Weekend In Madison

Last weekend Nathan came home for his brother Justin's graduation. We packed the weekend full of all kinds of fun and not-fun stuff.

What did we do first? Went to the car dealership to drop off the Alero - again - it needed a new suspension - again. (All I can say is that I think there is a reason why Oldsmobile is no longer around.)

Second stop? Doctor. I got my stitches out and Nathan had to get three shots for our travel to Tanzania. I knew this might be a problem as Nathan refuses to give blood since he claims needles make him feel gross. Sure enough, after he was in his appointment for 20 minutes, the immunizations nurse came out and told me that I might want to come back - Nathan was feeling light-headed. In the back I found a grown 6-foot tall man sitting on the bed with a tiny apple juice-box made for someone no more than 6 years old. Wish I had a picture. Despite the fact that Nathan had a small fever all weekend (perhaps he actually got Yellow Fever?), he's doing fine. That's my husband, if he can survive three shots, he can survive anything, right? :)

As a reward for surviving the shots, we went to The Redwood Room in Rochester - my all-time favorite restaurant: Redwood Room Menu. If you ever find yourself in Rochester, MN this is something you shouldn't miss.

The next day we drove to Madison and had lunch with our friends Irina & Michael. We ate at Buraka, an East African restaurant to celebrate the whole Tanzania thing. We also talked about their upcoming parenthood. Scary, that makes three of my friends who will have kids now.

It was absolutely one of the best weekends to hang out in Madison. The weather was perfect and most of the students were gone (no offense to the students, but the Terrace can get pretty crowded when you're here). It was great - we got to go shopping, have Babcock Hall ice cream, see all of Nathan's family, and eat at Famous Dave's. All-in-all a great time!

Since I am writing about what some call the Socialist Republic of Madison, I am suddenly in the mood to write about politics. Stop reading now if you think this will just make you mad.

I want to comment on Hillary and the Democratic race. From a Democratic Party member standpoint, her persistence is a bit unsettling - a piece of me wants her to get out of the picture already and let Barack start the McCain butt-kicking. However, from the standpoint of being a female, I'm proud of her. What she's telling every young female today is that even though the odds may be stacked against you and everyone's telling you to quit - don't do it! Her persistence may not pay off, but that is an extremely powerful message to young women around the world. So, thanks, Hillary.