Madison Area Down Syndrome Society Buddy Walk

Hello readers!

I am proud to say that I will be participating in the MADSS Buddy Walk this year on October 1st at Warner Park.

I will be walking with the "Jay Walkers." We are raising money to help fund research in Down Syndrome. If you'd like to learn more, go to MADSS website. If you'd like to donate or sponsor me or one of the other walkers, let me know.

Thanks!!!

Shackles Off!!!

Martha Stewart is once again a free woman. Her ankle "bracelet" is now gone and she can move on with her life.

Congrats Martha...and welcome back!

Photo Credit: http://www.stonyfield.com/AboutUs/CelebritiesInTheMoos.cfm

Welcome...

I just wanted to welcome a few new readers to my blog. I've been monitoring my blog activity for about a month now through StatCounter and have found out that I have a few followers. Today when checking, I see that I've been linked from The Daily Page. This is really cool, if I say so myself.

Happy reading everyone and welcome to my page!!!

New Addiction

Okay, so I never thought I would be saying this but, "my name is Heather and I'm newly addicted to Buffy the Vampire Slayer." Sad huh? My mom has been addicted for YEARS and I had picked on her because I thought it was a campy show...I mean come on, the movie was AWFUL!

My girlfriend, Elizabeth, has 6 of the 7 seasons on DVD so I've been watching them since Wednesday of last week. I have to say, even though I am only on season 2, I like it. I'm addicted. Even Matthew has been enjoying it. Watching the episodes with Elizabeth has been fun too cause we don't even have to watch the commentary...she is our commentary. She says she's not obsessed, but I think she secretly is.

Angel and Buffy
Photo from: http://www.starbase8.de/Horror/Buffy/diverses.htm

Happy hunting!!! :)

Tornadoes hit South Central Wisconsin

So, we had expected to get rain last night but nothing like the storms we got. I hadn't even realized anything was awry with the weather until I heard the Tornado Sirens going off. Of course, I then ran into the living room to turn on the news. At one point, I heard that a tornado was moving at 25 miles an hour over parts of Richland County (just west of here). That's fast!

The tornadoes seemed to miss Madison this time but really devastated Stoughton (a town in Dane County, just to the east of us..not far at all). There was a lot of damage in Stoughton. They still aren't letting people back into certain areas because of all the damage and down powerlines. But there was only one fatality through all of this. I suppose that is a good thing...it could have been much worse.

Photo Credit: NBC15 Viewer

Needless to say, Governor Jim Doyle has declared Dane (Stoughton) County and Richland County a state of emergency.

Matt and I made it through the storms just fine so don't worry about us. We actually got a 6:58 a.m. phone call from Great Aunt Margie to check on us this morning. Scared me to death...thought someone had died or something....lol.

Blast at Brew Fest

Lines at Brew Fest.

More lines at Brew Fest.

Yesterday Matt and I went to our first Great Taste of the Midwest, or as all the locals call it "Brew Fest." I must say that I was a bit optimistic that it was going to be worth the $30.00 I paid for each ticket but it definately was. I enjoyed every minute of it (the porta-potties weren't even that nasty). The weather was great too. It sprinkled for about an hour on and off but it was awsome. We went with a group of friends (Julie, Chuck, Matt's Daddy-Wesley, and Dave) and ran into others while we were there.

Again...some more of the lines at Brew Fest...hey look...I wonder what Mike (man in brown) is looking at?

Matt B. playing around with the Hula Hoop. He apparently holds a title of
some sort in men's Hula Hooping. :)

Anyway, we had a blast and will probably be going back next year. Can't beat getting to go to three or more different tents and getting to sample beer from over 100 brewers from the Midwest. I kinda lost count after beer sample 11. LOL.

From left to right: Wesley, Matthew, Dave, Chuck, and Julie (not pictured: Brett)

Wanna know more, lemme know. Wanna go next year, lemme know. :)

Cheers!!!

Children's Books

As long as I can remember, I have always liked reading Dr. Seuss books. They are fun and whitty. I think my favorite has to be Green Eggs and Ham. Adam, the little boy I nanny, loves The Cat in the Hat.

The first book I remember reading all by myself was Mr. Pine's Mixed Up Signs by Leonard Kessler. I remember reading this book over and over and over again. I loved it. I also remember reading a lot of the old Little Golden Books. They were great. Another favorite book was Mickey and the Magic Grinder. I think this is the name of it. I did search for it on the internet but could not find it. Does anyone remember it?

I was introduced to a new author not long ago. Peter H. Reynold has written a cute little book called The Dot. It is a cute story about a little girl named Vashti who is sitting in her art class after everyone has left. Her teacher comes up to her and asks where her drawing is. Vashti told her teacher she can't draw but her teacher ends up convincing her to do something. Vashti puts a dot on the paper and her teacher asks her to sign it. When Vasti comes back to class, she sees her dot in a frame behind the teachers desk. This inspires her to draw. Find out more by picking the book up and reading it. It will really make you smile. I think it is a must have for all classrooms.

So, tell me what your favorite childrens book or author is. I want to know, just in case I haven't heard of it. What is the first book you remember reading as a child or being read to? What are your favorite book and childhood memories?

Happy reading!!!