Snowbound in WI

Hal writes:

Happy birthday to Anna! Our plans were to leave this morning and head north for Christmas, but the Wisconsin Dept. of Transportation strongly advised us otherwise. The snow isn't too bad where we are at, but the interstates and highways to the north are not traversal. So we are just waiting here to see if the weather changes.

Below is a nice holiday photo of the two of us. This was one of the better ones after several attempts earlier in the day did not turn out (Hal couldn't keep his eyes open facing the sun). The bridge behind us is the one that was placed next to my hall last May to allow students to walk to the other halls and the dining center.

Part of our holiday festivities includes my department holiday party. Below is a pictures of Jen, my colleague who recently got engaged, and her finance Jason. Why is she so unhappy? Well, in the mystery gift exchange I lured her to select the package I brought by placing an ornament on the outside that I knew she would select. Inside was a copy of Barry Manilow's new CD. Now there, is an on-going feud among the RDs as to who is better, Barry Manilow or Neil Diamond, and Jen is in the Neil fan club. Unfortunately for her, although it was a popular item "stolen" many times during the game, her fiance also wanted to hear the sweet soothing tones of Barry and ended up with the prize.

One of my colleague's sons playing in a box. Who needs a toy when you can have a box just about your size? I would enjoy my own box to play in, but it would have to be about the size of a refrigerator.

One of my colleagues made ornaments for everyone else. She created eight dala horses for me to hang on my tree.

After finals, students are allowed to stay one more evening. I hosted a gathering for my RAs where we had baked spaghetti and played some games.

Yesterday Anna and I went with our friends Matt and Kim to the Wisconsin vs. Valparaiso basketball game in the Kohl Center. Prior to the game we ate at a restaurant where Matt and Kim went to before Matt proposed called Porta Bella. I had some delicious Manicotti and Anna enjoyed her favorite, portabella ravioli. But we saved room for nachos and ice cream at the game. Pictured below is Anna and I a few rows down from where our seats were located.

Anna wanted me to take a picture of the poor, lonely Valpo alumni. I'm guessing it was Valpo Alumni Honors night, so they found the one grad that had a GPA over 2.0. But nobody wearing red wanted to sit near him...

Valpo played well, but unfortunately the game last longer than four minutes. It was actually pretty close until the very end when they ended up in foul trouble and the Badgers actually started to make some free throws.

Well, once again we are late getting our Christmas letters out. Happy Holidays!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...

Hal writes:

Snow has been the theme the last two weeks. School was called off all over the area today (including Anna's last final at Clarke that was supposed to be this morning) but the university still had school so I had to work today. My parents continue to hope for a snow day up north, but they don't seem to be having as much luck as we are down here with school cancellations (perhaps their singing is a little off key for the "no school tomorrow" song). All Anna wants is an "A" in Ortho for Christmas, but she will have to wait until tomorrow to attempt that. After she is completed with tomorrow's test, she will be done with her classwork. Only two clinical internships this next spring and then she will graduate in May. Aside from studying for her last test, Anna has spent equal amount of time on the phone with her classmates planning social events for the rest of the week to celebrate their end of classes.

With the snow has also come an opportunity for me to give me new skis (and new boots, new poles, and new gloves) an their first time out on the snow. The first day had an ice glaze on top (see second picture below) and the past few days there has been so much snow that my previous days worth of tracks have vanished. Anna's been critiquing my technique, but I still have the feeling that I should be moving faster.

Yeah, it was a little icy...

Don't ask me what this photo is about. It's one of those Anna photos that she thinks is "cute". As in, "aw, look how cute our skis look together..." Anna and I have been skiing four or five times within the last week.

We decided to go with a smaller tree this year and we have it decorate along with the rest of the apartment.

So, we haven't blogged recently, but with it being the end of the semester for the both of us, it has kept us both busy. Although I can anticipate how busy the end of the semester can be (which includes the heightened stress levels of student taking finals) after doing this for a couple of years, it still doesn't make it any less work. By the time next week Friday rolls around, I'll be excited to have a very quiet building.

I also had some fun news this week. The program that I presented at a regional housing conference was awarded "Best Conference Program" out of over 120 programs. In addition to the award, the housing association I belong to is paying for me to present at the national conference this next June in Orlando. I'm a little nervous (in the conference program, my program will have a special mark by it to let participants know it is an award winner), but I've presented on the topic often enough that I will be comfortable with it. Another aspect is that it will be 75 minutes (instead of the tradition 50 minute program) so I will have an opportunity to expand on some points that I have not been able to before.

Thanksgiving photos

Hal write:

The Thanksgiving photos have finally arrive. The first one is the entire crew.

Back row (l to ): Dale (Anna's dad), Buzz (Hal's dad), me, Jay (Hal's bro), and Sean (Lindsay's boyfriend). Middle row (l to r): Sandy (Anna's mom), Vicki (my mom), Anna, Haley (hiding behind grandma), Alex, Tabby (Jay's wife) holding Daisy, and Lindsay (Hal's sister). Front row (l to r): Kat (Anna's sister), Grandma Vivian and Charlie.

A photo before the feast. The tables not shown in the picture held all the food. We had to explain to the kids that Anna brought leaves inside and put them on the table, but it was for a special occasion and not to be done at home.

In preparation for my first winter of XC skiing, Dale showed me how to wax my skis. It is supposed to snow a lot here this weekend, so I might be able to take them out for my first adventure.

I don't have any pictures from the Turkey Trot, but Dale and I ran that Thanksgiving morning. He got first place in his grouping and I got second place in mine. He won a turkey and I didn't win anything for a second place group finish, but I did have some bagels to eat after the race. There were over 1000 runners, but I am thankful I am in an age group that no longer includes high school and traditional college age runners.

Bridge

Hal writes:

I haven't put together the photos from Thanksgiving yet for the blog. Actually, Anna and I were busy hosting and we are waiting for those who took pictures to send us photos for our blog (hint, hint).

I can't find the right words to preface this link, so I will just say that it involves accounts of the survivors of the Minnesota bridge collapse earlier this year. Click here.

Back from conference (aka the one day work week)

Hal writes:

Anna and I just happened to both be wearing pink the other day, so Anna thought that mean we needed our picture taken. Anna had dressed up for a two-hour presentation for one of her classes earlier that day and I was involved in RA interviews for the mid-year selection process.

Halloween occurred on the same night as hall council, so here are some of my RAs and I dressed up for the occasion.

This past week I was in Rochester for a regional housing conference. I only had to work Monday this past week and have a short week coming up for Thanksgiving break, so November is flying by. All of my RD colleagues were able to join in and we were able to spend some time together in the evenings. I appreciate the fact that not only were we able to have fun, but other groups began calling us the fun group. Here is a picture of us at dinner the first evening.

In addition to breakfast at Pannekoeken's and evenings spent eating out and singing karaoke, we attended programs during the day. I was able to go to some sessions and get some good information to bring back to campus (and went to one session that was terrible, but once you are in it's rude to get up and leave). I also had a variety of presentations. Jen and I did a presentation on RA programming for the Gen Y students in college, Nolan and I did a presentation on housing humor, I assisted one of our facility workers with a presentation on custodial work and I presented on learning styles.

Big news is that I was awarded with a "Top 5" program award. Out of the 130+ programs, my learning styles program was deemed one of the top five at the conference. Quite an honor considering that I'm fairly young compared to the other winners who had more experience. The bonus is I now have a one in five shot at being selected to attend a national conference to present my session with someone else paying for it. I don't know how they select which one of the five of us, but it's pretty exciting. Nothing like an additional resume booster, right?

Here's a picture at one of the banquet's with my colleagues Andrea and Artanya. Check out my Facebook account for more photos.

This week Anna and I will be hosting both families for Thanksgiving. I bought a 22 pound turkey this morning among other groceries. Only three days of work until the break begins!

Valley Forge

Anna Writes...

Well, I know that this is mostly Hal's blog, but from time to time I like to spice it up and post something too.

I went to Valley Forge, PA last week for a confrence about physical therapy. It was a lot of fun...I learned somethings, and even started looking at job possibilities (YIKES!).

This gem was captured during an afternoon off... what else do you do with free time in a strange place, but shop?? My friend Kim had to get in on the fun too....Neither of us felt the need to purchase the glasses, as hot as they were.

Here's a few of us at dinner... We always have a good time!

Even though I went out for a confrence, I don't have any pictures of anything that took place there. I DID attend though....

The next few weeks at school are very busy for me as we finish up our last semester of classes. It's exciting to be getting so close to the end, but scary (we're expected to know what we're doing now!!!), and sad as we won't be coming back together as a class for anything but graduation week next spring.

I can't believe how quickly three years has passed...

House on the Rock

Hal writes:

I had plans to visit the House on the Rock before I left this area of Wisconsin. Last weekend Trapper and I did not have anything to do, so we plunked down some money for the "ultimate tour" which was four hours of hiking around an interesting house that had some interesting collections. What else can I say? It was interesting. And in case you were wondering, Anna was with classmates at a national conference in Valley Forge, PA, but she didn't want to go on this trip anyways.

Here is Trapper and I near one of the flower pots outside.

The house was pretty dark and there were a lot of unusual things, but nothing that really said, "Hey, take a picture of me, I'm photo worthy!" But I did have my picture taken in the chair that tests your sense of humor. It turns out I'm hilarious.

There was a jackalope in the bathroom!

So, this is my first attempt at trying to upload some video from my camera. If this works for you, you get to see ten seconds of the world's largest carousel. If not, then you will just have to visit the house yourself.

Letterboxing weekend

Hal writes:

My 3-day weekend (Friday was fall break) consisted of watching some movies and going on some adventures. Anna and I watched "The Holiday" and while she babysat for a professor, I was able to watch Casino Royale for the first time.

On Friday we went on a couple letterboxing adventures. The first one was supposed to be in a park outside of Potosi, WI, but as you can see from the picture below, my searching did not find the whereabouts of said box.


I was more lucky in Governor Dewey Nelson State Park. This is the first time I have actually found the letterbox. Usually I like to read the directions which leaves other people in the group more opportunity to see it before I can.

A picture of Anna and I overlooking the Mississippi from the top of the state park.

This week also feels like a short week coming up. Wisconsin students have Thursday and Friday off, so I am spending those days helping the Admissions office through tours of the halls and answering questions about Housing. My favorite part is that I get to spend some time in the morning giving a brief presentation about housing to all the prospective students and family members.

For my Dad

Hal writes:

My dad expressed concerns that I haven't written in a while...

Homecoming ends, weekend in the cities

Hal writes:

This is me with my new niece. I was able to drive up and see my brother and his family, including his new daughter Daisy.

While I was at Jay's, my sister Lindsay also stopped by to visit.

I also spent some time with Kevin and with my father in law. While I was waiting for Dales to get done with work, I wondered around the neighborhood (not far from the U of M campus) and took some pictures.

Here is what cracks me about about the photos above: the "Honey, stop the car!" sign. I don't know if this is put on every sign by this particular agent or what criteria she has for a home to make it a "honey, stop the car!" type of house.

Dale took me ski shopping. I got my first set of XC skis from Finn Sisu! Now that I have the skis and boots (one is attached to the ski in the photo) all I need are some poles and a set of spandex clothing and I'll be ready for winter outdoor fun. (I hope my snowshoes don't get jealous.) In case you are wondering, my skis are 190 cm tall.

The leaves are just starting to turn in Platteville, but there were more colors in the cities this weekend.

As a final tribute to the end of homecoming, the lighting of the M was held last night. This is not a good picture because of the distance we were from the M as it was being lit, but it was fun to watch as it was lit from the bottom and worked it's way to the top in flames.

Welcome Daisy!

Hal writes:

Here is a picture of my brother and his new daughter. This photo was sent to me by my mom, but I am hoping to visit them soon.

It's a niece!

Hal writes:

My brother Jay called to say that he and his wife (well, mostly his wife) had a baby girl this evening. Daisy was born early this evening and all is well for mother, child, and father. My hope is to possibly go see my new niece this weekend and have some pictures next week. For those of you in to the stats of newborns, this one came in a little over 7 pounds and about 19 inches long.

Thank you for your suggestions for naming our fish. We still are waiting on a couple people to get back to us, but in the mean time "little fish" (as we are calling him until he gets a name) is continuing to enjoy his home on top of the wine rack.

I was the on call this weekend and I have never had so many phone calls during an on-call weekend. Nothing major, but it's not easy to get a good night's sleep when the phone rings throughout the night. At least there wasn't anything that I had to leave the hall for in the middle of the night, all the situations that happened in the other halls were taken care of without me having to leave my hall.

Tonight begins Homecoming week at UWP. The first two events were the Banner display and the Kickball competition. Pictured below are some members of my hall's team just shortly after they beat another hall in the co-ed division. Our homecoming t-shirts have the "too much rock for one hand" display on the front, thus the hand signs that are being flashed below.

Go Southwest Hall!

Sesquicentennial post

Hal writes:

150 posts! Hooray!

This past weekend Anna completed the Fox City half-marathon. Official time has not come in yet, but she finished well under two hours. We don't have any pictures of her running, but she may have bruised the back of her leg with a muscle tear, so we might take a picture of that. ;)

I would like you to meet my fish. Anna bought him for me last week. I tried naming him Archimedes, thinking that I would have a smart, academic fish; but Anna would have none of it. I would appreciated any suggestions you have for a name, still looking for something that sounds academic.

My fantasy football team is 3-0. I don't have any "great players", but my players have been consistent. Better start than the Minnesota Vikings...

Weekend at GAC

Hal writes:

This past weekend I was up at GAC to fulfill my alumni Class Agent responsibilities. The purpose is for me to gather news and information about the college and then pass it on to my classmates through newsletters that I write. Typically there are two of us, but the woman who has been working with me the past six years has decided that she will not be able to participate anymore. So, I'll be looking for a new person to assist in the process.

But, part of being back is to visit with former professors and administrators. I spent a majority of the day on Friday catching up with friends and mentors. Although each trip back there are less and less people I know due to career changes and there have been new buildings added in between my visits as well.

My sister took on a job at GAC recently as Assistant Swim Coach. She didn't want me to take her picture at work, but I was able to snap this one quickly before she could stick her tongue out at me.


During my visit to GAC, I stayed in my sister's new apartment. I know that some other people are wondering what it looks like, but I didn't go around taking pictures of everything. I did take one of the fireplace in her apartment because I thought it was neat.

In 2006 when I first move in to Southwest Hall at my school, GAC also opened up a Southwest Hall. Here is the GAC version of SWH:

It was fun to be back on campus and to see people. I enjoyed that there were numerous students with college sweatshirts and t-shirts. There is not as much school pride at my current institution. I also enjoyed attending daily chapel and having the opportunity to wander around campus.

So, funny story. The man who bought the Barry Bonds ball that broke Hank Aaron's record is letting the public vote on what should happen to it. Your options are to send it to the Baseball Hall of Fame, have it branded with an asterisk and then send it to the Hall of Fame, or to have it brought up in a space shuttle and launched in to outer space. Click here to vote for your favorite option.

Sarah McLachlan - World on Fire

Anna Writes:

I thought this video was pretty incredible. You might need to keep your mouse over the pause, or watch it twice to catch it all.

Enjoy!

Anna projects and Dairy Days

Hal writes:

What has Anna been up to? Well, she's been trying to get over the cold that I passed on to her, but there are things more exciting than that. This semester (her last of course work) she only has class Monday-Thursdays and in addition to her 3-day weekends, finds herself with not as much homework. So, as is typical during times of slowness for her, she bakes. Pictured below are some fall cookies (leaf and acorn shapes) that she made for her classmates.

Anna is also near completion on her first quilt. It started out as a lap quilt, but it continued to grow until it was Queen size. The final stage is to get a professional to stitch the back side. Pictured below is me holding the quilt. I'll be curious to hear about my quilt holding techniques from my father who has held up many of my mothers quilts for pictures. I think I got the index finger right, but I might get a few points deduction for my head peaking over the top. And yes, I am smiling in the photo.

This Saturday was an outside day for me. So far today (Sunday) I have managed to enjoy football and do all the laundry. (It's the compromise that I have worked out with Anna, that I get to watch as much football as I want as long as I do all the laundry.) I'll give some fantasy football updates in a later post.

Saturday was first spent going for a run with Anna. While she worked at the coffee shop in the afternoon, I joined RDs Trapper and Coree at the university's football game. Not only was I able to tell my football players I saw them in action, but I can also say the same for the marching band, flag core, and cheerleaders who live in my building.

After the football game we went to Dairy Days. Think county fair in nature, except centered strictly around the dairy aspect. (Down here, county fairs are held in late July or early August, which is different than where I cam from.) The photo below is the "big tent" and the afternoon's entertainment included a hypnotist.

Among the typical fair food, there were some Wisconsin twists. John had a Chedderwurst Corn Dog. Trapper and Coree are pictured below with the favorite of Dairy Days, the Fried Cheese Curds sold by the Optimist Club.

I had a bet that I could name three things that would be found at the flea market: coke memorabilia, bang snaps (those fireworks that you throw and the ground for a pop), and toy nunchucks. I only found two out of three, but since you can sell fireworks in WI all year round, it made sense that bang snaps were not as hot of an item as when I was growing up. There was not an official Dairy Days sign, so I had my photo taken with a poster of Dairy Days.

Later we swung by a historical encampment at the edge of town. These people pitch tents, dress in Civil War era clothing, and camp the weekend. In the group are woodcarvers and other people that have an expertise in a certain craft that are on display.

Happy 10th anniversary.

Hal writes:

This weekend marks the 10th anniversary of my college move-in and orientation at GAC. It's easy for me to reflect on this because I continue to go through orientation every year at the different school's that I have attended and worked for. My first day of college consisted of waking up and watching Princess Di's funeral on television before moving into "Co-Ed". Gustie Greeters, square dance, Dive night, opening banquet, purchasing textbooks (the first time I came close to crying that weekend), and other memories.

The past three days I have been busy with orientation and move-in. It should be completed, but I have about 40 residents who have yet to arrive. Since I have all returning students in my building, it would appear that the hours mailed to them and posted on the Internet for checking in don't apply to them. The picture below is of some of my RAs and some of my "Welcome Crew", students who arrive prior to orientation to assist with the move-in process.


There were more than a handful of U-Hauls and other trucks that made their way to my building. If there is one thing that students have a lot of today, it's stuff. I used to laugh about the families that pulled up with the hoarse trailers, but even those appear to be too small for some of my students.

A 57" TV? Why not! (I bet that everyone who reads this blog doesn't own a TV of that size, but one of my students does!)

After the second day of move-in, the Block Party is held outside some of the residence halls. The RDs got together to take a picture of all of us wearing our staff t-shirts. (I like mine the best.)