NEED YOUR HELP!!!

if everyone could please cast a vote (if you havent already) for Bosley as Best Seafood on wisn.cityvoter.com.. use as many e-mails as you have.. get the word out.. the voting ends tomorrow the 27th.. help us out! since it is the last day of voting, we are no longer allowed to see the current standings, but with your votes.. it could keep our spot on the list.. at #1!!! help please!!!!!!! =)

and also.. while you're at it, if you've got a couple extra minutes every day, please help out with a vote for my nieces Summer and Brooklynn to help get their votes up to become models for GapKids... that voting ends on Nov. 17th.. but you can vote every day. there is another girl with over 250 votes.. and both the girls are below 30 (boo.. we've gotta try harder!)... if we are persistent.. we can get them in! hooraaaaay! thanks everyone =)

follow this link for Brookie:
http://family.go.com/gapcastingcall/entries/davidandmarcie/268445237/



and this one for Summer:
http://family.go.com/gapcastingcall/entries/davidandmarcie/714015501/


for first time voters, it takes just a minute to register, then once you are- all you need to do is log in everyday. thanks again guys =)

Real Quick Favor!!!

Hey everyone reading!! Every year, different websites and newspapers and all that jazz do city wide voting for the very best restaurants (and just about every other business imaginable) here in Milwaukee (as i am sure just like every other city does, too) but if i could pretty please convince you (not that i would be lying to you anyways.. seeing as to how we really are the best there is!) to vote Bosley as best Seafood Restaurant at www.wisn.cityvoter.com that would be much much much appreciated! and spread the word! we really wanna knock all of our competitors outta the park this year, and make sure they can't catch up! =) Thank you, Thank you, Thank you! =) and while you're at it.. also become "fans" of Bosley on Brady on Facebook, just to help spread the word and keep us in business!

House Warming Party

so.. we've set our date for Sunday, August 23rd for our house warming party. it'll be an Open House type deal from Noon until 4. hopefully the weather will be nice so we can atleast hang out in the back yard =) also hopeing i can get some grass to start growing by then (we need some rain here!) i know Greg and Megan will just be heading out that morning, and I know some of our friends will be recovering from Daly and Abbie's wedding the night before.. but our August is just SO busy, it is hard to find time to do anything now-a-days! well, anyways.. call for our address or with any other questions! can't wait to see everybody!


(ps... did you know that the vanilla bean is actually from an orchid?! i just learned that yesterday. crazy..)

Getting Settled In

We're the new kids on the block! haha... So, moving day came and went- and i'm pretty sure i'm still sore from it.. that or the constant moving boxes around and unpacking. still haven't gotten fully moved in yet. i'd say we're about 70% there. we still have a few things we have to pick up from the old apartment. too lazy to stress about it though. we have another week left until the rent is up there, so someday we'll get to it all.
if you haven't heard the news from either dan or i yet.. on moving day, one of our neighbors filled us in on some info about the past owners of our house. http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/40760207.html
yep- we now own what was known as "the drug house" of Whitefish Bay.
on to better news. we have some awesome neighbors. we did get some cookies from one neighbor. and another stopped over with a cooler full of Miller Lites, Gatorades, Pepsis, and Green Teas. we finished them, took back the cooler, then a couple days later he filled it again with Miller Lites and brought it over to us while we were doing some yard work. (and thanks again to Tim and Jean for all the help!) we're in walking distance to Dairy Queen, which Dan will only allow if we actually walk to it. so, i'd say i'm pretty happy with this neighborhood.
We've already locked ourselves outta the house. luckily dan had left a basement window open to air it out this morning. so we had to rig up a screwdriver out of a bunch of different tools to get the screen off, then Dan climbed through it, one leg/one arm/and his head in first, and got stuck with one arm/ one leg still on the ground outside. i had to pull on his arm that was still outside to keep him from falling all the way to the ground. it was pretty funny to watch. but we got in. then hid a key somewhere so that we will never have to do that again. whew!
Lots of work needing to be done to the place, but time will allow that to happen, too. We're off every Sunday of course, but we only have two free sundays before september to do any work. hopefully winter doesnt come for a long time after that!
we've already spent a ton of money on washer/dryer, range, microwave, lawn mower and other yard stuff, updated electrical stuff, a new bed and comforter set, tv and tv stand.. and we've got a looong way to go before we're done spending!
House Warming Party, as of now, will be on Sunday August 16th. Let us know if this absolutely will not work for anyone.. we only have the 30th open otherwise, and that's really far away. if you want to present us with any gifts, make it a gift card since we have no idea what we need until the time comes up.
big weekend coming up at work, too. Brady Street Festival/Cheesefest will be all day tomorrow.. we should be incredibly busy at the restaurant. ugh. is it bad that i am just praying that the forecast at 30% chance of rain goes up to 100%? because i would really like not to be all crazy running around getting my butt kicked. anyone know any good rain dances? or like, severe thunderstorm dances? =) haha.. and our lawn could use the rain, too.. we've been watering it plenty hoping for some soft grass in time for the party. well, i've been typing too long when i should have been unpacking or something... i'm off!

NEW HOUSE!

So...... it is official! We went straight from closing to the new house and stood in our new living room for a minute or two. then ran through the rest of the house checking out all the rooms, though we've seen them a million times before, this was the first time they were ours! and it felt great! we then went to Menards to buy a lawn mower. the previous owners havent touched the grass since they accepted our offer over a month ago.. it's almost a foot tall with weeds everywhere. i can't even think of what the neighbors who share a strip of grass with us have been thinking. i hope they dont think we're rude and that we'll always be that lazy, because i'm gonna be an awesome neighbor! i wonder if anyone from the neighborhood is gonna bring us a pie or fruit basket. haha.. do people do that anymore? it would be awesome if they did!
We'll be having a house warming party for everyone to check it out. it will most likely be towards the end of August on a Sunday of course. We'll keep you updated! =)
big Big BIG thank you to my father Don. (Love You, Dad!) without him, i dont think we'd be owning a home for atleast a year or two. Thank you thank you thank you! also, if anyone is looking to buy a home in the North Shore area, get in touch with Thea at the Shorewest office in Shorewood. She is fabulous. Such a big help. i dont think we could have done it without her, either! Thank you to Tim and Jean for the fridge, which we will finally be picking up on Monday! (also a thank you to one of our co-workers Joe for offering to help us move next monday!) Thanks Joe and Megan and Megan's brother for the appliance hook-up. Every little bit we're saving helps out a ton! and i totally sound like i am giving an acceptance speech. haha. okay thats enough. Thanks Everyone For Everything. =)
There we are! It's one of those Harry Potter magic houses, because it is much bigger on the inside than it looks on the outside! =) haha.. oh man.. now i'm super excited for the 6th Harry Potter movie. Dont know how much attention i can pay to the house on the 15th! haha

Countdown Continues and Happy Birthday Wishes!

T Minus 2 days until the house is ours! =) Yippee Ky Yay! We did a final walk through today. First time we've seen it since all their furniture and boxes were out. Made the place look a bit bigger and made us really start to think about decorating! Dan loves to tell everyone that the basement is all his to decorate, and that i'll get the rest of the house.. though he knows somewhere in the back of his mind that he will still have to follow my rules with it! =) haha.. i am the wife after all. but mostly, i think that it is finally starting to sink in with the two of us that.. in TWO days.. we'll actually own 4852 Berkeley Blvd!

Would also like to wish my father-in-law Tim a very happy birthday! I'm sure that there will be some golfing involved, so lets hope for many awesome shots, or maybe even a hole in one! Either way, hope you get some relaxing in, as well as a good birthday meal, and have an extra spectacular day! =)

Countdown....

this house stuff is almost FINALLY done with! T minus 3 days! cant wait to not have to dig up some kind of random and always different legal form from five years ago. not be approved for anything, then freakout, scramble, and spaz around hoping to find a way to make it work. sign this, sign that. meet here. bring that. wait four days for someone to get back to me, when we only have five days to get it done. write a check for this. (oh wait.. we're never done doing that!) ahhh! i just wanna move in already! i cant handle this stress! and honestly? who looks forward to actually moving? me! =) and coming up not soon enough! on that note.. who wants to help out? we have a U-Haul for next Monday.. and i'm pretty sure i once again, will be of no help when it comes to that piano. or much of anything else! haha... i know you wouldnt guess it by looking at me, but i am pretty darn weak. shocker i know.. but believe you me!

one final "off" day before the move.. after that it's getting house stuff done to make it our own. so tonight, we're off the the Brewers game for our date night. If we're two of the first 20,000 fans, we get a free Brewers baseball card set! Whoo! in the words of my husband, Go Brewers!

Got my hair cut! =)

So, i think the last time i got my hair cut was a couple weeks before the wedding. I wanted to get it cut again before we went on the honeymoon, which was in January- but was too lazy about it. Then wanted to get it cut before going down to Florida to visit Amy and Jon- but was too lazy about it. So, i've been at work complaining about how much i hate my hair for the past couple weeks, especially with this crazy hot weather. Keziah, one of my co-workers at Bosley whom also works at Halo, a salon down the street on Brady, went ahead and booked me a haircut there today. and FINALLY- it is cut! =) so happy with the turn out, too. i've basically gotten the same thing done since highschool, but today, he (Michael) talked to me about what i wanted and what i usually do, then did a little twist on it. i LOVE it! =) Dan and i have been watching some major "What Not to Wear" lately.. so i did a little before and after photo.. (though i couldnt wear any mascara in the before pic because Keziah also gave me some lash extensions that'll last me a couple weeks. they are SUPER long.. i'm talking amazingly long. over half an inch.. maybe about three quarters. wowza!)

Here's Before :

And here's After :

Quick Update

So, my computer at home crashed (thanks Jorie!) and i haven't been able to update on anything going on. Well.. lotsa quick updates are due. Happy Belated 21st birthday to my sissy Shea! it was on Sunday... apparently kids now a days do the 21 shots on your 21st birthday. really glad she didnt end up doing that. how stupid?! that could kill someone. idiot kids these days. Jorie had her grad party on the same day- the 7th.. it was a lot of fun- saw some people and family that i havent seen in years! my dad just finished his last radiation treatment yesterday.. hooray! now he's just gotta go in for check ups every now and again to keep it monitored. uhm.. WE GOT THE HOUSE!!! =) we'll be moving in on July 1st.. closing date is July 10th.. still renting at our apartment the whole month of July... so it'll be an easy move. plus- it's only a few blocks away. 4852 Berkely Blvd. will be our new address! invites will be out soon for our house warming party.. sometime prolly August. we'll see how it goes once we get moved in. we need all new kitchen appliances and a washer/dryer... anyone wanna lend/borrow/give us anything? that'd be greatly appreciated! =) well.. i've gotta go.. i'm on the office computer at Bosley. we'll update soon- hopefully we can fix our computer sometime in the near future. ttyl!

Happy Graduation Day, Jorie!

Jorie, Jorie.. Bo Borie.. Banana Fannah Fo Forie.. Me My Mo Morie.. JORIE!!! is graduating from the one and only Pardeeville High School this very afternoon. wish i could be there to congratulate you in person little lady, but we'll be there next week to celebrate =) and even with all of your accomplishments and how proud i am of you, me being the big sister that i am.. i've still gotta knock you down a notch and embarrass you a little bit- but remember- it's all in love.. and only so that you can always remember that, yep.. you were that little turd =) love you sissy!




(this is jorie wearing our grannies underpants on her head.. what was she thinking?!?! haha)

Road Rules

We've been doing a ton of driving around lately. We drove the three hours up and back from Door County for Memorial Day. Also, we woke up this morning to make a quick trip over to Madison for an appointment, then drove the hour and a half back again for the both of us to get to work. Dropped him off, then spent the next 3 and a half hours this afternoon driving around downtown Milwaukee dropping off coupons and menu's at some hotels for their guests. If anyone doesnt know me and my driving, yes- i have a bit of a problem with road rage. but honestly.. dont drive like an idiot and i will not be mad at you. deal?

1. Use your turn signal. even when parking. even if you're "slowing down" to turn and therefore everyone should just naturally assume you're turning (not a mind reader..) even if you're in a turn lane. it is probably THE most simplest thing ever installed for use in your vehicle. (on that same note, do not fully click a turn signal when switching lanes or getting on an on ramp/vice-versa.. if you aren't making a full turn, your little blinkey sign will stay on and everyone will be hesitant to actually figure out what you're doing. besides.. doesnt the clicking noise bother you!?)

2. Use cruise control on the highway. i really don't feel like playing leap frog with you for another 30 miles. nor do i enjoy constantly catching up to you only to have to take mine off. pick a speed.

3. When on a two-plus lane road/highway and you come up to a lane closure for construction or any other possible reason.. that is not an open invite for you to gun it and cut someone off right before you get to the end.. causing EVERYONE behind to slam on their brakes in a ripple effect. and if you're really that aloof thinking to yourself "ooh, look. an empty lane. i wonder why no one else is driving in it?" there's a reason, you should figure that out before cutting someone else off.

4. When driving on the highway.. the left lane is for passing only. if you arent passing.. you oughtta be in the right. also, if i have someone tailing me in the left, and i am not going to be passing any car for 10 seconds, i will move and let that person pass. it is not up to me to make someone else go my speed, even if i am speeding. point is- they want to go faster. move over. notice that sign... you know.. the one posted every ten feet... slower traffic keep right? it's that simple. and when i do get over to let you pass me since you are tailing me so badly.. do that. don't sit next to me at my same speed just blocking me there. pass me.

5. When in a traffic jam.. sit in one lane unless you need to get off the highway. you honestly aren't going to get anywhere.

6. Get off your cell phone. chances are in the past 10 seconds, you've already broken one, if not all of these rules.

7. This one just really peeves me off. Mom's. Dad's. Whomever. if you have a child seat.. or ANY children in the car.. i expect you to handle yourself better on the road. not only are your kids already at risk by being on a fast paced crazy driver filled highway, you don't need to multiply that risk by a thousand because you are one of them.

8. After you park your car, dont wing your car door out into traffic. it's a no brainer.. you'd think. how about this idea- check your rearview mirrors to see when there will be a break in traffic, then get out of your car at that time.

9. Just because there is a sign that says "yield to pedestrians in crosswalk" does not mean that you should blindly cross the street. because one, i may not see you pop out from behind that parked car on the side of the street. two, i am a moving car. and the third and most important fact, you will most likely not win that battle. didnt your parents ever teach you to "look both ways before crossing" well, guess what.. that still applies.. even with your pedestrian crosswalk sign or walk signal. just be safe- duh.

10. you really dont need to constantly tap your brake. all you're doing is annoying me, and wearing out your brakes. let off the gas and your car naturally slows down. i mean, yeah- use it when you need to. but all i'm saying is when you're braking 55 times per minute in front of me, i've maybe done 5. think about it.

those are just some of the rules that came to mind. of course- follow all other traffic laws.. and i will never be "raged" on the "road" ever again. promise. =)

Summery Weather

it is a wonderful day here in Milwaukee WI. and finally.. it seems everytime Dan and I have off together it is rainy and cold. but not today. it is currently 81 with no clouds in sight! all dan wants to do is watch the Wire and Real Time.. i think i'll go lay in the sun for a bit in the back yard.
we went to Wells Fargo and talked to a personal banker. she tried to set the both of us up on our own credit cards through them, but we were immediately denied. so now, she's setting us up on some credit card that goes through our savings account. it's pending, which means we weren't denied by the system, and someone is actually gonna look at it. hopefully we don't get denied for that one, or we've really gotta do some weird stuff. I just really don't understand what i'm expected to do to establish credit when i have none at all, if not for a credit card. is there something i'm missing? i mean, i've already payed off all my student loans, we have a number of things out on our names that we make monthly payments to.. shouldnt that kinda stuff help with the credit scores?
the NRA convention went pretty well. we woke up early.. walked around for hours and hours down hundreds of aisles eating free foods and drinking free coffees and espressos (hey.. we were tired!) Dan went to a seminar about Leadership in the Workplace. he said he learned a thing or two. i went to some service seminar given by the man who runs that kind of stuff for Disney. he basically just talked about their parks and what not. i didnt learn anthing, but for some reason, i really want to visit Disney World after that! hmm.. wonder why? it's all he talked about. The Publican was an awesome meal afterwards. started off with some raw oysters, then moved onto our first course, an asparagus salad, which was so yummy. next we had whole red snapper with mussels, then lamb three different ways with this really awesome peanut/cilantro salsa to accompany it. i didnt think i would have room for dessert. but i did. it was a little chocolate mousse bar with a rhubarb sauce. omgosh.. fantastic! one of the best meals i've ever had. Dan was extremely excited about their very impressive beer list. then barely had room to eat since they were such heavy beers. we hope to revisit the place sometime. definitely reccommend it.
we'll be going up to Door County for memorial day. weather isnt supposed to reach 70 but the two days we're up there it isnt supposed to rain. so that's good. we'll see how things turn out. of course, we'll be stopping in at the Summertime for some prime steaks with steak butter (the stuff i make just doesnt come out the same) and of course, visiting the Bayside.. Dan's absolute favorite bar in the world. =) maybe we can find a rummage sale or two to stop at on the way there.. sometimes you can find some really great stuff! one man's garbage is another man's treasure!

House Hunting / NRA

We've looked at about 30 homes around Shorewood, Whitefish Bay, Fox Point, and Glendale. We really liked one in Fox Point, then it had a lot of offers on it, so we didn't want to get into a bidding war right off the bat. Now, we really like one that is in Glendale on the river. It's super cute, and not to mention on the river (we'd need some kayaks) but there's still some things that bother me. Like, why would anyone build a home without a dining room? and there's no basement, which could be good when carrying up and down laundry, but there really is no storage. we'd have to store our boxes in the garage, which takes up one of the two parking spaces. but when it all comes down to it, we are only looking at starter homes, so we wont like everything. and once we're in a home, it'll be ours to make homey, our style. now we've just gotta establish our credit. which is hard to do since we need credit for a credit card company to give us a card. but that's the simplest way for us to get it.. it's just a huge circle. we'll see what we can do. i was really excited, i went to Capital One and put my own photo on the front using their Card Lab you always see commercials for. it was a photo from the wedding of mine and Dan's ring hands linked together. then they denied me. bummer. that would have been a fun card to whip out and pay with. people would have liked it. if not, then i really would have. and that's all that matters.
we're getting really super excited for this upcoming Sunday. we're headed to the National Restaurant Association Convention in Chicago. get to go to a bunch of seminars, learn a bunch of stuff. hopefully leave with some SWAG. (haha.. that makes me think of Michael Scott.) then Sunday night, our owners are treating us to dinner at The Publican. which is in an awesome restaurant group. they also have Avec, which the head chef was on Iron Chef America. She tied Cat Cora in battle butter. then on Monday, we wake up and go to the convention some more. Not bad for a day off. then hopefully at night, we'll be able to figure out how to get to the Half Shell, which Amy and Jon took us to a few weeks back. they have amazing King Crab legs. Huge. Delicious. Best Ever. its a little underground restaurant that only the locals know about. and now Dan and I, too! =)
by the way.. on The Office last night, i totally called the end. (and teared up a little bit..)

Back Home

So we made it back from Cortez.. and i am still on that sleep schedule. so even after a night of heavy margarita drinking at Conejitos (yes. we went directly there from the airport... thanks Crisco!) i am up and adam at 9:00 AM! can you believe it? me.. awake in the AM? we'll see how long i keep it up for. other things we have picked up from Amy's are: Dancing with the Stars (really upset that i've become addicted to this show.. i made it so long without caring.. but now.. naked man from Sex in the City.. and that girl he dances with that Jon likes so much.. will they make it to the top?!) and Price is Right. which is currently on. and some girl just spun the dollar.. and spun it again to win the extra $25,000! lucky lady. in the past few days of watching the show.. i've seen the dollar spun atleast 5 times. i wonder if that's normal? guess i'll just have to keep on watching! our house is clean.. i always super clean it before we go on vacation- so that way when we get back- i can just relax.. just like i've been doing since we left for vacation, haha.. feels good to have a spotless house to come home to =) didn't take too many pictures this year.. they've all been taken in years past.. but still had just as much fun! and now this weekend, we'll be going back to my ma's house for Easter. get to see the Schelble/Mayer clan.. Love you all dearly! wonder how big Brooky is getting? and if she'll ever let Dan hold her without crying.. Ronna and the kids will be there.. it sucks only seeing family on holidays, but i guess it could be worse.. they could all live on the other side of the earth. that or i could.. it could be fun! too bad i like you guys so much =) well.. Maury is about to come on.. no paternity tests today.. but shocking updates on past guests! whoo!!!!

April Fools!

Today is my loving darling husbands 27th birthday =) We get to spend it in Florida. We're visiting Amy and Jon with Grandpa and Grandma McMannis, and soon Megan and Greg will join us for an awesome weekend with awesome weather and we'll celebrate Grandma's birthday on Saturday! =) Not much planned for today, we're kinda keeping it easy, trying not to add to our sunburns we've already gotten.. but i think a happy birthday cocktail cruise is in the plans. yay!

Happy Birthday Mother Dear!

I love you! =)

Better late than never!

we are all very excited by the news that Lila Alice McNamara was born last week, on March 13th. she is one of the most beautiful baby girls i've ever seen, like every other one of my nieces. =)

Also, a belated birthday shout out to my sister Ronna! Hope you had a good one! =)

(That's me and Ronna and my Teddy taking a nap)

Today must be a good day...

We have a baby girl McNamara on the way... possibly tomorrow? can't wait to meet her! Congrats Joe and Megan! =) we are so very extremely excited, and a short drive away- so if you EVER need us, for anything, even a minute or two of alone time, give us a call!

fun news, Dan and i got new phones. i got a really cool LG Shine, and Dan got an even cooler iPhone.. so excited i actually get my mp3 player back, and i dont have to share it anymore on an airplane.. he can listen to his iPhone, and i get my little shuffle =) we're ready to rock and roll, all the way to Florida! and oh, since i cancelled my US Cellular plan, and joined AT&T (by the way.. get my new number if you don't have it yet.. call Dan for it or e-mail me or whatever..) but now, when we are in Florida, everyone will actually be able to contact me on MY phone.. since it would roam every year before, i'd use Dan's cell for all my calls. no more. thank you AT&T. (also for your Uverse! don't know how we ever survived for so long on Time Warner?)

I also got a letter in the mail today from the City of Milwaukee.. i thought i was in trouble for something, but i couldnt figure out what. so when i open it and read that they found my stolen work bag and my makeup bag, yippee!!! i'm assuming they got my address from check stubs that were in the work bag.. and i'm hoping everything else is still in it. my old phone, sunglasses, my very first EVER waitressing "book" as we call them. (it's what we use to write down orders in) plus i had some really good pens in my apron that was in the bag. and my favorite wine "key".. (opener) i'm also hoping they put our Garmin's window suction cup holder thing in the bag too.. (yeah, idiots stole that as well. not the Garmin, just the window cling) now i just have to go pick it all up. it'd be great if they actually caught the person who did it, maybe they can pay us back the $210 it took to replace our window that was smashed.

on to the bummer news of the day- we took our car in to see what was leaking from it, get an oil change, and have some other things looked at too. turns out, we're getting something fixed along the lines of a "bushel" or "bushes" or "branches" i'm not too sure- but something that will cost us a little over $100.. and then we have something else going wrong with the car that we aren't getting fixed right now, but that will be $500 when we do decide to get it done... ugh. cant someone invent a car that never needs repairs? i want that kind of car.

well, i'm off to get ready before work.. gotta take the bus.. which is... well, on the bright side, always entertaining.

Jorie is All Grown Up!!!

Happy 18th Birthday, little-ist sister! Love you lots you silly girl!

Happy Birthday to my Dad!

Dad, hope you had a very happy birthday today... and happy everyday, for that matter. =) I Love You!

Feb.

Mostly every year, i dread February the most. absolutely nothing to look forward to but snow and cold with no end in sight. it gets depressing in February because you know that even though you've been through numerous piles-on of snows, and many slick slippery icy roads the past couple months.. you really don't get any sort of "spring" until summer hits in June. but not this year. Feb. '09 has been great! we've had many days above 32.. and even above 42! last night in Milwaukee, it was supposed to snow 4 to 8 inches.. but we didnt anything near that! it rained a little tiny bit, and today, we got a light dusting of snow. but hey, i'll take that over 8''! Heeeey! I've even been able to wear teeshirts to work instead of the long sleeved sweaters i ususally work in. and a couple of times, i did get a good whiff of spring. that should be good enough to hold me over until April. by April, of course i mean- off to sunny Florida to spend time with Amy, Jon, Megan, Greg, Grandma and Gradndpa McMannis, and lets not forget- "Kristine" whoo hoo!

also a day after birthday shout out to my Sister-In-Law-To-Be.. Megan! visit her awesome blog at http://www.sunshinemeg.blogspot.com/

we just switched our cable from Time Warner to AT&T U-Verse. and man.. this rocks! we have our DVR.. which you can watch from the living room, and both bedrooms. we can record 4 shows at a time! only 2 at a time in HD though. but that doesnt matter much when we're recording things like old CSI's and Friends and AFV because they aren't shot in HD cameras. so it works out for us. i was only really bummed when i realized we wouldnt have our on demand channels, like HBO on Demand and Showtime on Demand, but then i found the channel where they are all at! so now i am even happier than with TWC. AT&T even sends us $200 just for joining!

in other news, getting really excited for the Brewers season to start. nothing i love better than waking up in the morning, throwing on my Brewers gear, packing a cooler full of ice, hamburgers, beer brats, and beer and headed to Miller Park for tailgating and watching the Brew Crew hit some home runs and win the game. Roll out the Barrel.. We'll have a barrel of fun come April!

Happy Belated!

We were on the cruise when January 12th came and went.. So a very happy belated to my sister Marcie!

PS... Nice pants

Honeymoon

Well.. you can basically just go to Dan's blog to read about the cruise. we did have an awesome trip. lots of sunshine.. lots of relaxing.. loved the excursion we took in Costa Rica.. our water camera photos need to be developed still, so those pictures will be put up on Facebook soon, too. it is crazy to think that one week ago exactly, we were smack dab in the middle of a rainforest tubing down a river. now we're here. might as well be smack dab in the middle of antarctica! i miss the Jewel of the Seas! though we're pretty bummed that we didnt get on the Newlywed game show.. (it was called "Love and Marriage" on our ship.) As soon as the show started and they were looking for Newlywed contestants.. Dan and I jumped up and waved our arms around screaming "Pick us!" or something like that.. and the host says "looks like you two really wanna get up here on stage to play" and then asks us when we were married and we told him September 6th. then he goes "Is there anyone else that has been married for a shorter amount of time?" and Dan and i look around the room.. we're the only two standing or even really paying attention to the guy.. and he just keeps saying "anybody? anybody?" and out of no where in the back is the most boring looking newlywed couple "we were married on October 11th." so he says to them "Alright, come on up here" so pass us and get to go up right away. Dan and I think, sure.. three other couples.. we can get up. They go and find their longest married couple.. they were going on 51 years. so they get up. then the host asks for anyone married longer than 25 years but less than 50.. and some other completely boring couple goes up because they were celebrating their anniversary on the next day. and so Dan and I figure, okay, now they want another somewhat newly married couple.. nope, anyone can go up. And we have to perform for the audience so they can judge who goes up. women have to say "Tarzan, Tarzan, Where for art thou Tarzan?" and the men have to say "Here I am Jane." And another completely boring couple goes up on stage instead of us because the husband decideds to tackle his wife to the ground, which i dont think he should have done at their age. And needless to say, that "Love and Marriage" show on a scale of 1 to 10 in entertaining points, was a 2.. and only because the oldest couple had a sense of humor about it. and the newlywed couple won a bottle of champagne and a massage package to the onboard spa.. which should have been us. so i guess, if you want to get on that show on a cruise, say you were married yesterday if you want to get up. and there.. that is my one beef with the ship. that and all the older people who took up all the sunbathing chairs by the pool, but covered themselves up in blankets and towels while wearing huge hats, long sleeved shirts, and sweatpants. that and those same people who refused to take the stairs one flight, so if we got on the elevator at Deck 3 and wanted to get to Deck 11, we had to stop at every floor to let someone on, then the next floor to let them back off, then the next floor to let someone else on, and the very next floor to let them back off.. and so on. there were also numerous times when a full elevator of people wanted to go up, while others who couldnt fit in were waiting for another elevator to go up, but kept holding the up button so that the full elevators' doors wouldnt shut thinking it needed to let people on, and a mass group of confused old pepople standing around holding the "up" buttons while staring at the full elevator just plain stuck on that floor. huh? i wonder why? so after watching that mess for a good 30 seconds, Dan and I decided to take the stairs up from Deck 4 to Deck 13 instead of waiting for them to all figure it out. and I would put money on it that not one person was actually going up more than 2 floors. The elevators were pretty informative, too. They had little plates in the floor that they changed everyday so that you could tell it was Sunday or Tuesday or whatever day of the week it was. Except one elevator.. it was stuck on Friday and confused us a couple times. i never knew what day of the week we were leaving on either, so i never watched the tiles counting down to the end. i liked it like that. i miss the cruise =(

Goodbye 2008!!!

2008... we'll miss you! You were a year becoming engaged, then becoming a McNamara. We had fun this year celebrating with a handful of friends as they became engaged, and also kept a big secret from our future sister-in-law, Megan Dunn. A year of beginning our house hunting, then seeing a lot of money go down the tubes in the Stock Market Crash. Gas started out the year as just under $4 a gallon, and ended out the year at just under $2. Was a year of bringing in another family member in the form of Baby Brooklynn, and saying goodbye to Mom's Stepdad, Bob Irwin. We saw a lot of friends come =) ... and go =(. We started out the year job hunting, and ended the year at the best restaurant we coulda hoped to work at, Bosley on Brady. We went from having a roommate on the 12th floor apartment with awesome views over the Harbor, to visiting Brian at his condo, where we saw Yovani Gallardo swimming in the pool. Brewers made the Playoffs with CC, now he's gone too. This was also the first Packers season that I can remember being Favre-less. He went, but came back in the form of a Jet. In fact, we started the year with hopes of a Super Bowl, and ended the year completely opposite. In 2008 we elected America's first black President, Barack Obama. We saw him speack twice in the Milwaukee area. I got a picture, but not a handshake, with our new Secretary of Defense, Hillary Clinton. I'm really hoping Sarah Palin gets stuck in that year, never to emerge again.

Here we go 2009! Some things to look forward to this year : Our Honeymoon Cruise!!! Adding a niece to the family with Megan and Joe.. and finally figuring out her name! =) Welcoming Amanda and Paul's baby to the world. Possibly seeing another Megan McNamara get married to Greg????? Joe and Abbie's Wedding, and Ben and Sarah's Chicago Wedding. Jorie will be graduating from Pardeeville High School. Mikaela will get her drivers license. This year, Mom will welcome foster kids into her home. Jon will be turning 70. Grandma Kamrath will turn 90. Whoo! This is gonna be a great year!

Happy 2009 everyone! =)