Middleton/Madison part 1

We just recently got back from a nice little mini vacation to Middleton/Madison, WI. We had been looking to possibly move there and decided to take a vacation to check it out. Overall, these cities were nice; however, I do believe we're going back to our original choice to move-Traverse City. It was still a fun little trip-I always love spending time with Tim :)

Thank God it was a nice day. We were supposed to be on the road for 7 hours.

 This was oh, about 15 minutes into Chicago rush hour traffic lol. We ended up being in traffic for 1 1/2 hours. And to make matters worse, Tim really had to pee. And we were STARVING-so starving, that afterwards, we just went to Culvers. Yes, I said it. A FAST FOOD place. And it was disgusting.

 Finally out of traffic-it only put us behind a couple hours lol

There was a GORGEOUS sunset. Hot air balloons help too :)

We stayed at the Crowne Plaza in Madison. It was pretty fancy-there was a Starbucks in the lobby :) And by using Travelocity, we saved about $200 for the two nights we were there :D

 I love my camera :). During this trip I used my iPhone mostly indoors and my canon for scenery.

We truly planned on eating local; however, Denny's was just calling our names. It was so yummy :)

 With our stomachs full and our hearts happy, we headed out to The National Mustard Museum :D

Yes, awesome toilet seat lol, but did you see the CREEPY mannequin??? 

Tim's mustard is on the left-too horseradishy for me, which is surprising because there's no horseradish in it...The dill mustard on the other hand-YUMMO! The honey mustard and pretzels were for our good friends who fed our kitty while we were gone :)

 SO GOOD!

Part 2 coming soon :)

This was our Memorial day lol :) Hotdogs, corn on the cob, pasta salad, and a black bean/corn/etc...salsa with tortilla chips. Mmmmm. Oh, and "Top Gear", the UK version. It's so good. We've watched every episode on Netflix. And yes, we are cheap and haven't bought curtains. Snuggies work just as good, lol :)

 We then went to Dairy Queen and the beach. I DO NOT recommend the new confetti cake blizzard-it's bland. The cake is obviously not fresh; and there's little, hard sprinkles in it. Like I said, no flavor.

 We watched a storm come in. It was AWESOME.

 Yesterday, Tim and I went to Traverse to pick up some items for our trip to Wisconsin next week :) This is a terrible picture with a rather creepy smile, but cute outfit in my opinion. I bought it :) Old Navy had some really good deals!

 We went to Applebee's for dinner, and I got the Fried green tomato & turkey club. Delicious, but rather salty. Fries were good :)

 I normally cut Tim's hair; I cut my brother's hair for the first time today...

 and he loves it :)

I think he looks handsome and so grown up :)

 Lake Michigan's sunset was breathtaking tonight.

 I edited the next one, obviously :)

 I literally SPRINTED to the beach to make sure I got there in time before the sun disappeared. Ugh. So sweaty.

 So peaceful. The end.

These are a few more pictures from our adventure with some of our friends a couple weeks back.

 This game can get old rather quickly. Tim and I came up with random things to do before we hit the puck (or whatever the darn thing is called) such as kicking our feet in the air...

 backwards and with our eyes shut...

 and I'm assuming more kicking, lol. It was a lot of fun :)

 We're lucky to live right on Lake Michigan. It's so pretty.

I posted this on Facebook, and Heather wrote something like "I am Katniss, watch out squirrels" or something along those lines. She's seriously awesome.

Today entails going to a graduation party, getting POURED on (we're having some bad weather here), and planning our trip to Wisconsin next week! I'm working on a mixed CD for our iPod. Tim and I don't always care for the same music, so I figured I'd mix our music together :). Anyone have a personal favorite song they like for road trips???

 Chicken fajitas and corn on the cob for dinner. Really crappy picture, but it was SO GOOD! I love the summertime, mainly for all the delicious food I can afford again :) It's easier to have healthy food in the summertime, and it's MUCH easier to detox as well, since fruits and veggies are cheaper.

 Picking out a summer color :)

 This was SO GOOD! It's Near East couscous mix with toasted pine nuts, asparagus, tomatoes, zucchini, yellow squash, garlic, and parmesan cheese. SO YUMMY! Bonus, I have leftovers :)

 I haven't really been happy with my life for quite a while now. I'm a receptionist at a job that most of the time I can't stand. I've been there three years. I know there's jobs out there where I won't be taken advantage of and where they'll actually appreciate what I do. Why do I stay? No clue.

Tim and I have been saving to move; but in the mean time, I'm doing everything I can to make my life better. I got this book at the library, and Gretchen Rubin has so many insightful things to say about making your life more simple and happy. Every chapter in the book is a month in the year. Each month, Gretchen tackles a new set of resolutions that she believes will make her happier. It's so interesting to read; and she has TONS of great ideas, many which I've started myself.

One thing I recently started was a Happiness Journal. At least once a week, I write down ten things that make me happy/smile. Thinking up different things that are going on in my life that I'm happy about is SO much more fun than focusing on things that make me depressed. This journal is something in my life that makes me appreciate the little things in life more.

 It IS all in your attitude. You have the ability to change how you act or feel. It's possible. I've been working on it :)

This is SO hard to do, but it's true! I HATE the feeling after you gossip about something-that nagging feeling that you just did something wrong. I've been working really hard for the past few weeks to not gossip and not listen to gossip. I've been trying to remove myself from the room wherever gossip is taking place. Gossip may be true, but I'd rather just not gossip. It drains me.

I highly recommend this book. It's so good. I've renewed it twice now from the library, just so I don't miss any important information :)