my life through my lens @ seven:thirty pm

thursday, april 30

2009-05-18T22:14:00.002-05:00

ahhhh, palm springs. although i was there for a culligan convention, i still enjoyed every bit of 95 degree weather.

wednesday, april 29

2009-05-18T22:09:00.001-05:00

out at brocach with reina, bree and jason. i was pretty bummed about missing chris koza but knew that staying out late and attempting to function in palm springs the next day for work would not have been good. smart jen - 1, fun jen - 0.

tuesday, april 28

2009-05-18T22:03:00.002-05:00

ok, this wasn't at 7:30 but i forgot to take a pic then. jesi and i were twins at work, so i deem that blog worthy. we were both wearing mary janes even!

sunday, april 26

2009-05-18T21:56:00.003-05:00

i am addicted to being erica. it's a great show, both heartwarming and funny. somehow the message gets right to me every time. it's refreshing to watch a show that i can relate to and actually learn something from.

saturday, april 25

2009-05-18T21:52:00.002-05:00

mexican for dinner!

thursday, april 23

2009-05-18T21:47:00.002-05:00

piling all my stuff on jason's counter.

wednesday, april 22

2009-05-18T21:42:00.001-05:00

it's nice to go out to dinner after work sometimes, so jason and i went to sushi murimato. the food was great, as usual, including the green tea creme brulee.

monday, april 19

2009-05-18T21:37:00.001-05:00

jason hearts his new iphone.

sunday, april 19

2009-05-18T21:31:00.002-05:00

stomp at the overture center with jason. it was an amazing performance and a great way to spend a sunday evening. here's a view of the capital.

saturday, april 18

2009-05-18T21:25:00.002-05:00

after test driving cars in oconomowoc, jason and i visited this little bakery/sandwich shop. his burger was amazing; my egg salad delicious. i would drive back just to eat there!

friday, april 17

2009-05-18T21:19:00.002-05:00

i love you man. hilarious! jason and i kept trying to quote it right after we left but were totally screwing up the lines. guess we'll have to rent it! (yay)

thursday, april 16

2009-05-18T21:15:00.001-05:00

just figuring out what to eat for dinner. hmm....condiments or beverages?

wednesday, april 15

2009-05-18T21:09:00.002-05:00

riding the escalator to our seats. just like last season but sans doritos! shannon, becky, adrian and i had the best time at the game. margaritas and beer flowed like wine. ok, shannon and i had one margarita each, but they were strong.

sunday, april 12

2009-05-18T21:06:00.002-05:00

relaxing at home on the computer. martin & osa gave out free instyles when pam and i were shopping there. :)

saturday, april 11

2009-05-18T21:02:00.002-05:00

visiting my parents in oshkosh. they're still watching quincy for my brother, so we got some good laughs off his crazy antics. i'm pretty sure poor willie is counting down the days until quincy leaves.

thursday, april 9

2009-05-18T20:57:00.002-05:00

jason was over at my place, and we were making dinner. i'd just been to the grocery store and purchased the best berries, which i added to our plates. blackberries are one of the best parts of summer.

tuesday, april 7

2009-05-18T20:51:00.002-05:00

i don't even know how this exactly happened; i blame the wine. :) becky and shannon came over for girls night. it was my first attempt at mussels, and they turned out delicious!

sunday, april 5

2009-04-16T21:52:00.002-05:00

so, this wasn't 7:30 but i forgot to take a pic then. here's pam and i grabbing coffee at intelligentsia before i departed for madtown. didn't do much after i got home. just relaxed and recovered.

saturday, april 4

2009-04-16T21:44:00.002-05:00

lunch with leila, sara and pam at feast. after dinner we went to wells on wells and met up with lee, pam's friends and sara's friends. none of us had seen lee since high school! i wish i was moving to chicago so we could all spend more time together....

friday, april 3

2009-04-16T21:41:00.002-05:00

off to visit pam, leila, sara and lee in chicago. i caught a ride down with ann and her friends.

thursday, april 2

2009-04-16T21:37:00.002-05:00

well, this night didn't turn out as planned. i was supposed to met mel at the old fashioned for happy hour, but i accidentally left my wallet at work. i didn't feel comfortable leaving it there overnight, so jason and i headed to my office. those two windows to the left of the doors are my and erin's office.

tuesday, march 31

2009-04-16T21:34:00.002-05:00

met up with ericka at pedros to enjoy some mugaritas. i hadn't seen her in so long, and it was great to catch up!

monday, march 30

2009-04-16T21:30:00.002-05:00

relaxing and reading at home. a good way to spend an evening.

sunday, march 29

2009-04-16T21:26:00.002-05:00

our office had a shoe & paper explosion. usually i keep up with the papers, but it had been a while. i finally organized it this evening, and it felt really great.

friday, march 27

2009-03-31T21:21:00.003-05:00

fish fry! i couldn't believe how much jason and shane ate. they just kept going and going and going. i don't blame them though. the food is so very good.

thursday, march 26

2009-03-31T21:18:00.001-05:00

relaxing on the couch and watching tv with jason.

tuesday, march 24 & wednesday, march 25

2009-03-31T21:16:00.002-05:00

forgot to take pics, but i remember what i was doing. jason's brother was in town for a conference, so we helped get him addicted to the tv show bones. i love the way the characters interact with each other. the show's funny, heartwarming, frightening and suspenseful all in one.

monday, march 23

2009-03-31T21:13:00.002-05:00

jason and i heart bananagrams! i'd heart it more if i actually won once in a while....or just once.

sunday, march 22

2009-03-31T21:10:00.001-05:00

laundry....fun.

saturday, march 21

2009-03-31T21:07:00.002-05:00

this photo nicely sums up jason's bday celebration in milwaukee. adding more won't even do it justice.

friday, march 20

2009-03-31T20:59:00.002-05:00

i went over to autumns after work to hang out, eat some pizza and watch some bball. almost every photo of penny is blurry b/c she moves way to fast. the best was when she ran at the couch full speed and tried to leap up onto it, only to slam into the front of the couch. and she did that over and over and over. lol.

thursday, march 19

2009-03-31T20:56:00.002-05:00

jason's bday! we celebrated his 29th at magnus. yum. :)

wednesday, march 18

2009-03-31T20:54:00.002-05:00

robyn and i chilled on the couch this evening. a book for me, work for her. i think she got the raw end of that deal. she laughed at this photo because it looks like she doesn't have a neck. oops.

tuesday, march 17

2009-03-31T20:49:00.003-05:00

what do you do on st. patty's day? you drink guiness! robyn and i headed to brocach and had a few. she's not irish, but she faked it well!

monday, march 16

2009-03-31T20:45:00.002-05:00

ok, this wasn't exactly 7:30, but it encompasses my day. i got to have lunch with pam! my dad hadn't seen her since college, and he kept telling me she needed to meet a nice guy. awww....

sunday, march 15

2009-03-31T20:38:00.003-05:00

jason's bball team had their end of year banquet. here the senior girls said a little bit about all the coaches. they got a kick out of jason driving a minivan in the winter and were wondering where his sports car went!

saturday, march 14

2009-03-31T20:29:00.002-05:00

my family are all big fans of the food network, especially diners, drive-ins & dives. while visiting paul, we decided to hit up the town talk diner. (it was on the show.) delicious! i kept stealing jason's mac & cheese. it was soooooo good!

friday, march 13

2009-03-21T00:07:00.003-05:00

quincy. so adorable, yet so slobbery. i love watching him chase after his ball because it bounces everywhere and he's constantly hitting it with his nose and causing it to fly across the room.

thursday, march 12

2009-03-20T23:58:00.002-05:00

off to minneapolis for the weekend to visit the brother. my dad came down from oshkosh that afternoon and picked jason and me up. we stopped at buffalo phils in the dells to eat before venturing across the great mississippi.

tuesday, march 10

2009-03-20T23:55:00.001-05:00

in the kitchen....baking of course. i made black and white cookies for my coworker jesi's bday. my first time making them, but they were delicious!

sunday, march 8

2009-03-20T23:51:00.002-05:00

all basketball season, i patiently waited for the uw/iu home game. and of course it was the last home game of the season; a season which iu had been playing horribly. i still cheered on my hoosiers and at one point got really excited that i heard other people clapping. i looked around quickly to see my fellow hoosier fans, only to realize that the people clapping were the players on the iu bench. i guess that tells you how many iu fans were in the kohl center that night.... above is a pic of autumn in her courtside seat.

saturday, march 7

2009-03-20T23:47:00.002-05:00

there's this great laotian restaurant right by the barrymore theatre. we tried it for the first time and loved the food. the coloring in the place was neat and the picture behind jason had vivid colored of parasoles. after dinner, jason and i saw slumdog millionaire. great flick but gut wrenching in parts.

thursday, march 5

2009-03-20T23:44:00.002-05:00

my favorite girl scout cookies. :) enjoyed some while watching tv and vegging out.

wednesday, march 4

2009-03-20T23:39:00.003-05:00

jason and i spent a lot of time watching movies this week. we started off the week with how to lose friends and alienate people - great movie. on this particular day we watched quarantine - not so great a movie. at least the part i watched while peering through my fingers was slightly entertaining.

monday, march 2

2009-03-20T23:36:00.003-05:00

relaxing at home with a glass of wine. so far this year, i've broken one of robyn's glasses and she's broken one of mine. we high-fived and called it even.

sunday, march 1

2009-03-20T23:31:00.002-05:00

the snuggie is dominating conversations at work and apparently at home. jason decided to make his own snuggie out of his hoodie. fancy. we need to stop watching infomercials.

saturday, february 28

2009-03-20T23:27:00.003-05:00

bree's family was in town so her sister, meg, and i spent the day watching movies. and not just any movies, all three high school musicals. meg's knowledge of every song lyric and dance routine was quite impressive. i'm not going to lie. that day i became a zach efron fan. p.s. happy bday jon!

friday, february 27

2009-03-05T20:56:00.003-06:00

craig at his finest. :) jas and i went to the friday night fish fry with the volleyball gang. the food was really tasty, and they had german chocolate cake for dessert. here's craig shoveling in some more food. at least the guys didn't have a fish eating contest and get us shunned from the friday night fish fry.

thursday, february 26

2009-03-05T20:54:00.001-06:00

spent the night putzing around on my computer. stupid addicting ebay....

wednesday, february 25

2009-03-05T20:50:00.002-06:00

my old coworker john and i caught up for a beer after work at the old fashioned. (i love that bar) here's me arriving home afterward. i can't wait until it's light outside past 7:30!

tuesday, february 24

2009-03-05T20:47:00.002-06:00

first game of the tournament, and mcfarland was victorious. here emily shoots some free throws and scores some points.

monday, february 23

2009-03-05T20:44:00.001-06:00

lounging at home on a monday after work.

sunday, february 22

2009-03-05T20:40:00.002-06:00

earlier in the day, bree and i met up for coffee and she introduced me to bananagrams. it's kind of like scrabble but without the board. well, i finished none of the work i needed to get done, but instead lost in bananagrams over and over to bree. so, i picked myself up a game and planned with jason later that night. i lost but he cheated. wheed is not a word!

saturday, february 21

2009-03-05T20:34:00.002-06:00

mom and dad came down for the badger hockey game, which turned out to be the very worst hockey game i have ever seen. although when the first goal was the wisconsin goalie practically scoring on himself, how high of expectiations could you really have? before the game, we ate mussels at le chardonnay which were amazing! at least the night started off well!

friday, february 20

2009-03-05T20:31:00.001-06:00

gnocchi for dinner! jason made two different kinds, which were delicious.

thursday, february 19

2009-03-05T20:26:00.003-06:00

mcfarland girls big game against columbus. the winner of this game would be the conference champs. i met up with jeannie and greg to watch the game, which turned out to be quite intense. the girls fought through two overtimes but ended up succumbing to defeat in the end.

wednesday, february 18

2009-03-05T20:22:00.002-06:00

helping jason pick out a tie for his big game on thursday night. my fav is the blue with polka dots.

tuesday, february 17

2009-03-05T20:15:00.003-06:00

sitting on the couch, working on the computer and crossing some things off my to-do list. yes, i am one of those people that will add things to my to-do list just so i can cross them off. it gives me a sense of accomplishment.

monday, february 16

2009-02-22T21:58:00.002-06:00

i love wings. love them. jason introduced me to asian zing, which i'm now addicted to. i also still love spicy garlic. we decided to feed our wing craving this monday night....

sunday, february 15

2009-02-22T21:54:00.003-06:00

i happend to be getting a hug from jason at 7:30 this evening, so i took a very closeup photo of his shirt. not sure what the patch means, but i like the orange. it brought some color to a gray winter day.

saturday, february 14

2009-02-22T21:50:00.003-06:00

ok, this wasn't exactly at 7:30, however I was at the game at that time. this pic was taken right after an exciting badger victory over ohio state. it was a close game! i really wanted to get a pic with erin andrews, so jason and i walked down to the court. she'd just finished talking with dick vitale when we walked up, which was awesome.

friday, february 13

2009-02-22T21:49:00.000-06:00

another oops day....

thursday, february 12

2009-02-22T21:46:00.003-06:00

hanging out at jason's for the night. my new purple tote bag had a seat at his island.

wednesday, february 11

2009-02-22T21:43:00.003-06:00

wisconsin vs. iowa. jason and i grabbed some nachos on the way to our seats and enjoyed the wisconsin victory. if you squint, you can see bucky across the kohl center.

tuesday, february 10

2009-02-22T21:39:00.003-06:00

my king-sized bed at our hotel in chicago. i was down there attending a culligan convention for work. never before have i seen so many culligan polo shirts in one place, however it was actually a fun time. largely in part due to the soft pretzels and nacho cheese sauce. ;)

monday, february 9

2009-02-22T21:35:00.002-06:00

jason and i watched 21 this evening. i'd seen a documentary about the mit kids that took vegas by storm, so it was pretty cool to see the movie version.

sunday, february 8

2009-02-22T21:31:00.004-06:00

a relaxing sunday evening at home on the couch. this is robyn's down blanket. it's super warm, insanely comfy, and i love it. plus it's a great excuse to be lazy.

saturday, february 7

2009-02-22T21:26:00.002-06:00

at home in oshkosh visiting my parents. my dad and i toured the packers locker room earlier in the day, and then met up with jason, his parents & sister and my mom for lunch. we ended up spending the night in oshkosh, partially because jason feel asleep in the chair and partially because we didn't feel like driving back to madison. and of course barney and willie were there.

friday, february 6

2009-02-10T22:58:00.002-06:00

greg and jeannie came to town for a guys vs girls gaming rematch. (the guys cheated last time.) of course this involved some taco loco, vino and some crazy scene-it game. soooo addicting and so much fun. and i'm pretty sure some tequila also made it into the evening.

thursday, february 5

2009-02-10T22:50:00.003-06:00

autumn and i cheered on the badgers as they broke a six-game losing streak by beating illinois. it was a fairly exciting game, but we filled in the dull moments with catching up and eating nachos. (i heart fake nacho cheese and am convinced it's a legitimate food item to be eating on a regular basis. besides, aren't spicy foods good for your metabolism?!)

tuesday, february 3 & wednesday, february 4

2009-02-10T22:47:00.006-06:00

yup, did i mention i fell off the wagon this week? i completely forgot to take pics these evenings. tuesday didn't involve too much. on wednesday i met my friend eric for dinner. we then went to barriques so he could read and i could work on my taxes. apparently i owe the feds $510. ouch.

monday, february 2

2009-02-10T22:43:00.003-06:00

bree and i enjoy a good evening of wine drinking and girl talk. after her snowshoeing expedition, she stopped by with a bottle from barriques (it was delicious!) and we hung out for the evening. to repay her for the generous gift of vino, i supplied valentines cookies and little ceasers crazy bread. :)

sunday, february 1

2009-02-10T22:41:00.002-06:00

allrecipes.com rocks! i often stumble upon baked goods recipes that i just have to try. shown here are some really easy sugar cookies with frosting....a perfect way to start off february. jason helped frost them....and eat them of course.

saturday, january 31

2009-02-10T22:36:00.003-06:00

oops. so, this day began my weeklong not-so-great-at-remembering-to-take-photos spree. here's a synopsis of my evening. jason and i went to dinner with my parents and their friends at eldorado grill (yum!) before they headed to the badger hockey game. then he and i ended up running a few errands, watching tv and passing out early. an exciting saturday evening! sometimes you need one of those though.

friday, january 30

2009-01-31T11:59:00.002-06:00

jeannie came to town and we enjoyed a mcfarland girls varsity bball victory.

thursday, january 29

2009-01-31T11:55:00.003-06:00

restaurant week in madison! jason and i enjoyed an incredibly delicious dinner at fresco.

wednesday, january 28

2009-01-31T11:51:00.004-06:00

eating food from our favorite mcfarland eatery...el taco loco. jason got to eat delicious chipotle chicken. i had to take it easy still and had a subway sub. darn!

tuesday, january 27

2009-01-31T11:48:00.003-06:00

after not getting out of bed for an entire day, i finally picked up a little bit.

monday, january 26

2009-01-31T11:46:00.002-06:00

eating ice chips in bed. yup, had the flu this day. it was not fun!

sunday, january 25

2009-01-31T11:41:00.004-06:00

robyn and i were both working on our computers...and by working, i mean surfing the internet for me and actually working & scouring ebay for her.

saturday, january 24

2009-01-31T11:37:00.004-06:00

so at 7:30 this day, jason and i were bumming around woodfiled mall. i would have a photo of that, but my camera battery was dead after a fun night out with pam and friends. here's a photo of 5pm instead. finishing a fun lunch at fox and obel with the girls. :)

friday, january 23

2009-01-31T11:24:00.005-06:00

as we were heading down to chicago to celebrate pam's bday, jason and i passed a pink mustang. the license plate said barbie and it had a pink playboy bunny decal in the window. no joke!

thursday, january 23

2009-01-31T11:18:00.003-06:00

jason helps coach the girls varsity basketball team at mcfarland, so i go to many of the games. this was a particularly exciting game, and the girls pulled off the victory in the last minutes.

wednesday, january 22

2009-01-21T20:27:00.003-06:00

i heart nph. :) i caught up on past how i met your mother episodes. every episode i see confirms that it's the best show ever! they just keep getting better....lets go to the mall, today....

tuesday, january 20

2009-01-21T20:24:00.003-06:00

robyn has fiesta wear and the colors are so vivid. this was me piling my dishes on the counter after dinner and being lazy. they'll always be there tomorrow!

monday, january 19

2009-01-21T20:21:00.002-06:00

cupcakes! it was dave's work anniversary the previous week, but he was out of town that day. so i made belated happy anniversary cupcakes. like i need an excuse to bake!

sunday, january 18

2009-01-21T20:17:00.002-06:00

fairly self-explanatory here. jason and i were watching the dark knight. it was a good movie but very dark. i was amazed how heath ledger spoke in that voice the entire movie....

saturday, january 17

2009-01-21T20:10:00.003-06:00

who doesn't love a good hockey fight?! jason, my parents and i got to witness a few of them at the hockey game saturday evening. the badgers pulled ahead quickly, but ended up losing to colorado college. we still had fun singing along with the band. :)

friday, january 16

2009-01-21T19:58:00.002-06:00

an easy evening of watching tv and relaxing on the couch. i was almost over my cold when the flu bug got me, so i decided to rest.

thursday, january 15

2009-01-21T19:51:00.006-06:00

dan, me, shannon and john at luckys before the big golden gopher victory. shannon was losing faith in her team until the final few minutes when they suddenly started playing well. there were about five people out of the entire kohl center that were actually excited and she was one of them! luckily, shannon managed to contain herself on the ride home and did not start singing the rouser. dan would have definitely kicked her out of the car.

wednesday, january 14

2009-01-21T19:42:00.005-06:00

i received some great news this day and celebrated with jason. now i'm just impatiently waiting by the mailbox for more news!

tuesday, january 13

2009-01-13T20:18:00.002-06:00

creating my blog!

monday, january 12

2009-01-13T20:13:00.003-06:00

snow, snow and more snow. i'm ready for spring! this is the tree in our front yard, complete with spotlight....which comes in handy since our porchlight is burnt out. :)

sunday, january 11

2009-01-13T20:07:00.003-06:00

more planet earth, but this time at jason's house. it was the ocean episode, hence the blue in the background, and these are the candles that reside on his coffee table.

saturday, january 10

2009-01-13T20:02:00.004-06:00

jason and i discovered the joy of the planet earth series. these shows are amazing....and addicting! here the kalahari is flooding.

friday, january 9

2009-01-13T19:58:00.004-06:00

at seven-thirty this night, i was getting ready to meet shannon, becky, robyn and adrian at the wine cellar. i put the camera on timer and placed it on the shelf. here's the result.

thursday, january 8

2009-01-13T19:55:00.003-06:00

shannon got some bad news this day, so i headed over for an impromptu girl's night. she has the pic on her camera, but i'll pry it out of her.

wednesday, january 7

2009-01-13T19:47:00.004-06:00

my first cold of 2009 took a toll on my nose. i was not happy about this, but it brought amusement to jason.

tuesday, january 6

2009-01-13T19:44:00.003-06:00

jason bought me a massage gift certificate for the holidays. (yay!) on the way home i drove behind this car. these stickers are not rare sites in madison, but they're still inspring every time i see them.

monday, january 5

2009-01-13T19:38:00.004-06:00

i ran past the store and while i was walking back to my car, i noticed the shadows my legs were creating. kinda cool against a bright red coat.