yum!

This week I am celebrating Restaurant Week! Restaruant Week is when Madison's best restaurants offer three different three course menus for $25 per person from July 27-August 1st. Last night we went to the Blue Marlin and I had Blue Marlin Ceasar Salad, Grilled Wisconsin Rainbow Trout and Tres Leche Cake. It was delicous, though the portions were a little too small! Tonight I'm going to check out Dayton Square Grille and Wednesday I'm going to Harvest. I'm most excited about Harvest because I've heard so many wonderful things about it like that they use a great variety of local and organic ingredients. AND we will be sitting outside during the end of the last Concerts on the Square (the restaurant is right across the street from the concert)!

I think I'll be living on water and Ramen noodles for the next few weeks :)

Getting better

I'm finally getting my energy back! I've been feeling a lot better lately and while exhausted when I finally go to bed, I'm doing pretty well during the day. This past weekend was spent sleeping, attending Greek Fest and eating delicious food, paddling out to the middle of lake Monona and spending an entire afternoon floating/swimming/eating with friends and two dinners off the grill. It was fantastic.

This week I am taking a class called Global Environmental Public Health. It's very interesting but involves a lot of reading and assignments so I've been pretty busy. Tomorrow we are going to check out a sewage treatment facility in Madison! Wohoo! If you are lucky, maybe I'll bring my camera along :)

Dinner Party Crew!

A group of five friends and I started a "Dinner Party Crew" at the end of June and get together every Monday night (with the exception of the Monday my wisdom teeth came out--we had that one last Thursday and I went to it even though I had to wear a scarf to cover the hideous lower half of my face). It all started as a random cookout but I'm glad it has progressed into a weekly tradition! Some of the members are quite impressive with their cooking and presentation skills. My turn is next week and I am definitely nervous I won't live up to the precedent. Luckily I am partnering up with someone else so all the blame can't be placed on me:) Here are some pictures from Dinner Party #1 and #2 (I had to miss #3 because of everything that has happened to me but Kelly and Eva put on quite the show).

Dinner Party #1:
Brie, tomatoes and a sauce that I thought was chocolate but was not:
Corn on the cob, steak and portobello mushrooms:
Local custard with a yummy chocolate thingy:

The Dinner Party Crew: Kelly, Chris, Dave, me, Eva and Mike

Dinner Party #2:
Butternut Squash and seared scallops:

teriyaki-glazed salmon, cous cous and asparagus:
Creme Brulee!!! No one should go to college without their trusty creme brulee torch:

I spoke too soon.

Ok so I am still alive but things did not go as smoothly as I thought they would. I ended up getting a major infection and after going back to the doctor for a third time (last Friday) found out that my swelling was not normal. My face looked like it had gained 50 pounds and was pretty freaky. I had to go under general anesthesia and get it drained right then and there with no time to think about what was happening. The procedure went well and I was sent home for the weekend with a little tube sticking out of my face (under my chin on the left side). Luckily it was covered with a big bandage but it was pretty gross. I started on antibiotics and popped pain pills all weekend. I had to miss my friend's wedding in Minneapolis which I'm really sad about but there wasn't much I could do.

My mom flew up on Sunday morning to take care of me and luckily I was starting to feel a lot better. We've been staying at her hotel and taking in all the sights in Madison that I never new existed!! We went to the Madison zoo, saw the Art Fair on the Captial Square, checked out the Mustard Factory in Mt. Horeb, saw a Midsummer Nights Dream in Spring Green, shopped on State Street, had ice cream on the terrace and have gone out to eat quite a bit. Tonight we are going to Concerts on the Square. I'm still pretty tired a lot of the time but things are improving rapidly. My face is still a little swollen but nothing like before and I'm finally back at work today for the first time in a week and a half. I'm so glad this is almost over!

I survived.

My wisdom teeth are out but I resemble a chipmunk because of the swelling. Thanks to the many drugs I am taking I feel pretty good and Mali is taking great care of me (although she did leave me alone for the day...ice cream kegger anyone?). My friends Kelly and Eva stopped by with some ice cream last night and pretended not to be (too) scared of how I look, they were very sweet and on Wednesday we are going to try to go to Concerts on the Square if it isn't rained out again.

It's nice to be able to take a few days off work but I plan to go back on Thursday, then off to Minneapolis for my friend Liza's wedding this weekend! She is my friend from college who I saw in London last March. I'll be seeing her and many of my old Olaf friends including Kate (who is back from Germany for the summer) and her sister Anna. So look forward to more stories with the orginal adventurers! Hopefully I will look like a normal person by then :).

Finally it is my turn!

On Monday I am having my wisdom teeth removed. I feel like everyone I know has had this done years ago and so I have been patiently anticipating when it will finally be my time. This weekend is my last hoorah and I plan to be drinking out of straws with abandon as I won't be able to for...a few days after the procedure? It is going to be tough, lots of jello, no alcohol and I might even be too drugged up to enjoy the season finale of the Bachelorette, but somehow I will push through!! Wish me luck :)

Celebratin'

On Saturday I went to Rhythm & Booms, Madison's 4th of July fireworks display. I have heard that it is the largest fireworks display in the Midwest (!!!). A friend works for a radio station in Madison and she hooked us up with VIP passes which got us away from the crowds, close to the stage with live music and away from the huge lines at the Port-o-Pottys. There was also free Miller Lite and wings! Woohoo! The fireworks were really cool, especially the sparkly ones, and were all timed to music that was blaring from a nearby RV.






In other news I took my first class at the gym last week and was so sore for the next few days that I actually though I was sick. In fact I was sure that I had a stomach ache and so didn't go to work on Wednesday. It turned out to be my abs just weren't used to that kind of exercise....I didn't quit though and have been going back for more classes in the hopes I won't be so pathetic. I took another one yesterday and this morning could actually lift my arms without crying, I think I'm making progress!