And so it continues . . .

My morning routine includes making myself a nice mocha.
This tastiness consists of some Starbucks Pike Place Roast, a little International Delight Chocolate Caramel flavored creamer, and some organic, fat free milk.
It really is the perfect concoction. [I have tried other flavored-creamer options - this one is the best. It became a major win when when I finally found it in a local grocery store. Read about the win here.]

This morning, however, the routine changed.

When I went to make my mocha, this is what the coffee pot greeted me with:

 

In case you were wondering, this is not, in fact, what the pike place roast looks like in coffee-form.
It's what hot water looks like.
After going through the coffee pot, sans coffee grounds.

Not a great way to start the day.
And perhaps a small sign that I need tomorrow's furlough day more than I thought.

Frazzled Much?

I went to a luncheon on campus today.
And while sharing a story about some residents, I said that they were from Hungaria.
Bless her heart, the director of financial aid said, "Do you mean Hungary? Honey, I think you better eat your lunch."
Neat.
GREAT first impression.
I can say, however, that I have worn matching shoes all week to work.
I can't say this for everyone I work with.
So perhaps we all need a little more sleep or a little less time with our new HR system.
Our brains are clearly fried.

The Beauty of Grey

I have noticed a new theme in my life.
I am obsessed with the color grey.
I have always enjoyed the concept of grey - I think that's why I enjoy working in higher education, and housing especially. There are all sorts of areas of grey. And if you can navigate those (instead of sticking to black-and-white-kinda-decision-making), I think we can make campus a great place to live for students, and a really great environment for our staff to work in.
In high school, I fell in love with the song, The Beauty of Gray, by LIVE. My friend Marci introduced it to me, and we quickly became obsessed. We listened to it before every cross country race. And while driving around town. Or just hanging out. We put it on mix tapes for each other. I'm confident we listened to it a lot.
Perhaps that's why the message has stuck so resolutely in my brain.
It's got a great beat, and the lyrics are pretty powerful, too. This link is a fun video that a photographer put together with the song and some of her photographs of people around the world. Very cool.
So back to the current obsession . . .
I can't seem to get enough grey into my life, including, but not limited to the following. (Some of which I have had to make sure are part of my life, and some I just admire whenever I see them while out and about . . .)
Like this bag - Simply Vera Wang by Vera Wang

These Converse All-Star Chucks

This bedspread from IKEA

And this nail polish, just to name a few. :)

Now, if only I could learn to appreciate a grey, rainy day, like we've had today, perhaps life would be perfect. I'm not sure I'm ready to go quite that far just yet. 

Happiness from Simple Things

I really believe that life is all about the little things. I might have mentioned this idea before. [Normally I’d try and find the link, but it’s late, so, it’s not gonna happen. Fire me.] At any rate, here are some of the little things that made the list this week (and it’s only Wednesday!)

1.       Tulips. They are so simple and gorgeous and humble.

2.       Finding a new episode of NCIS that I haven’t seen yet.

3.       Pink jelly beans (from the bag of brachs original flavor – none of that spicy or sour nonsense for me).

4.       A cool, fluffy pillow waiting for my head to fall on when exhausted.

5.       New music

6.       Finishing a really great book. Even though you now carry the characters with you, and you find yourself thinking throughout the day – I wonder what happened next with –fill in the blank with strong character from great novel – and you want a part two/follow-up/continuation with the characters. And there are none. Yet.

7.       Spring flowers that survived the snow, rain, sleet and hail from yesterday. And are still blooming today. Thank you, daffodils and other flowers that are cute and fragrant, but whose name I cannot recall.

8.       A picture that brings back great memories.

9.       Finding the perfect birthday present for a friend. It’d be even better if I could get my arse to the post office, but then life would be too easy.

10.    Making someone’s day with a Kelly-Kard. [bonus when they appreciate the card and creativity that went into it – but mostly, it’s just pretty cool to surprise people with a pretty card and a kind message. Or a hilarious message. Or whatever message they need. As long as it made their day, I love it.

A Cause for Celebration

Last week our department had our annual Spring Kick-Off.
In addition to an overview of the year, the budget, and the possiblity of us becoming a public authority, we also celebrated the service of our staff to the division. We had lots of folks celebrating important milestones.
I, of course, found this to be a great excuse to make some cards.
My buddy Ben inspired the first "yay" card I made when he turned 3 last month.

Which, in turn, inspired me to use the same concept to commemorate the 5, 10, 20 and 25 years of service these fabulous people have given.

Which I think is a pretty cool reason to celebrate.
Yay!!!

A Musical Montage

Thanks to My iTunes library and the magic that is Pandora, I’ve realized there are some songs that regardless of who sings them, I’m a fan.

Here are a few of them, and the versions I find fun.

Blackbird

- The original, by the Beatles (of course – a true classic!)

- my friend Sarah McLachlan (from the movie I am Sam)

- and most recently Kurt, from the Glee cast.

Just The Way You Are

- Bruno Mars 

- Glee (there might be a theme here – but did you see that wedding episode? Freaking amazing.)

Hey, Soul Sister

Train

Glee (I might be a fan.)

Street Corner Symphony [from the Sing-Off, Season 2]

and my savvy buddy Anth

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

- Israel Kamakawiwo’ole

- Ingrid Michaelson

- Jason Castro

- Willie Nelson

- Straight No Chaser [a fun a capella group]

. . . just to name a few. There are a boatload of options out there - some with 'somewhere' in the title, and some without.

Make You Feel My Love

Love, love, LOVE the version of the Bob Dylan song by ADELE

Dylan’s original is amazing, but challenging to find online. (To be honest, I gave up . . . I’m sure it’s out there, but let’s be real, this list is getting a little long.)

There’s also a fun version by Knights Bridge (from the Hope Floats soundtrack)

Empire State of Mind

- Alicia Keys & Jay-Z 

- Glee (do you expect something else at this point?)

- Empire State of Mind (Part II) Broken Down – from Sex & the City 2 – I love this version, 'broken down' as it were, just Alicia. She has such an amazing voice.

And last, but not least, Say Hey (I Love You)[feat. Cherine Anderson] by Michael Franti & Spearhead. This isn’t someone else singing it, but my favorite version, lip synced by my friend Craig Ferguson. If this doesn’t make you laugh or smile, I don’t know what will.

Meet Madison

A couple of weeks ago I tagged along with a colleague during a photo shoot. We commissioned him to get some shots of local sites [we used these to decorate some furnished apartments]. During his shoot, he gave me a helpful introduction to a 'real' camera (my term, not his), and some great tips.

I got some great shots (if I do say so, myself).

A few of my favorites are below.

I don't know what it is about a row of bikes that screams for me to photograph them, but whenever I see them, I want to pull out my camera. This time, I finally made it happen outside one of our residence halls.

Man skiing across Lake Mendota.

Bascom Hall is home to many administrative offices on campus. It's kind-of a big deal. And is located on top of a ginormous hill - that if you're not used to walking up regularly, will take your breath away.

This is a view of Lake Mendota from inside a study room in the Memorial Union.

State Street is the place to be. Shopping, bars, restaurants - and a straight shot from campus to the capital.

Okay, so the Ugly Dolls really have nothing to do, specifically, with Madison. But I LOVE this window display from Pop Deluxe, a very fun store on State Street. It's one of those places you can just meander through, and find all sorts of things to entertain yourself, and others, with.

The signs they were sporting are laugh-out-loud funny.

This might be my favorite picture from the day. Made especially great after Rob doctored it up a bit. It's a view from a museum store looking out onto State Street. It was a great opportunity to play with the lens.

Our protesters are quite creative. I especially love that about them. We happened to walk around on the same day as the St. Patrick's Day parade. It was a fascinating combination of Irish and Protest. Awesome.

I finally tried Ian's Pizza. It was quite tasty. As mentioned in a previous post, Ian's is very close to the capital, and became quickly entwined with the protests.

Here is a listing of all of the countries that donated money to feed the people.

Who doesn't love a bagpiper? And a whole band of them, no less?

And that, my friends, is a brief introduction into my new city.

A Perk of Being Single?

Last night I had dinner with a friend.
She randomly mentioned that her husband recently suggested she move her 2 pairs of shoes out of the living room/entry way of their house into their bedroom, where they belonged.
I might have chuckled in my head.

Because I, too, might need to put a few pairs of shoes away.
"Few" being a relative term.