Walking to Cure MS

This morning our family participated in the local MS Walk. Jason's sister has MS and organized a team which her employer sponsored. We raised over $2,000 as a team towards curing MS! It was in the mid-thirties this morning so most of us opted for the one mile course over the 3.5 mile course. Afterwards there was Jimmy John's in the middle school cafeteria and then we all went to Season's Tavern (our sponsor) for more food! Here are some pictures:



Amelia and Auntie Liz:


Myra, Marie, Liz, Me and Lisa:

Out of the Darkness 2010

(Liz, I swiped this from FB...I thought it was a good picture to start off the post with!)

This past Sunday, Jason's sister, Liz, participated in the 2010 Out of the Darkness walk at Como Park. Two members of Jason and Liz's family, including their dad, have taken their lives so this cause is something very important to her and hopefully Jason and I can participate next year with her!


Jason and I were unable to join her and a few other friends who did the walk but Amelia and I went over to her house in the evening for some dinner and fun!

Amelia got spend some more time with the puppies which aren't really puppy size anymore! She even shared her drink with Pecan:


It was pretty cute :) Even when it was kennel time for the puppies she was with them!


She also tried to bring them with her everywhere:


As you can imagine, she didn't get too far with them ;)

We had a great night and the food was awesome! We are proud of Liz for fundraising and getting involved with this foundation and also for Marie, Molly and Katie who did the walk with her!



Hopefully we will be able to participate next year!

Locks of Love - #2

I went in tonight to get my hair cut for summer. I just have too much hair and it is hot and humid here. Not fun. I got there and was told I had enough to donate! Now Jason and I have both been able to donate this year. So, I went from this:


to this:


to this, the final product:


Oh, does it feel nice to have all that heavy hair off my neck! I hadn't cut my hair since right before I found out Amelia was on her way, so this was long overdue!

Winter Blast

UPDATED: Jason's chili won people's choice!

Today, after church, Amelia, our friend Sarah and I went to Bay View's Winter Blast. Jason was involved in the chili contest! He and his friend, Ben, represented their work, HoneyPie, in the contest.


They had a carnivorous chili and an option for vegans (there are a lot of vegans in this area) so hopefully that helps them stand out! Sarah and I voted for their chili and hopefully lots of other did too! Jason used the world's hottest pepper, the Bhut Jolokia, in his chili and guess what? He used just the right amount. It wasn't fiery hot, it wasn't mild...it had heat and good flavor. I liked it! I should have tried it when he tried to get me to on Friday!

The beach house at South Shore Park was packed today:


(see Jason in the back corner?)

I was soooo hot (which probably doesn't suprise anyone who knows me well). Jason told me I was hot because I wore my green sweater and I always get hot in it. That may be true, but there were a ba-jillion people in there so I think I would have been hot in a swimsuit!

While we were there, a band called the Garlic Mustard Pickers was playing:


You can go here to learn a little more about this band and their interesting name!

We even ran into a Klement's sausage while we were there:


(pardon my red, red face. Like I said, I was HOT. Jason wanted me to get this picture, so I did) Amelia was just in awe by the sausage. It was pretty cute.

What's the big deal with a sausage? If you have been to a Brewer's game, you understand. If you haven't, well, here is a peak at why they are so famous:


If you are wondering what they are doing, they are racing. That is the entertainment during the 7th inning stretch, sausage races!

The chili contest is still going on, so I don't know if Jason's chili won or not! Maybe it will. That would make his day! Either way though, all the money raised today (chili tastes and beverages were $1 each) goes to support the Bay View Neighborhood Association and that is the important part! We are lucky to live in such a nice area!

Celebrating Brad

Tonight, after work, I volunteered at a benefit. My friend, Jenny, lost her friend, Brad, to cancer last year. Tonight, she and some of his other friends held a benefit in his honor to raise money for cancer research at the Wisconsin Medical College and also to create a scholarship fund for a student at the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, where they all attended. Since I am a licensed bartender I was able to spend a few hours tonight helping serve beer to the attendees. I was very honored to be a part of the event and glad that I could help out.

There was an art auction to raise money and there were some really great pieces. I am going to leave a link, here, to the event's Facebook page in case anyone is interested in looking at any of the art that was auctioned off!

Another great thing...some people were kind enough to tip us, so I have just enough extra money to get Amelia what we wanted for her birthday with no worries!

Locks of Love

Yep, Jason cut his hair today! It was finally long enough for him to donate so he went for it. I don't think he likes it too much, yet. I keep reminding him that he has to get used to it. It is a big change:


We got him some styling product, so hopefully within the next few days he can figure out a way that he likes his new hair!

For anyone who doesn't know about Locks of Love, you can learn more about it, here.