Month: August 2005

  • That’s it. I might just get lost at work tomorrow and not reappear.

  • Having a lapse to age 16.

    Today was a riot with Brent as we toured
    Milwaukee with stops in Germantown for LifeChurch, the south side to
    see his family roots [including the nation's oldest operating
    manually-loaded bowling alley!], a soul-stirring walk on the pier on the lake after coffee at Alterra, and a lot of cruising around in the topless Jeep.


    Being attractive is the most important thing there is


    If you wanna catch the biggest fish in your pond


    You have to be as attractive as possible


    Make sure to keep your hair spotless and clean


    Wash it at least every two weeks


    Once every two weeks
    Taken from the Teenage Guide to Popularity

  • Oh it’s a hard-knocks life for me!

  • If there’s one thing I know….





    Tonight, I shared a birthday party with Amanda (middle) and Mandy. It was a little wild, ok realllly wild. I picked up a TON of cool stuff – shirts, a hat, a foto and phrame, a handmade frame, lots of cards, an ant farm, and plenty more. The book of memories was such a tasteful and memorable present that I will forever remember.







    Toodles!

  • My Nashville Post

    I had a blast in this city! So much fun
    with the conference, the people, and the place I stayed at. The Gaylord
    Opryland Hotel/Resort/Conference Center was my home for almost a week,
    and my view from the balcony of our FREE room was this every night with
    live music playing until 1 am. [note the blue illuminated fountain]

    The whole hotel was pretty surreal -
    they have 4.5 acres under their domes between a series of atriums. Then
    in the morning, I woke up to this out my door!

    There’s a river with a boat (yes, and
    boat tours) that runs through it all – and a bunch of Tennessee
    catfish. So many corny elements, we couldn’t help but laugh. Oh, this
    was the site of my meeting the hotel operator….long story that I’m
    delighted to share offline.

     Our first days were at a park for the International Tree Climbing
    Competition! Yeah! Few of you would appreciate the meaning behind all
    of this, but here’s a fun pic I took from the aerial rescue preliminary
    event.

    Here is Jarod with a little two
    year old climber! She and hundreds of other kids joined us for the
    kid’s climb that we’ve volunteered for over the last 3 years. It is so
    much fun! And so rewarding! This girl cried at first, but I talked to
    her, and she was all smiles in no time!

    We competed as well! In the Rakemaster Challenge, our Wisconsin team
    took third place internationally facing tough competition from the
    Ontario and New England chapters. Next year…. Here’s part of the
    relay race where the heat of battle was really cranked up in steaming
    hot weather.

    Confidential to Matt because I know he would appreciate the size of this mixing board.

    So here we are at the 3-story Wildhorse
    Saloon with a huge crowd of people line-dancing to country music! Never
    in Milwaukee could you pull that off… It was quite a lot of fun – I
    shot pool and watched people dance, including some intense dance-off
    challenges!

    Meeting people is always high on my list
    of priorities. Here I am with Susan in one of the many little places at
    our hotel. Many late nights and early mornings….but she was a lot of
    fun – working for a non-profit organization that plants trees. Alas,
    she has a boyfriend of six years…such lucky guys out there.

    Enough with girls, though. It’s the
    quality time with GUYS that matters! Hehe… Ryan and I are fooling
    around here, but this is just a single snapshot of the shenanigans of
    the week. Bed buddies are always a recipe for disaster. Right, Brent?

    Next
    year, I’m looking forward to participating in the Tour des Trees ride
    that will go from the north side of Lake Superior down into Wisconsin,
    all the way to Minneapolis. This girl had something to do with my
    decision-making process. And best of all, it’s raising money for tree
    research. Just have to get a road bike and raise $3500. Offering anyone?

  • A very IM birthday:

    [23:07] katie: and in about 53 minutes, if you are still awake, you will be getting a phone call with birthday wishes

    [23:45] kristen: ::hurls birthday confetti in your general direction::
    there, it’s early. i’m going to bed. tell esther i said hi. tell me
    when you’re busy next time.

    [00:09] amanda: past my bedtime – but wanted to wish you a happy birthday

    [00:02] mandy: Feliz cumpleanos a ti!

    [00:31] esther: happy birthday

    [05:53] matt: ahem
    [05:53] *** Auto-response sent to matt: Showering then back to work.
    [05:53] matt: happy birthday to you
    [05:53] matt: happy birthday to you
    [05:53] matt: happy birthday dead nicholas
    [05:53] matt: happy birthday to you
    [05:54] matt: and many more
    [05:54] matt: umm…
    [05:54] matt: happy birthday DEAR nicholas

    [12:07] lisa: happy birthday yo

    [19:01] maryann: HAPPY BIRTHDAY, by the way

    [22:51] carl: happy b-day nick

    [16:32] david: belated happy birthday!

    [12:00] rachel: happy (belated) birthday nick–sorry i missed it!!

    [16:51] jen: happy late birthday, btw

    If I could just take a moment to
    point out that last year, I received two birthday greetings in all
    forms total, excluding family. This was a much more pleasant surprise,
    and thank you too all of you for the calls, voicemails, and reminders.

  • Broadcasting live from Nashville, Tennessee…

    This is actually the daytime view from my hotel room
    balcony. I took some night pictures, but I need a cord to transfer the
    images… I have postcards! Send me your address, and I’ll send you a
    postcard!

    Thank you to the ISA for paying for my $1200 hotel
    bill… I will gladly volunteer every year for the rest of my life for
    this benefit package! Live bands all night… Lots of great friends to
    catch up with…. Yippee!

  • Quick update! I’m leaving for Nashville in a couple of hours! Tree conferences are where it is at…

    Joe and I visited Chicago last
    Saturday to see some lovely chicas! He was happy to snap pictures, and
    I wish I had the time to post more, but here are a handful.

    Here he is feigning an eye obstruction just to get some close attention
    from a girl…. Yeah…I’ve got something in my eye….can you help me
    with this?

    Shari,
    Nick, and her co-leader Kristin (sp?) at the church they’ve volunteered
    at this summer, leading youth groups one week at a time.

    Ya Carolyeen! Here she is chatting with Esther at the airport during her layover in Chicago.

    It was so much fun! Joe and I had a blast meeting all three of you!