Happy St. Patrick's day

One Year Ago

Jimmy and Camilla and their dogs came for a short visit. Katie had a great time with uncle Jimmy and aunt Camilla.

Popsicles

Katie and Ashley enjoyed the first of the summers popsicle. A recent purchase at our church's rummage sale.

Cupcakes

After dinner tonight we were debating about going out for ice cream. Just then our neighbor's daughter dropped off some yummy cupcakes. So we stayed in and enjoyed them very much.

Family photo

Here is our only photo of all four of us.

Happy Birthday to...me!

Today was full of spa appointments, Starbucks, and chocolate.

Just kidding! Here is how the day went:

It snowed (again). Bryan got up and shoveled while I made cream of wheat for Katie to shovel in her mouth.

Katie was cranky again (2 days in a row). Considering we've had head colds the last 4days, I scheduled a doctor's appointment on a whilm that she might have an ear infection.

We went to the doctor's office. Dr. Sawall and Sharon the nurse were so perky and friendly, as usual! Katie had a good time playing in the room, especially since we learned that she had a moderate-severe ear infection.

Katie and I went to CVS pharmacy. We bought amoxiciallan and 6 boxes of puffs kleenex.

We went home for lunch. Daddy came home for lunch since his afternoon was canceled.

Katie napped. Bryan went into the basement to burn CDs onto his laptop. I went to work for a "quick" conference with our marketing planner. 3 hours later, I finally made it home!

We went to Applebee's and picked up some food. Then, we got an ice cream cake.

Finally, Bryan put Katie to bed while I finally got my spa appointment (a long shower). He's still transferring music. Now I'm trying to figure out if I can get my free Starbucks drink the day after my birthday!

32 weeks photo

We are almost there. 35 weeks this Friday.

Early to bed, early rise makes a girl...what?

Healthy: check
Wealthy: definitely--by the rest of the world's standards
Wise: depends on who you ask!

Bryan and I stayed up until about 10 last night watching Lost. Actually, I listened to Lost as I painted the fireplace. Actually, I sponged the fireplace as a decorative attempt to lighten the room. After all that work, you'd like I'd sleep like a baby!

Which leads me to the fact that it's 4:43AM and I've been up for 2 hours.

There are a few more bricks that need painting, but I'm too lazy to stand on a chair. (Also, Bryan is asleep and wouldn't hear me if I fell).

So here we are...playing around with the blog and reading my RSS updates! (At least Baby #2 is back to sleep). Maybe in a couple of hours I'll make muffins for breakfast.

Ashley's 2010 Goals

I'm not one to make goals just to break them or to be a stickler on such things. But for the fun of it, I created a list of goals for 2010. Originally, these were only ideas in my head, but Dave Ramsey keeps emphasizing this week the need for written goals. Since he's older, wiser, and richer than me, I'll follow his lead. (Bryan said he'd also contribute his goals--we'll see when they get posted).

1. Clean out the freezer of non-meal items.
Whenever I cook a chicken, I tend to keep the broth--to use for soup or in receipies. Earlier this week, I counted 12 cups of frozen broth. Since we had chicken and dumplings on Monday, we're down to 6 cups. Also, we have random things in there, such as 2/3 cups of pumpkin, 2 servings of chicken casserole, 5 frozen tater tots. I take 100% responsibility on this!

With Baby #2 coming in March, we need the space to store breast milk and "real food"--which leads me to goal #2.

2. Stock freezer with homemade "convenience" meals for the post-natal survival period.
Last week I made a double batch of lasagna. We ate one tray; the other is frozen and ready for March. Additionally, I have 2 different chicken-based meals ready to thaw and throw in the crockpot. I've been reading up a few other freezer-cooking ideas on other blogs, but any suggestions are welcome!

3. Balance the checkbook at least every 2 weeks.
Enough said.

4. See how long we can go without writing a check.
This year has been a turning point for us with online banking. Once we make sure that we can set up an online account with our church tithe, there will be no need to write monthly checks for anything! (In fact, I ran out of checks on Dec. 31st and haven't looked into re-ordering yet.)

5. Negotiate our Time Warner internet bill to reduce by at least $10.
My friend Curt was able to do this. Since our bill just increased, now is the perfect time to get on this one.

Ah! Nothing to do!

The anticipated lull is here...all errands and shopping are through. Katie is napping, Peyton didn't come over today. My work is complete for the week. I'm waiting for the butter to soften to make these cookies--my favorites!

Mayhem Monday!

Usually, our Mondays are just as typical as other days. Today, however, was the exception!

First--my (Ashley's) boss called me because he picked up some marketing materials that I created. The address that I put down was totally wrong! Well, not totally--but I wrote down the wrong city of the business address! Luckily, he is quick to forgive, and I got a re-ordering discount.

Second--when I was on the phone with Jim--I looked on the fireplace mantel and noticed that Bryan forgot some of his medical charts! Katie and I packed up and journeyed down to Milwaukee.

Third--Bryan called when I was 4 minutes from his office. He forgot his wallet at home! Luckily, he didn't get pulled over today...so Katie got to see Daddy at work today.

Needless to say, I needed a little pick-me-up. Katie and I stopped at Starbucks and treated ourselves to a pumpkin spice latte.

Ebert's Farm Part 3: The Ladies

A Great Week--So Far!

We've had a great week so far! Now that I (Ashley) have a new co-worker to take over the FT responsibilities at work, this week has been so relaxing! Monday we watched the Packer loss at the Curt and Becky's. Yesterday, I worked in the morning and Katie enjoyed some time with Tyler. Yesterday night, I made Bryan chocolate chip cookies, and today, Katie and I gave our shot at coloring. Her colors spent more time on the floor, unfortunately.

Getting Some Sun and Horeb Park

Bryan and I acted like kids on Saturday and went to the local pool together. I tanned nicely--he burned nicely!

Girls' Night Out!

Michele Stawicki won a makeover session at a local charity auction, so she took 4 girls from work to get our makeup done at Blush in the Third Ward. After the 2 hour makeup session, we grabbed some dinner at Flying Waterbuffalo and went to hear some great music (and dodged some really weird guys) at the Irish Pub.

(L to R)Michele Stawicki, me, Julie Kollenbroch, Roberta Hawes & Becky Wolnniakowski.

Favorite Pewaukee Hotspots: Bubba's and the Beach

After dinner, the three of us went to Bubba's to share our beloved Cookie Monster sundae. We drove by the beach and decided to stop--after all, Katie has never been in the sand. She loved it, and she whined every time we took her away from the water!

More of Jimmy and Camilla

No High-Five to the WI 529!

I (Ashley) am alone this morning. Katie is sleeping, Shadow is sleeping, and I'm nursing sore feet from last night's party. No one is around to give me a high five or thumbs-up, so I'm going to high-five myself with this post!!

Here's the story: beck in December, Bryan and I were debating whether to open a 529 or ESA for Katie's college savings. A 529 would usually be the better answer because you can deduct the contributions from your state income taxes. Both a 529 and ESA would grow Katie's money tax free.

Since I'm the researcher, I requested the manuals, booklets and prospectus for the WI 529 program, which is managed by Wells Fargo. I analyzed the different funds available, including the investments strategies, account management fees and expense ratios.

I thought the management fees were unusually high--they ran from .75 to over 1% per year! The fees would certainly cut into any anticipated growth we would earn. Sure enough, this was high, especially compared to the Vanguard S&P Index Fund, which is 0.15%.

My final recommendation to Bryan: Let's go with an ESA.

Here's the exciting part: I just learned that Consumer Reports agrees with me: they rank Wisconsin's 529 to be the WORST 529 fund in the COUNTRY!

That ESA looks better and better!

The Event of the Year (so far)

Tonight is the Spring Awards Banquet that the Puccis, Ava, and I have been planning since February! We're beginning the evening with cocktails, then dinner, and finally an auction where agents can "bid" on super-cool prizes--including a cool-tool that Bryan picked out from Home Depot. The Banquet will be held at Milwaukee Public Market down in the 3rd Ward. We're looking forward to a fun evening with food provided from award-winning vendors!

Using Publisher

I (Ashley) used Microsoft Publisher the first time for some district flyers. I thought the result was ok...but I can't wait to find out what other neat things I can make! Watch out, Christmas cards!