Alyssa's Feed

The happiness that is Max

Max came into our lives on June 21, 2007. We came across a posting on Craigslist from a woman looking for someone to adopt her 6 y/o cockapoo. After a few unsuccessful visits to the Humane Society, we thought we’d give this a try and meet the pup. We met up in Humboldt Park and immediately fell in love with the little guy. He was so sweet. We debated for a few minutes, made sure we were both ready to have a dog, and that evening we drove home with him. After a little over a month, he has been such a bundle of happiness in our home. He’s so well behaved, sweet and happy. He absolutely geeks out when we get home from work, and I love that so much. He’s got lots of gray hair, he’s missing some teeth and get’s crazy eye boogers, but in my opinion, he’s perfect. I’m not sure what his previous living conditions were, but I think he loves his new home and parents. 

It’s amazing how having a living, breathing animal can change your perspective on pets. He’s mine, and my responsibility. I feel immediate love and care for him. It make time in my day and shift around my schedule for him. Heck, I didn’t even want to go to work the next week after we got him (p.s. I don’t know how Mom’s can ever come back from maternity leave). I’ve also been happy with how he’s kept us active. While he’s not quite a running dog, he gets lots of walks, and it also gives us a chance to get outside more together. Instead of just lounging around on the couch on a Saturday afternoon, this weekend we went exploring around some trails. On Sunday, we went to the park and just sat under a tree in the beautiful weather.

Max is an extra layer of happiness in our lives, and I can’t get enough of it. 

Simplicity in communication

I came across this article on Fast Company about the 5 sentence email . As someone who typically rambles and regurgitates every thought into typed words, I saw this as a challenge. But, I was curious about it and have been giving it a try over the last week. I’ve been working hard to keep every work/personal email around 5 sentences. There are some instances where they need to be a bit longer, but I’m working hard to keep my thoughts focused and brief (i.e. no more 7 paragraph emails when all it requires is a simple, “Yes. Here’s my reason why: yada yada.”). 

Two things I’ve learned so far:

1. This really works. It is possible to keep your thoughts as concise as 5 sentences while still getting your point across. In some cases it’s clearer and easier to make your case in fewer words. The take away comes quicker to the recipient and words are not lost. 

2. I’ve started to carry this into some of my verbal communication, and it seems to make me feel like I’m giving more confident responses while also feeling more confident in my responses. Imagine that? 

Unfortunately this post did not follow the 5-sentence idea, but hopefully my idea still came through. 

Try it for yourself: http://five.sentenc.es

Last year of my 20s

I turned 29 last weekend. It felt like nothing. 29 is a nebulous age, except it is considered a milestone of making it through your 20s. I am not bothered by getting old. What bothers me is my body acting like I’m old. Case in point: on Saturday, I was bound to the couch ALL DAY. I was useless. I felt old. So, to try to turn back on my old-feelings, I am going to start to compile a list of things I want to do before I turn 30. Not sure if I’ll get to 30 items, but I anticipate I’ll keep myself busy.

I’ll keep the list here, and hopefully adhere to it and report back with photos, experiences, etc. 

Here’s to the last year of 20s. 

1. Climb something

2. Visit 3 friend’s houses that I haven’t been to yet (NOTE: I’m really bad at visiting my friends’ homes!)

3. Go to something big, somewhere else

4. Volunteer

5. Pay it forward. 

6. Build/set up a vegetable garden

7. Cook a lobster dinner

2013 in Review

I hate how delayed this is. I’ve started it a while ago, but kept putting it off. This is clearly a bad start to 2014! Hopefully my procrastination will give way moving forward. Anyways, 2013 was a pretty great year. There were some great memories made. Here’s a brief monthly recap:

January:

- Well, we rang in the New Year by having a big party at the house. And boy, it was fun. Lots of great food, good beer, old fashions… and Justin Bieber. I think that was my first exposure to Cards Against Humanity as well. 

- Andrew and I drove up to the cabin for a winter getaway and the Exploder died. So that was a bummer. That was the end of an era. I ended up getting the broken part fixed, and sold that baby later in the month. 

February:

- Bought a new car! My 2010 Toyota Matrix. And I love it so. 

- I joined the Transformation Room. Gosh, I love that place. It definitely increased my motivation for working out. 

March:

- My mom and us kids hosted a surprise 60th birthday party for Dad. He was very surprised and he seemed so happy. It was a great day and it was so nice to see many friends and family celebrate my Dad’s awesomeness. Oh yeah, and there were belly dancers!

- Andrew and I hosted our first March Madness party, which we hope to become a longstanding tradition. 3 TVs, basketball all day, food, a barrel of Fat Tire, and a 2am dance party! 

April

- Well, Opening Day was on April 1st this year. That is always a highlight of every year. As usual, it was a fun-filled day. And I was smart enough to take off the following day this year!

- My friends Laura and Jackie and I ran the Trailbreaker Half Marathon. This worked out well with our marathon training and was a nice, flat course!

- A week before my birthday, Andrew took me to Madison for a night and got me tickets to see Chris Hardwick stand-up. I listed to his Nerdist podcast religiously, and love him so. This was a perfect birthday gift. 

- My birthday was in April. I had a fabulous birthday this year. My friend Jackie and I spent the morning running and going to a TRX class. Then we got burgers at Sobelmans and went to the Public Museum. That evening, a big group of friends and I went to the WI Cheese Mart and did a beer/cheese tasting. So much beer and cheese. But so worth it. 

May

- Went on a 3 week work trip to the FL Keys, Miami and South Carolina. It was a ridiculous job that some people at my agency will probably talk about for years to come. 

June

- Finally went camping at Peninsula State Park. Feels like its been so long since I’ve been there! It was great to go back. Unfortunately, it was a bit chilly so there was very limited beach time. Mom, Dad, Nate, Laura and our friends Ryan and Jacky joined us. 

- Took a trip to Seattle with my friend Jackie to visit my brother and run our first marathon. Wow. What an amazing experience. I love Jackie for sharing those moments with me and working hard all Spring to accomplish this (little did we know that we’d be signing up for another one in 2014!). 

July

- This year was our 5th Annual Cabinpalooza. 5 nights at the Feuerer cabin up on the Menominee River with our bestest friends. We did the ultimate float trip too - I think it lasted about 5 hours!

- Paul McCartney at Miller Park with my bestest Amanda. Wow. Simply amazing! 

August

- For Andrew’s birthday weekend, we embared on yet another Brewery Road trip. This was one fabulous. We headed to the west coast of Wisconsin. We made pit stops in Eau Claire, Dallas, Alma, La Crosse, Winona, Black River Falls, Genoa and then Potosi for the Brew Fest (also a pit stop in Mt. Horeb and Madison on the way home). We got to stay at a B&B in Alma, and then visit with some friends in LAX and Genoa. I bought Andy VIP tickets for the Brew fest and we felt like kids in a candy store. The best part was that some of the brewer’s knew us and we were able to talk it up with them. These brewery trips are paying off!

September

- We hosted 5 people for Harley Fest. It was a pretty wild weekend. On that Sunday of Labor Day weekend, we went to the horse race tracks at Arlington Park. So much fun!! I won $110 on the way down. Can’t beat that! 

- Laura, Jackie, Sam and I ran the North Face Endurance Challenge Marathon Relay. I love this running group we have. 

- I ran the Brewers Half Marathon again. I really enjoy this race. I ran for a friend, so didn’t have much training under my belt. But, I was very happy with my time. Andrew ran his first half marathon as well! I’m so proud of him. He’ll probably never do it again though, but that’s ok. 

October

- Andrew and I celebrated 1 year in the new house. It is so crazy how fast 1 year goes.

- My friend Laura and I ran the Discovery Run again. We went as Cards Against Humanity (sandwich board style). Those things were horrible to run in and we ditched them 3 miles in. We celebrated afterwards at the Ale House. This continues to be one of my favorite MKE races. 

November

- We stuck it to the man and ditched cable! We are all hip and cool with our new Roku and Chromecast. And we are $80 richer each month. 

December

- Andrew and I went to see the Miller Holiday lights. That has always been on my to-do list, and I’m glad we did it. 

- The holidays are kind of a blur now that they are all over. It was great to see all of our family. My brother, Peter, came home from Seattle for a few days. We took family photos this year. 

Some other highlights from 2013:

- My girlfriends and I have successfully had pinterest parties every month! We have a good tradition going and hope it lasts!

- Andrew and I have made numerous visits to our neighborhood Wonder Bar. I think we are finally part of the “in” crowd there. 

- I gave up my vegetarianism this year. Honestly, I don’t even remember when it happened. I think it was in the summer. And my first meat meal was a greasy bacon cheeseburger. It was heaven! 

As I’m recapping my year, I realize the one thing that I’m disappointed about is the lack of concerts we saw. We saw a few comedy acts (Chris Hardwick, Comedy Bang Bang). And we did do quick a few trips to Summerfest. But, in 2014 I hope to have a list that includes more concerts and visits to the Pabst/Turner Hall. 

Bye 2013. Thanks for being great.

November 13: An epiphany you had this summer

I think the biggest epiphany I had this summer was that I could actually run a marathon. After I had my grueling 20-mile training run with my friend Jackie, we finished and both felt that we *could* do it. And we did, on June 22, 2013. And I will do another one now.

November 12: Your first pet

Preface. One thing I know about myself is that I am bad at trying to do one thing on a daily basis. I can brush my teeth daily, but that might be about it. I tried doing the monthly blog challenge, but then took a weekend to get away from town last weekend which set me back from my blog for 4 days. While I am bummed I lost my streak, the weekend away from technology was much needed and very relaxing. So rather than trying to make up for lost time, I’ll just continue with today’s date and figure out a different goal for next month :)

My first pet was a black lab named Rama. My family had her for a few years before I was born. From what I can recall, she was such a sweet dog, but did have her mischievous times. I have a few memories of her. 

That one time she ran away from Mukwonago to Waukesha. Yeah, that happened. I think I recall her being found out by Moorland Road. I wonder what she was looking for?

I also have some vague memories of our family going camping with her. She was a good camping dog. I don’t think I remember her running away at all then :) 

My most fond memory of her though is when we used to hang out behind my dad’s recliner. It wasn’t much of a hiding spot, but I apparently thought it was. I would grab a dog bone, and Rama would follow me behind the chair. We would sit down, and I would break the dog bone and give her part of it, and I would eat the other part. Yes. I ate dog bones as a kid. Don’t judge me. 

I don’t really remember Rama’s passing, but I think I am okay with that. I am happy with the fun memories I do have.