Merry Christmas!

From all of us here at "From the River", we wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. Enjoy the time that you have with your family, and don't forget the real meaning of Christmas.

What is your favorite Christmas movie or movie that really only plays around this time of the year?

Mine would be Elf.

Stay Classy!

Here comes the snow (do do do do)

Most of the time I don't trust meteorologists.
I mean besides playing baseball (really hitting the ball 1/3 of the time is considered good) what other job can you have the luxury of being wrong some of the time (or most of the time). Doctors, auto mechanics, teachers, pilots, chefs, police officers, school-age directors, assistant to directors, the list goes on and on. All these jobs require you to be right/correct at all times. Unlike meteorologists really the only thing that they can do to mess up is have it be sunny on a day that it is supposed to rain (or the other way around) and all they do is mess up people's plans for the day. How nice must that be? Notice how the two scenarios below are different:

Weather person: "Pack your picnic baskets and make your tee times, it is going to be 75 and sunny all day"
The next day as it rains and pours all day....
Same weather person: "Sorry about the wrong info folks, maybe tomorrow will be better!"

or

Auto mechanic: "Yep, it looks like you just need to top off your brake light fluid, check the specs on your rotator grirder, and we should have you back on the road tomorrow.

Guess who will still have a job tomorrow. Yep nothing says job security like a meteorologist.

To be honest, you are best just going to the window and looking outside.

Now having said that, I liked what I heard last night and all through out the day regarding the weather. They said we have a 100% chance of having snow tomorrow with between 8-12 inches of snow with most of it falling between 10pm and 6am. Even without many years of training I think it know that that means...SNOW DAY!!!

As I write this there are already 37 districts closed.

Now even though I am not in school anymore, snow days are still very exciting and I am excited for those kids to stay home and have an extra day to be kids. Plus work for me will be a little more relaxed because my programs won't be running. High Five to that!

When I was growing up snow days were very rare, so my mom would make homemade doughnuts. Rumor has it that she had to go shopping recently to make sure that she had the supplies. Hopefully a few will make their way up to La Crosse (hand clap and point).

Now I recently saw on a friend blog that he ends each time with a question, and I wanted to do this as well. I won't do it every time, but every once in a while will be good. So, If you grew up in an area where you could have snow days, what was your favorite thing to do while at home?

Enjoy the snow, I know I will just as soon as I dust off my snowshoes!

Stay Classy!

Fan of the Fall

Hey it has been less than a month since the last time that I posted, I must be getting better with this!

There is the age old (does anyone even know where the phrase age old came from? I don't but it seemed good to put here) question of what is your favorite season. Many people have just as many reasons about why they like certain ones. Personally I enjoy the winter because sometimes summer just gets too hot. Plus you can only take off so many layers of clothes before you start getting the strange looks. In the winter you can always put on another layer of clothes to keep warm. Then there is also the whole bunch of sports that you can only partake in during the winter.

Now don't get me wrong there are things that I enjoy about all the seasons, so I will do a series of blog entries with each corresponding season. Nothing too hard right, I mean I can definitely post at least once each season (but hopefully more).

Things that I enjoy about fall:
Football season-I could site and watch football just able all day especially if the Packers are playing (although as of late, the Packers haven't been very enjoyable to watch. I was never a fan of Ted Thompson, and I really hope that he gets fired after the end of the season). Football being my favorite sport, I just really enjoy seeing the game played at it's highest level. Although there are times that I do not enjoy seeing these players who get paid millions complain and get mad because things don't go there way...grow up Ocho Cinco (dumbest name in the NFL, seriously). Also to play fantasy football...even though I am terrible at it, it is a great way to stay connected with friends from all over.

Seeing the leaves change colors and fall to the ground-Thanks Cassandra for raking them all up so far this fall :)

New season of TV shows (so far the best episode has been the wedding on The Office)

The cooler weather-I'm a big fan of being comfortable wearing shorts, a sweatshirt, and sandals, I am not really sure why, but I am.

Thanksgiving- there is something about just getting together with family (Miller, Pat, and Tuna you guys are family), nothing beats it.

Things that make the house smell good- apple pies/crisps/etc., pumpkin pie, pumpkin seeds, turkeys, cookies, fires in fire pits/fireplaces/wood burning stoves, anything really that makes the house smell good and feel cozy.

Baseball- I especially enjoy baseball in the fall because that is when everyone is making their playoff (PLAYOFFS!!!) pushes (plus 162 games is hard to follow). I also really enjoy watching the World Series (but hate watching the Yankees) because that is when the two best teams are playing.

The end of wedding season- Don't get me wrong I am a huge fan of weddings (and I am guessing in **SPOILER ALERT** spring you will see that I like the beginning of wedding season **SPOILER ALERT OVER** , they are a ton of fun, but after a summer full of weddings it is nice to have your weekends back.

Lastly we are one day closer to....


SNOWSHOEING!!!!!!! If you can't tell from the picture, this is a photo of Rudy and I snowshoeing last winter. I realized tonight that we don't have a picture of Cassandra, Rudy and I snowshoeing, that will be this year's mission. I look forward to the first time I can strap them on and hit the trails.

Enjoy the rest of your fall! Stay Classy!

Life recap

I know, I know, I know...this whole keeping up and typing this blog on a regular basis isn't as easy as I thought it was going to be. That's alright, sorry to all those who had been checking on a regular basis, hopefully with the weather getting cooler and it starting to get dark at 4 pm will also help.

I just wanted to recap things that have happen with us since my last post. Things are finally settled in our house, the roof, the roof (is not on fire) is done. The house was done enough to host a surprise birthday party for my good buddy Pat (or SPA for short) who had just moved to this great city. It was great to see so many people make the trip, especially those that I hadn't seen since Cassandra and I got married (closing in on two years now, crazy how the time flies). We were able to finally break in our fire pit and just have great conversations into the wee hours of the morning.

Cassandra completed a 1/2 marathon and finished in a time of 2:20ish. That was awesome, I was able to see her at the halfway point and she was feeling pretty good then. I wish I could have been there for the finish line.

We wrapped up our wedding tour of Wisconsin '09 (congrats to Ashley and Jeff, Leif and Kristen, Tony and Holly, Adam and Lisa, Bernie and Phil, & Megan and Jason). We had a blast at all of your weddings, and a great time at your receptions. I would also like to add that I was able to play the air piano at all six weddings to Journey's "Don't Stop Believing". Probably my #1 favorite song to hear at weddings.

I had to get a new car this past weekend, my old one decided to stop working this past week, in the middle of the rainest week we have had in a few years. The plus side was I was able to bike to work, which is something I had wanted to do for the longest time, but always found reasons to not. Plus it was time for Cassandra and I to have a good, reliable car and not over 14 years old.

Lastly, now that it is fall, and the weather is getting colder, (we've already had our first snowfall, nothing measurable, but it was falling at least) that means we are ONE DAY CLOSER TO SNOWSHOE SEASON!!!! Last winter Cassandra and I had recieved some money at Christmas and were unsure of what we were going to use it on, but we thought that we should treat ourselves to something. After doing some research we decided on purchasing some snowshoes because we both know how to walk and there isn't a whole lot of skills that need to be learned prior to starting (unlike another option cross country skiing), plus we live in an area that is full of trails and hiking opportunities, so that provided us a way to enjoy these trails all year round. As an added bonus, Rudy, our dog, is able to with us and get some excerise as well.

Well, that was somewhat of a recap (and also a preview), I am sure I forgot a bunch of things, but this was what came to mind when I sat down to write this. Thanks for stopping by and Stay Classy!

No excuses!

After giving a friend a hard time for not updating his blog for awhile (all I am saying is if you say you will have a new post on a certain date, you should have a new post by that date), I remembered that I haven't updated this one in over a month. Not good, not a good way to treat your fans. I will do a better job of updating From the River from now on.

Now you might be asking yourself what has been going on up in La Crosse that you can't update your blog on a regular basis, and I've always liked to say, you have to make plays and not excuses. Meaning that you just have to do things and not make reasons about why something hasn't happened. So while, I have been busy unpacking, roofing, and working, I really haven't been so busy that I could take time to write. I just didn't blog.

To make up for this here are some pictures from our house. I won't put all of them here, just because this will make you come and visit.

This is the view from the house to the backyard.

This is from the end of the back yard looking at the house.

The kitchen before everything was put away.

From the kitchen to the living room (we have more things in it now).

I'll save more pictures for another day. I just realized that all of these are from when we moved in and I haven't taken any since we put everything away. They will come don't worry.

Stay Classy!

New House!!!

Things have been fairly quiet for the last few weeks at From the River, and that was some what intentional. We were in the process of buying a house!!! We had an accepted offer at the beginning of the month, and then through an inspection we found some damage that we thought could have cost us the house. But with some negotiating, we were able to lower the cost of the house so that we would be able to afford to do the repairs as well. Things almost fell through a few times this month which is why things weren't posted here, but we literally just returned from the closing, picked up some keys and are waiting for our parents to arrive so that we will be able to clean and start moving things. Now you might be saying to yourself, "self they better have some pictures to show us", and we will. But this is us outside holding the sold sign, just to hold you over...

In a little bit we are going to be taking Rudy over to show him around (poor little guy he doesn't know why all these boxes are here), and we will be taking pictures of it empty, and then also when we have it filled. So next time you are in the 6th best city in the nation, feel free to stop by we'd be glad to see you.

Stay Classy!

HOMES Sweet Home

What better way to spend the 4th of July then to travel to...Canada! Well, we were close. The road trip idea began as a joke that stemmed from a mass email from my friend Allison. She had big plans for the summer and wanted to hang out during the 4th. Another friend jokingly suggested going to Canada which developed into a road trip to Niagara Falls. 12 married/engaged/single friends, 2 mini-vans, 2 coolers, 12 pillows, 4 blankets, 3 GPS systems, and no leg room equaled Fun Fun Fun! 7 of us left on Thursday night, drove to Chicago to pick up the other 6 and then we were off to New York. We drove through the night and arrived at our campsite on Friday at noon. First things first, a dip in Lake Ontario to wake us up and prepare us for getting wet. (Did you catch the HOMES reference? Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, and Superior, get it?) We went to the Cave of the Winds, the Maid of the Mist, some went to Canada, we watched fireworks over the falls, roasted marshmallows and had a great time. Even the 15 hour drive back was enjoyable. Now my list of states I've visited passes my countries I've visited. You read right, previously I had been to more countries than states, but that's for a later post. We hope all of you had an enjoyable 4th of July.



Stay tuned for more "From the River"

Cheers!

We are the champions!!!

So last night Cassandra and I as well as some friends decided to go to the Loggers' game. For those if you who don't know about the Loggers, they are an amateur baseball team that plays with all college aged players to help the adjust to wooden bats, just in case they make the big leagues. Anyway this was the first time that Cassandra and I had ever been to the "Lumberyard" (creative name if you ask me, although maybe not as creative as the Madison Mallards' "Duck Pond" but still very creative.), this was really a great time, and I had forgotten how much I enjoy watching baseball. We had gotten tickets for the party deck, so it was much more of a relaxed atmosphere, and the whole night was full of some game watching, some heckling of the Mallards' bullpen, and lots of just overall fun joking around and conversations.

Now you might be wondering how we were champions, well for starters the Loggers won (final score 5-3), but also we had two people from our group "drawn" (it may have been setup a little)from a pool of all those in attendance to partake in the 8th inning dizzy bat race (which we also won), another friend came in second in the Wii hula-hoop contest (second is still winning especially when you win a Best Buy gift card), another friend (actually one of the same that was in the dizzy bat race) won a drawing from a local radio station and received a station t-shirt and a cd (I had never heard of the band though), lastly another person in our group won tickets to the Northwoods All-Star game.

Overall it was a great time, and I can't wait to go back to a Loggers' game sometime soon.

Also, since we never really figured out how to set things up correctly if you are ever wondering you is writing each post, just look at our sign off lines. Mine is Stay Class! and Cassandra's is Cheers.

Stay Classy!

Wife's Turn

I made a deal with Steven that I would write a post as soon as he updated his Facebook Account. Hence the reason it took so long for me to add to our newly created blog. Even as I sit here typing I really don't know what to write about. I'm proud of Steven for wanting to start something new and creating a blog. We have been so caught up in our own personal lives lately, that it is nice to share our lives with friends (and the whole world).

Lately we have been living our lives based on inspirations. Steven was inspired to start a blog after reading blogs created by our friends (See links below). I started training for a half-marathon because my old roommate recently competed in her first marathon. And we're currently looking for a house because of the market, Steven's job, and friends who have just recently bought their first homes.

Steven and I are really happy. We've been married for almost 1 1/2 years (on July 5th). Married life is amazing (at least I think so) and we really feel like we're on the right path in life. Steven has a job with the YMCA (which he can tell you more about in his own words). He has been really busy, but he says he really enjoys his job. I'm currently a substitute teacher enjoying my summer vacation. The La Crosse area is a tough place to find teaching jobs, but I'm willing to sub for as long as it takes. I'm getting my name out there and I get lots of requests to sub. Like I mentioned before, we have entered the housing race. I call it a race because the houses in our area are selling fast. We know that God has a house that is perfect for us and whatever is meant to be will happen. We're just really antsy. Rudy, our dog, is doing well. He currently is my running partner while I'm training and he just turned 3 years old last Monday. We are excited for what the future brings.

Stay tuned for more updates, random thoughts, and other stories "From the River."

Cheers!

First Post

After telling people for many years about how great the city that we live in is (ok, so technically we don't live in La Crosse, but we might be soon (that'll be another post for another day)), someone else finally took notice. That's right folks you read correctly, La Crosse is the 6th Best City to live in the country. Cassandra and I thought how would everyone else celebrate this fact. The question is rhetorical, and I'll answer it...we decided to start our own blog!!


Actually, we have been talking about starting our own blog for about a month now, and decided there was no better timing the the great news of how great a small city in western Wisconsin is. We were actually inspired by a few of our friends who write weekly blogs ranging in a wide variety of topics.


Our biggest obstacle was finding the right titles for us to use. We have friends who live all over the country and we started to use their titles as an inspiration. Some friends who live in the Pacific Northwest (Congrats AJ and Sarah on your house by the way) had already capitalized on describing both the location that they live and a portion of their last name to title their blog, West Coast Steins, so that was out for us. Another friend has a great nickname (and will also be joining us as a resident of the 6th best city in the nation this fall) and thoroughly enjoys his sports, and came up with the name Spa's Sports. While we have good nicknames, we enjoy way too many things to narrow it down to just one topic, so this idea was out. Some more friends just enjoy life and came up with with a cleaver way to show their unlimited optimism and Life is Good was born (as well as little Andrew, we still can't wait to meet him). Some friends spend all their time growing mustaches and when it comes time to naming their blog, they are just creatively exhausted and have a simple, but well known blog titled A Blog. It is still is up there as my most favorite title. Lastly, the blog that really got us started reading blogs, and has led us to find these other great masterpieces, put tons of time (I think, I don't really know)into its title, but you can read the back story behind the title of A Cage of Words on your own.


So with that tour of the blogs that we read, (and we are always looking for other ones to read, so if you have one please send it to us) and the creativity that went behind the names, we have decided on From the River, for lots of reasons. The biggest reason is that we live in a great city (have I mentioned yet that it is #6 in the nation yet) and it is nestled between the mighty Mississippi River and some bluffs (really who would read a blog titled from the bluff) and the river has been part of some big moments in our lives. Those stories are for another day though.


Stay Classy!