Review: Alice in Wonderland (3D)

Two words:

UH MAZING!

On Friday our team at work had a group outing with lunch at Northpark Mall and an afternoon showing of Alice in Wonderland (in 3d).

Up until that point I really had no intention of seeing the movie. It seemed to me from the preview it wouldn't be any different than the other Tim Burton directed movies that showcase Johnny Depp in his quirky roles.

I was WRONG!

The movie was artistically beautiful. The casting, colors, writing, dramatic effect and balance between fear and beauty kept me entertained and amazed the entire time. I could watch this movie over and over.

Walking out of it, it would have easily been a 10-the highest rating possible, except for the 15 seconds at the end of the movie that quickly dropped the rating to an 8, just for that snippet alone. For those of you who have seen it, you know what I'm talking about.

But alas, I will still probably end up buying it and if it weren't so dark in some scenes I would let the kids watch it now, but maybe in a year or so.

It's a must-see!!

Happy Birthday Erik!

Well, this post was intended to celebrate Erik's FIRST birthday...but as of today he is already 13-months old! (I'm SO behind)

We had a great 1st birthday celebration with close family, presents (that the older boys opened) and food and CAKE! I was so excited to see Erik with his birthday cake, but when we gave him the whole thing it was almost as if he was scared of it! Once we cut off a slice for him he loosened up a bit and ate it!

(Strange child)

I can't wait to see the new things he does this month. Just in the last month alone he's been riding around on his train, growing more teeth and growing an awesome mullet! Any day now he'll be walking and he's more than welcome to take his time on that. The first step will come soon enough!

Review: The Crazies

Formal Plot Synopsis:

David Dutton (Timothy Olyphant) is sheriff of Ogden Marsh, a picture-perfect American town with happy, law-abiding citizens. But one night, one of them comes to a school baseball game with a loaded shotgun, ready to kill. Another man burns down his own house…after locking his wife and young son in a closet inside. The town has transformed into a sickening asylum; people who days ago lived quiet, unremarkable lives have now become depraved, blood-thirsty killers. In an effort to keep the madness contained, the government uses deadly force to close off all access and won't let anyone in or out – even those uninfected...

My Input:

The main sheriff guy was CUTE! I especially liked the movie because we were at the SMG with a group of friends and I had a Dr. Pepper and PIZZA. Who can go wrong there? It kind of freaked me out a little because the town looked very similar to where we are looking to live in Wisconsin and I do believe small towns are much more dangerous than city life (people go looking for people to mess with out in the middle of nowhere). The movie itself was awesome, I highly recommend it and would definitely rent it to see again! VERY entertaining.

Two man hand thumbs up!

Surreal World

Tomorrow marks the countdown to the 1st day of working for Lands' End. Only ONE month to go! It's been a whirlwind the last couple of weeks with a trip to Disneyworld in the mix.

I've been trying to transition at work and get everything organized and handed off. I'm a file hoarder...we're talking thousands of emails, files, folders, magazines, books...

JUNK!

I'm really glad I decided to take 4 weeks to get it altogether, the 2 weeks I've been putting into it has flown by. In addition, I am getting contacted left and right about relocating. Lands' End has a phenomenal relocation package, but boy is it overwhelming! It's a combination of working with the relocation agent on details and moving, working with a realtor at Coldwell Banker to start getting things in order to sell our current house, and also working with a realtor up in WI to try to find a rental for the time being until we decide to purchase. I will also be set up in corporate housing for 60 days until I can find a rental for the family.

At the moment, I have no mixed emotions about things. It's all so surreal and it's as if it's not really my life that is being impacted at the moment. I suppose the last difficult thing was when Keith put in his notice at school and he had a difficult time. I know that Keith loves his job, and that is something that I do feel bad about. The past year he has always said to me he would leave his job, move anywhere, do whatever he could do to support me- and now he's doing it. That means so much to me, but it's still a burden to know that he is giving something up that he loves to make a change like this.

I know in the upcoming days, weeks, months there will be more difficult times, but I am still driven by adrenaline and the excitement of this new life for us.

I feel happier by the day!

Goal Complete: Travel to midwestern state

Well, this is a little of what I saw up in Wisconsin a few weeks back. Traveling to a midwestern state is now accomplished, and will unexpectedly now become home!

WOW!

Keith and I were up in WI initially back in September of last year, and I made a second trip in February. Two very drastically different trips weather-wise. The first being lush fall colors and beautiful sunny days. The second being pure white as far as the eye can see. I have to say, I was mesmerized by the snow, but I was also only there for 3 days.

Between both visits, we spent a lot of time in downtown Madison, visiting some friends in Milwaukee, checking out the smaller towns west of the city and towards Lands' End and of course, GAMBLING!

No such luck with the slot machines, but it was a win/win situation since I came out of the experience with another check mark on my travel map and a wonderful new job ahead!

GoodBye Fossil...

Well, in 4 weeks.

After 11+ years at Fossil I have officially put in my notice this past week. Who ever thought this day would come? I sure didn't.

I am happy to announce that I have accepted an offer with Lands' End as the International Creative Manager-Internet, and will begin on April 19th. One minor detail-they are in Wisconsin!

Yes, that's right-Keith and I will be hauling our 3 rambunctious boys up there and starting a new adventure! I am certainly sad to leave a place that's been home to me for so long, but also know the timing is great for this life-change- professionally and personally.

In April I will move up and stay in corporate housing, making the trip back and forth as often as possible until Keith finishes out his school year. I can't even begin to imagine how hard that will be without seeing them every day, but it will also give me a chance to acclimate to the new position and environment. People-come visit! =)

More soon on all of this, I feel the itch to start another blog to make daily accounts on every action and detail of the move!
We'll see!

We're excited!!