A few pictures from Halloween

(Click on the pictures to enlarge them)

Vegas Show Girl!

Check out the rhinestones!

Brian as Lucifer

Myself, Brian, April (Sexy Cop) and Howard (Dept of Erections Inmate)

Me, CT, Kelly and Jen (Marie Antoinette). That's her REAL hair!

Every pimp has his...

Give the damn dog back!!!

This is sad!

Roughin' it in the woods!

So we went camping in Baraboo, Wisconsin this past weekend. I can't even begin to say how beautiful Devil's Lake State Park is! We went during the perfect time of year when the leaves are turning and falling. It made for some gorgeous views and the perfect backdrop for some awesome pictures.

We got up to WI late on Friday night and set up camp. It was a bit chilly while we set up the 3 tents (No, not 3 for us. We went with 2 other couples. C'mon, I'm not THAT high maintenance). The ground was very moist and it made it tough to get a fire started right away. While Brian and I put our tent up, we all laughed at Cooper who kept standing next to our SUV at the passenger door. Yes, the door where he gets in. He didn't want to be outside! It was like he was saying, "Hey, just let me know when we get to the Hilton, k?" He was NOT having it at first and I have to admit, I was a bit disappointed.......shoot, even embarrassed! He's a hunting dog for crying out loud! He's supposed to LOVE the outdoors! I finally lifted him out of the truck, carried him to the camp fire and made him sit on my lap. When he finally settled down, he ran around with our friend's dog and seemed to start enjoying himself. By Saturday morning, it was like he was born in the woods.

Saturday morning we went on a 9 mile hike around all of Devil's Lake. It was amazing! Some of the trails were nothing but steep rocks. Some were wooded trails, some were along the lake and others were on top of the mountain area looking down on the lake. Every view was better than the last. Here are a few of the pics:

All six of us.

Brian and I above Devil's Lake.

Check out that rock! It was a few hundred feet straight down! Great for rock climbing.

Here it the view by the lake. We were ALL the way up at the top of those trees.

One of the wooded trails.

Brian said this was the best picture I've ever taken :)


Look how green!

Rock climbing, anyone?

The rocks were no feat for Cooper or Buckeye. They loved it!

My baby and me.

This is BY FAR my favorite picture of the weekend. Brian was trying to snap a picture of the lake and then Cooper popped his head up. I titled it "The world through the eyes of a Vizsla".

Chaos in Cleveland

First, THIS happens about a mile from my Mom's house.

Then, THIS happened at a Cleveland High School. Another school shooting in America.

What is going on in Cleveland??? I hope everyone is okay!!

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I'd like to encourage all women to perform a BSE (Breast Self Exam) this month. You should be conducting these exams monthly, girls!

Why not order these BSE Instruction Cards and give them to all of the women in your life??

Also, you should click here once a day, EVERY DAY, to help fund mammograms!!

Go Figure

As I was about to put my old cell phone in the envelope that was provided by the insurance company last night to send it back, I decided to give it one last college try.

What do you know? I plugged it in and it sprung to life.

I guess the good thing is that I got a new cell phone that appears to work faster and keep a longer battery. The bad thing is that I hope they don't charge me for it when it goes back today to the insurance company.

Now that I was able to get a few of my favorite pictures off the phone, I thought I'd share them. Sorry for the fuzziness...they ARE from my cell phone, afterall.

This is Cooper in his winter gear that protects his little feet from the salt. Also known as "Cooper directing traffic at O'Hare"

Brian and Cooper napping together.

My road companion during a trip to Michigan.

Awww....Coop as a pup.

Kudos!!!!

I have to give a few props to some of da homies.

After months of rebuilding his engine, Brian's car successfully started up on Saturday. He's been slaving away in our garage since spring and this is the SECOND time he completely rebuilt the engine in his 1973 Porsche Carrera. Way to go, babe!! Your skill with all things mechanical once again completely amazes me!!!

Congrats also to my girl, CT, who finished her first Chicago Marathon. Unless you live under a rock, I'm sure you've heard of the mass chaos that ensued during yesterday's race. We were down there cheering her on and it was pretty much complete insanity. I'm happy she finished and even happier she's healthy and walked away basically unscathed (aside from being pretty sore, of course). I have to tip my hat to all of the marathoners who persevered through what will now arguably be the hardest Chicago marathon ever. Way to go!

Looks like it was a heart condition, not the heat, that killed the 35 yr old man from Michigan.

I've got a case of the Monday's

Brian and I had a great weekend. Friday night we tried cuisine that was new to both of us....Moroccan! It was actually quite tasty! Then we spent the remainder of the evening shopping for gear for our upcoming camping trip to Devil's Lake in Wisconsin.

Saturday, a friend of mine came into town from Milwaukee and we went to dinner with a big group, followed by drinks in Bucktown. I was nursing a slight hangover all day Sunday, due to not eating enough tapas at Bravo. If you haven't been to Bravo, then I suggest you go....now! It's the best tapas in the city!

When all I really wanted to do on Sunday was lay on the couch and nurse my hangover, I toughed it out and we jumped in the car, dropped the top, and headed to Schaumburg for a bridal show. What a wasted half hour that was! We thought we'd find some neat ideas for the wedding but what we really found was a bunch of vendors forcing their products down your throat. Even when we told the florists that we are having a destination wedding in Mexico that still didn't deter them from telling us where their shop was and how well they could accommodate us.

The downside of my entire weekend was having my cell phone up and die on me Saturday afternoon! One minute I'm confirming our dinner reservations for 8 people, then the next minute my phone won't even turn on. Just like that! I lost all of my numbers, text messages and worst of all....pictures. The ONLY pictures I had of me in my wedding dress were on that phone. Boo!! Of course I'll be able to take pictures in it once again, but it was nice to have.

Now it's back to the grindstone......