let it snow let it snow more more MORE

It has been snowing all day. I decided to walk to the grocery store tonight so I bundled up and brought my camera along. Here are a few pictures I took along the way:

gallery night in milwaukee

Last Friday was Gallery Night in Milwaukee. It is a quarterly event where all of the art galleries and art schools in the city host an open house. It is my favorite Milwaukee event! Our church Mercy Hill also functions as an art gallery. We call it the Mercy Hill Gallery. This Friday was our second time participating in the Gallery Night festivities. We hosted two fantastic local artists Marie Scott and Shelly Rosenquist. I LOVE their work, so bright and colorful and inspiring.

The first two pictures are the work of Shelly Rosenquist and the latter two are from the brush of Marie Scott.

We also featured the music of three bands from Minnesota. The pictures here are the band Cedar Avenue. They are very good and I encourage you to listen to their music.

It was a great night, a great celebration of the arts.

Just one more reason why I am thankful for Mercy Hill Church.

skating our hearts out

Tonight we went skating downtown at Red Arrow Park. I've been wanting to skate all winter but I've been so busy. Tonight was a perfect night.



You should have seen, we were amazing. I'm thinking we have some skill that we should develop. When we let loose and started creating interpretive dances, people were so amazed that they stopped to watch us. I'm sure it was because of our astounding talent and grace!

Ta-da!


That's Katie, my roommate!


And then there was Nereus. He had some great moves!

Look at him go!

I think I caught him at an odd moment. Oops. I have a knack for that.

I really love moments spent with good friends.

The ice rink is right outside of my work building. I thought this was a pretty cool picture of my office. I work way up at the top!

Please enjoy the following little videos of my grace and talent. I'm thinking about trying out for the Olympics! I'm sure there is a gold medal with my name on it.


And now you can watch Katie and Nereus perform their couples routine!

I love being here in Milwaukee. There is so much fun to be had!

a life saver

Life has been great. Christmas was fun, the snow has been lovely, the new year started off fresh, I've been enjoying the company of some good friends, I'm looking forward to some great upcoming adventures, I'm enjoying my new second job... Everything has been smooth, except for a few small details. It turns out that sometimes those "small details" aren't as minute as they seem.

The sock monster has finally conquered my drawer. The past few weeks I have been wearing mis-matched socks, or no socks at all. (Or shhh....sometimes I've warn the same socks for 3 days in a row!) I went to the liquor store the other day and I was in the checkout line and realized I had misplaced my driver's licence. That jumbled those plans! (That problem is solved, but it took a few days.) I have been having trouble sleeping lately. Even if I give myself 8-10 hours to sleep, I wake up at about 2:30 feeling restless. And the other day the numbers on my cell phone fell off and I couldn't find them. I was stressed out all day because I couldn't use my phone. Yes...all of these small details have been adding up to chaos! Chaos I tell you!!!

I have a pair of black tights that I've been wearing a lot lately. Since I've run out of black socks, the black tights are a nice alternative. They have also been a life saver on two accounts now and I'm thinking that after I retire them I may have to keep them for good luck!

1)The first life saving account was when I got that flat tire last week. It was 3 degrees outside and I was wearing jeans. That day I was trying to find some black socks but I gave up and wore the tights instead. They were excellent for a thermal layer when I was lying on the freezing pavement fixing my car.

2)And yesterday I was having a rushed morning so I pulled on those black tights and I wore a pair of black dress pants with a nice sweater. I was sitting in a department meeting yesterday and I looked down to notice a HUGE 4 inch long hole on the seam of my pants, yes...in the most inappropriate place! What the heck?!!! Thank goodness for black tights! The whole was hard to notice and I was able to make it through the rest of the day without being embarrassed.

This is the story of my life as of late.

and it went BOOM!

The other night I was driving home from work and there was an earth shattering BOOM!!! Then I watched as one of my hub caps flew across the road. Ugh! I blew a tire.
It was 10:00, dark, and freezing cold. It was 3 degrees outside to be precise.

I thought about calling a few of my guy friends. I knew they would have to come to my rescue but there was something inside of me that wanted to do it myself. Something inside me wanted to prove that I could be tough.

It took me an hour and 20 minutes. I was so cold. I got the tire off without a problem but I couldn't get my car jacked high enough to get the new tire on. I tried 3 times and then I sat down on the freezing pavement and I cried. The tears were freezing on my face and I looked down and the water in my water bottle had frozen. I decided to call my friend Kevin for some help but my cell phone was frozen. Then I realized that I looked like such a pathetic girl so I pulled myself together, gave myself a pep-talk, and I tried again. And I succeeded!

Now, I know it's just a tire change. It's not a big deal. It's not like I changed out the engine, or did a brake job or anything. But I was really proud of myself. I remember when I first started driving, my dad taught me how to change a tire, change the oil, and check the fluids. Those were the things that were important for me to know. I'm glad he did. Every other time I've had a flat, I've had someone stop to help me. But this time I was on my own, and I'm glad I was able to fix the problem.

It was so cold that night!


And just for some Monday entertainment, please enjoy this bird dance!

something worth sharing

(this is an old picture, but i love it)

My good friend Janean is living and studying in Cairo this year. Janean and I spent a few years at Northwest College together and I'm so happy to see our friendship continue even over such great distances. She has a blog, linked in my 'Blogging Friends' list on the left. It's titled Exodus to Egypt. For some great reading, some incredible stories and some laughs, you should definitely check it out.


For today, I'd like to share her latest entry titled Can You Hear?. I think it is beautiful.

Right now it is snowing so much that I can't see out the window. It is wonderful. Have a nice Friday!

what a stinker!

Dead man sends cards from ‘heaven’
Oregon man cooked up prank before his death

ASHLAND, Ore. - Even in death, Chet Fitch is a card.

Fitch, known for his sense of humor, died in October

at age 88 but gave his friends and family a start recently:

Christmas cards, 34 of them, began arriving -- written

in his hand with a return address of "Heaven."

The greeting read: "I asked Big Guy if I could sneak

back and send some cards. At first he said no; but at

my insistence he finally said, 'Oh well, what the heaven,

go ahead but don't (tarry) there.' Wish I could tell

you about things here but words cannot explain.
"Better get back as Big Guy said he stretched a

point to let me in the first time, so I had better not

press my luck. I'll probably be seeing you

(some sooner than you think).

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas. Chet Fitch"

A friend for nearly 25 years, Debbie Hansen Bernard said,

"All I could think was, 'You little stinker.'"
"It was amazing," she said. "Just so Chet, always wanting

to get the last laugh."

The mailing was a joke Fitch worked on for two decades

with his barber, Patty Dean, 57. She told the

Ashland Daily Tidings this week that he kept

updating the mailing list and giving her extra money

when postal rates went up. This fall, she said, Fitch looked

up to her from the chair.
"You must be getting tired of waiting to mail those cards," he told her.

"I think you'll probably be able to mail them this year."
He died a week later.

be kind

Arrogant people do not deserve to be successful. When you abandon kindness and gentleness, you're just a jerk. End of message.

he takes the heat

"Respect your elders!" is a rule you always hear as a child. It's a good rule I think. Last night however, I couldn't help but think that sometimes the rule should be "Respect your youngers!"

My brother has now graduated from the Fire Academy. Last night he received his badge. What an honor. This boy...okay, I guess he's kinda becoming a man...but this guy is pretty amazing. He has been working so hard, sacrificing his time, his energy, his sleep, and quite often his social life to learn a skill that is incredibly admirable. And in the end...he's learning so that he can give.

So Nick, Cheers! You did it! Keep working hard, we are all so proud of you!

little angel

This little angel was born on Friday night. Welcome to our world little one. This is the new son of my friends Kevin and Amy. Amy and I have been friends for nearly 18 years so this is a very special birth for me. It's amazing when you watch your friendships reach a new level. Life is such a miracle! I've been waiting and waiting...I'm so happy he's finally here, and healthy, and perfect.
Please welcome Oliver Richard Oelke.

This was me this morning.

But I am okay.

For those of you who don't see me every day...Yes, I do wear boots like that. They are my favorite and I'm starting to think they are my lucky boots, except for the fact that I slipped on the ice this morning. I suppose that's not very lucky huh?

nightmares in bunk world

This morning someone sent out an email that said the following:

"Does anybody have or know somebody that has a set of bunk beds no longer being used?"

And then I recalled my traumatic bunk bed years. Oh the nights when my sister would shove her feet up through my mattress and throw me flying across the room slamming against the wall.

Or the time that my mattress fell through and sandwiched my sister between mattresses.

Bunk beds have scarred me for life. It's a period of life that I like to black out of my memory.


Ha ha, I'm just kidding. Those things never happened. But they're great stories eh?

sometimes i'm just not very good with words.

My coworker is always using these sillly expressions that leave me confused at first...and then I laugh. She tries to be clever and I stand there dumbfounded. I say "uh...I don't get it." Then she has to explain herself and then...well...then I just feel lame.

The other day when I was leaving she said "You're gonna make like a tree and leave!" I didn't get it. I said "What are you talking about???" Then she said "You know...you're gonna make like a banana and split!"I still didn't get it. And then...yes...wait...there it is...I get it!!! Haha, that's funny.

This afternoon she was leaving for lunch and as she walked off I said "You're gonna make like a leaf and be a tree!!!"...I mean, "You're gonna be a split and be a..." Wait...Oh forget it. I'm just not good at these word plays.

still brimming with holiday cheer!

Tonight was round two of my holiday baking. I made my second favorite cookie, Eggnog Cookies. Yum! These are so tasty. I would post the recipe but I don't feel like typing it out right now. Let me know if you'd like it and I'll email it to you.

Mom taught me how to make these little candies. Recipes from moms are always special ones.

On a different subject, I got a second job, Yay! Now I shall be a Receptionist by day and a Chili's Waitress by night/weekend. It's about time! I've been applying to places for nearly a month. You'd think people would be anxious to hire for the Christmas season but apparently not this year!

I did apply at a certain restaurant and I thought the job was mine. After speaking with the manager for 40 minutes she surprised me with a 150 question personality test. She said that my scores would reflect whether or not I'd be a good fit for their company. A personality test for a waitressing job??? Anyways, I had to answer yes or no to 150 of the most bizarre questions imaginable.

Here are a few that I remember:

Yes or No--I personally know someone whom I wish was in prison.

Yes or No--I am frequently grumpy for no reason at all.

Yes or No--I am often so annoyed with people that I wish I could just put them in their place.

Yes or No--I wish I was a hostess at a night club.

Just in case you are wondering...I answered NO to all of the above questions. But somehow I managed to fail the personality test. Yes, it's true, APRIL CARDINAL failed a personality test. I never thought I'd have to face that sort of failure. I got over it though...nothing a spoon and some Breyers vanilla bean ice cream wouldn't fix. Just kidding. I can't help but wonder if I should have answered yes to the above questions.

So my experience at Chili's was quite different. I was practically hired on the spot. The words were something like "I like you, you're hired." Nice!!! I'm excited to be serving again. It's work that I miss. It's challenging but fun. I guess I most enjoy the interaction with so many different types of people. Oh, yes, and the extra money is nice too :-)

beautiful aren't they?

Round one. Ricotta Cheese Cookies. 3 hours, cookie dough in my hair, hair in my cookie dough...(ha ha, just kidding) and I even found helpers for the sprinkle part. These happen to be my favorite Christmas cookies! Please enjoy the recipe below.

INGREDIENTS
2 cups white sugar
1 cup butter, softened
15 ounces ricotta cheese
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 eggs
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

ICING
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
3 tablespoons milk

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

In a large bow, with the mixer a low speed, beat the sugar and butter until combined. Increase speed to high and beat until light and fluffy (about 5 minutes).

Reduce speed to medium and beat in the ricotta, vanilla and eggs.

Reduce speed to low. Add flour, baking powder and salt; beat until dough forms.

Drop dough by level tablespoons, about 2 inches apart; onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for about 15 minutes or until cookies are very lightly golden (cookies will be soft).

When cookies are cool, prepare icing. In small bowl, stir confectioners' sugar and milk until smooth. Spoon icing on cookies and sprinkle with colored sugar or candy sprinkles.

cattitude

My friend Bethany shared a link that made me laugh a little and then inspired me to create...or rather, I just substituted my own pet. It's funny how we can all relate to cattitude.

Meet my cat Solomon to whom I am a slave.

This has been my weekend...activites and thoughts...and weather. This is a very random entry, you might lose brain cells just reading it.

On Friday I went to hear the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra perform Beethoven's 9th Symphony. Before Beethoven they performed Bernstein's Chichester Psalms. It was such a great experience. I sat there with my eyes closed and my body swaying back and forth. So many people brush aside classical music thinking that it is boring and old. I find it to be such an art!

Then Saturday morning it started snowing. I had to drive home to my parent's house. It took me twice as long to get there. I was driving 30 mph on the highway and still praying that I'd be safe because I could not see anything!


Why did I have to drive home? Well...two reasons. 1) My dad needs to look at my car. 2) My friend Jen was throwing herself a b-day party and I was invited!

And boy was it a party! Jen, the talented woman that she is...cooked a 7 course meal for all of her guests. A little backwards right? It's HER birthday and she was cooking dinner for her friends? But she insisted, and we enjoyed everything! She is such a good cook and we are all encouraging her to start her own business.

Here's a picture of Jen and myself.



So tonight I was shopping for dinner groceries and I thought of two things for which I am thankful.

After 7:00 p.m. the grocery store gives their leftover donuts away for free!


AND

The avocado is a wonderful fruit!

If I could, I would plant an avocado tree in my front yard...if I had a front yard...


Right now I am sitting at a coffee shop downtown, thinking about heading home for the night. I'm looking out the window and this is what the street looks like.


I love winter weather! It's so beautiful!

We are redecorating our kitchen!!!

Tonight I decided to make a pot of chicken tortilla soup. Oh boy. It ended up being a huge process and then the lid flew off the blender and tortilla soup exploded everywhere. Baffled, I pulled myself together and refilled the blender and pressed the button and it exploded again. A ha! When you blend hot liquid you have to leave room for air or else the heat creates too much pressure and it just blows up. Who knew??

I contemplated leaving the splatter. It was quite colorful and I thought maybe Katie and I could start a new fiesta theme in our kitchen. But then I climbed up on the counter and started wiping off the ceiling, and the light bulbs, and the cabinets, and well...everything...

Mom used to hate it when I cooked. She would find batter and splatter in the most random places, days after I had used the kitchen. I thought of my mom tonight. She would have laughed at me, and then she would have sighed with relief that this was my kitchen and not hers!