juniper jumpfire, grilling peppers, and kids named xavier.

being a reporter, i call a lot of strangers.

i go through many "staff directories" and feel overjoyed 

when i actually find the person i'm looking for. 

i also feel great when i find people like Juniper Jumpfire

who works as a meat tester.

here is a picture i took along a river in merrill. 

also sean and i grilled peppers and they are delicious.

you turn the oven on "broil" and pop a pepper inside.

 continue to turn it until all the sides are black. 

 then wrap it in aluminum for a while until it gets shriveled -- 

 then peel all the burny parts off and eat a delicious grilled pepper.

 a few weeks ago, i went to appleton when mitt romney stopped in and took some artsy pics. 

the media was supposed to get there super early so (of course) 

we had to wait a very long time before he got there. 

apparently he is a big deal.

he also sends my parents christmas cards. 

 

i saw this ups truck pulling another ups truck on the road.

i don't know why i thought it was a little ironic, but i did. 

finally, i went to an elementary school when a teacher won an award for being a super-baker. as i was working, she spoke with one of the students, calling him by name -- "xavier m." typically, i thought, that only happens when there's more than one child with the same first name. and after a closer examination of the room, i was right. 

2 children named xavier in a class of 18 in northcentral wisconsin?

okay.

i'm keeping my baby.

as an adult, i've made many choices.

some were bigger than others, but each had its own consequences. 

a while ago, i made a VERY BIG ONE and i'm pleased to announce --

it's baby time.

just kidding.

(please don't have a heart attack, mom)

actually, it's way better than that.

my four-year-old baby is FINALLY MINE.

 as of recently, my darling lex officially belongs to me.

take that, 5/3 bank.

looks like you will need to find someone else
to send you my former "consequence" -- $185.06 every month.

 in other news, please enjoy these pics of
me and my fam doing google hangouts.

and to answer your question, no. 

none of them knew i was taking these pics,
which is why they are awesome.
(click to enlarge)

 

where to start?!

it's been such a long time since i've updated my blog...
i'm not even sure where to begin.

let's start with south bend. i went there to visit some friends
during the first weekend of march madness.

ohio state fans!! how can you not love that?

the buckeye game itself was very intense... 

 

 

don't worry though. buckeyes won (of course).

 we watched other games.

and sometimes arm wrestled.

 

at some point, i went to the notre dame campus.

very pretty.

 here's their super-famous football stadium (sean's fav).

we celebrated st. patrick's day with some dancing 

(and water since it was probably a million degrees in there). 

 and also singing along with "hang on sloopy." obviously. 

 and then at some point i went back to wisconsin. 

on my way through chicago, i got stuck in traffic (like always) right next to white sox stadium.  

and also right next to these stacks of books.

 the end.