Easter Vacation

Easter has come and gone, and boy was it an eventful weekend here in Milwaukee. As it turned out, Lindsay started a 9 day break in her travels the Friday before Easter, so she decided to come visit...and that turned into a Pingel (&Madden) family vacation.
The plan was for everybody to arrive on Friday, Lindsay by flight, Mom Dad Kelly and Eric in the car later in the day. Well as it turned out, that day began the Great Spring Blizzard of 2008. The "drivers" left town on Thursday and arrived at my building around midnight. Lindsay's flight was delayed, delayed, delayed, then it went missing for a few hours (I am not joking!) before she finally landed in Green Bay and had to take a BUS to Milwaukee. It was quite the trip. For all of us!
The seven of us had a great time exploring Milwaukee (but we of course missed Mark who couldn't come). On Saturday we explored the Third Ward (and everybody who comes to visit me will get this opportunity), and then went on a brewery tour. I think it was the best $5 I have ever spent while with my brother in law. Oh. And those of you who know my family closely should ask my dad how it was!
We had our "Happy Day Family Dinner" Saturday night where we celebrated being together as a family, a successful year for all of us, and the new addition Kelly & Eric are adding to our family! That's right, Lindsay and I are going to be aunts in a few months. The Larry Pingel family has a lot to celebrate this year.
Everybody left on Sunday morning to drive back to MI together. I miss them already, and am starting to plan my busy but exciting fall of babies and weddings!
Hugs & Misses...

And Time Goes On....

So. Big stuff. It is now official. I have been in Milwaukee for a long time. In the last two weeks I have done a number of things that to most people seem like a new deal. I bought new dish soap, new ketchup, new toilet paper, and new trash bags. The only reason I stop to take note is because this is the first time I have done these things since Mom & Dad moved me out here in early September. (!) I know, right!

Milwaukee has been great, but not too exciting since my last blog...Which I guess is to say no other famous people have visited my building. But. We did go to Chicago last weekend to see Boozer and mom & dad. It was Eric's first trip, and we had a great time. A few highlights were of course seeing the family, the amazing weather, and the new Dolce & Gabban sunglasses that my Lindsay and I bought. See the pictures for the full effect.

Things have been slow since we've gotten back to WI. It's still very cold and snowy here. Eric insists that he is looking forward to March 1st when it will be spring. I think that's very cute. I'm going to let him keep believing that because hey, you know what they say about positive thinking and all of that...We're looking forward to Easter when the WHOLE family will be here (minus the dogs-which does bum me out a little...), although I do wish that Eric's family would be in town so that they could all meet.

I miss you all & hope to see you soon. Hugs & Misses from MKE...

Chelsea Clinton Comes to Town

Alight you guys. I am not even kidding. On Monday, Chelsea Clinton came to our building! Sunday night some people from Hillary's campaign came and said Chelsea "may" be in the building on Monday. Apparently Marquette University was unwilling to plan a large event at last minute (idiots, right??). So, we started to get ready, despite not knowing. Then, at 11:30 Sunday night we received the confirmation.

Chelsea was here on Monday, for about two hours. I actually got to meet her, and ride in an elevator with her. She went to our model apartment to meet some students, answered questions in our common area, and took pictures with all of us! Most importantly, she told me I had cute shoes (for those of you wondering, I was wearing black Steve Madden heals, a gray pencil skirt, and a black button-up shirt). Again, no joke.

I'm posting some pics...Enjoy!

The Blizzard of 2008

As many of you may have heard last week Milwaukee got the biggest snow storm in the last 27 years. I am not kidding you. We had over 18 inches of snow in the city, with some areas getting up to 20 inches! The snow fell from 5pm on day one to 10 pm on day two. When all was said and done, we were blanketed with 17 inches.

Locally there was no school (not even Marquette was open), no church (anywhere!), no work (unless you are one of the lucky ones who lives in the building you work in), no delivery, NO NOTHING. There was over 900 business/school closings in 24 hours. Even the malls were closed.

Judy thought it was beautiful and wanted to take pictures. She said nobody at home would believe it really happened. And really, I don't think those of us from the North could even believe it....

The dig out was/has been quite the process. Roads that are usually two lanes in each direction are right now down to one lane in each direction. The city is hauling the snow somewhere (although I don't think to dump in the lake since dad says that's illegal), and just about everybody with a private parking lot is having to do the same thing. In Madison hundreds of cars were stranded on the highway (I-94) when it got so bad the state shut it down. Some parts of Wisconsin were declared a state of emergency so that the government would help with snow removal. Really, nobody knew what to do!

Aside from the blizzard, life in Milwaukee hasn't been that exciting. I'm really looking forward to going to Chicago in two weeks to see my little sister. She's the last one in the family to meet Eric, so that'll be our last big introduction. Plus, Eric has never been and that was something he wanted to do while he is so close!

I was afraid I might be alone on Easter, but Lindsay is going to fly in, and mom & dad (and Kelly and Eric if I'm lucky!!!) are going to drive over and spend the weekend, so I'm super excited. I offered to cook something, but I'm thinking we'll probably just do a brunch. LOL.

Call or write soon, I love to talk to my friends & family from home. Hugs & Misses...

Happy Birthday To Me!

Last week was my birthday! The big 25...Being that I am a quarter of a century old, of course I celebrated in style: I took Eric home to meet the family! We flew from Milwaukee on Friday night, and spent the weekend in Michigan. It was Eric's first time in my native state, which is unfortunate because as most of you know, Michigan is really no place to be in January.

We had a great time with my family, spent lots of time with Kelly & Eric, and I was really happy that Mark made the drive up from Detroit to see me! (Although there is a sneaking suspicion that in fact he was sent on a mission to meet the new guy...) Mom & Dad threw me a pizza themed fiesta, and we all enjoyed DeLuca's for dinner. We spent a quiet day in on Sunday watching football (Go Giants!), and Eric and I departed early Monday morning.

For those of you who haven't met Eric or seen me lately, I'm posting a picture of him and I...Notice I cut off all my hair! Hugs & Misses...

Happy New Year!

Well, I am back in Milwaukee and getting ready to start 2008. I spent a fabulous ten days back in Michigan, and spent both Christmas and New Years with my family. To get the trip started, my flight out of Milwaukee was cancelled, so I had to make the six hour drive home all by myself. When I moved here, I vowed to never drive home unless I was going for good. But I feel better knowing I can do it any time I have to now. But only if I have to.

While my whole trip was great, there were a few highlights:

Lunch with my girls: On my first day home I had lunch with Becca and Sarah. I think it is possible it's the first time we've all been together since NYE last year! Such a long time.
The holiday's with my family: My whole family spent Christmas Eve and Christmas day together. It was a great day of relaxing, and I can't think of a better way to have spent the day. I got great gifts, and I can't wait to use them all!
Baby Bella: Kelly and Eric got a dog! Her name is Bella and she is a Vizsla. You should google it and see the pictures. Bella is a baby right now, so she is tiny! I am looking forward to seeing her when I'm home again in a few weeks.
Updated wedding plans: We did some wedding planning while I was home, and I think we've picked a bridesmaid dress. Of course we're all getting excited for Lindsay's big day and Kelly and I loved the dress that we picked...Now if only we can figure out what color!
Catching up with friends: I saw a few friends I haven't seen since I left home, and that was amazing. It feels good to remember that there is a way to balance both of my lives.

But, like they say, all good things must come to an end. My dad drove me back to Milwaukee yesterday and flew out this morning. I'm back in the office, and getting excited for all the things 2008 will hold. Eric will be back in WI on Friday, and all will be right in my world.

Thanks for checking in...Hugs & Misses...

I'll Be Home For Christmas...

It's been a month since my last post...almost literally. So: To get back on track I'm going to do a super quick recap on the important things that have happened:

1. I went home for Thanksgiving. It was a really quick trip, but I was sooo happy I got to go. It was the first time since I've moved that I was back home--though thankfully I'd seen (almost) every member of my family in between there! I spent the holiday with my family and Mandi, and over the course of the weekend also got to see Bri and Paul. My sisters, mom and dad and I did the early morning shopping on the Friday after, and everything I bought I returned the next day. Sadly, (actually very happily!) we'll be too busy to shop next year!

2. Bri, Seth, and Scott came out to visit me. Last weekend Brian and the Boyz were in town. It was, seriously, Man's Weekend at Jackie's. I enjoyed having all of them around, especially since I hadn't seen Seth or Scott in so long. We went on the Miller Tour which was cool, and played the newest version of Trivial Pursuit.

3. Life in Milwaukee hasn't changed much since my last post. Work wise I am crazy busy because 2040 Lofts is undergoing some major renovations this month. My new 42" Plasma has been installed (look for pictures in the near future), I decorated my Christmas tree with Eric and Judy, and I'm counting the days until I come home for Christmas. Eric left last week for the holidays, but I'm spending lots of time with Sarah and Josh to keep busy and avoid being lonely! I fly out Saturday morning and I'll be in MI until January 1st.

Hugs & Misses....