!

Here are some pictures !

Entering the pits of muddy water! I wish they would have had pictures of the one we had to army crawl through! I was singing "I feel Pretty" at this point in time.

Damn hills...

Meg had been unfortunate to lose her shoes, but amazingly - she retained them through the mud pits! She finished 10 minutes faster than me - that's what I get for running with someone who trains for marathons!

You can tell this is Nick's first time around as his shirt is still white. We all look like we're walking because I'm pretty sure there's no humanly possible way to run through mud like this!