agreed...

on Princess William and Kate...awesome examples of how to be public servants.  Lady Di would be proud!  Gotta love Prince Harry too - full of the dickens!  xoxo, H.

the couple

I am not obsessed with them....but pinterest has so many cute pictures of them.
love, k

perfect kate

She is the perfect princess! Love the dress...she has such great style!! Love that Kate!
love, k

patiently waiting

I don't know anyone who is not sick of this winter. It's March 24th, and its cold. At least a foot of snow still in piles, ice melts during the day and freezes at night. We were so spoiled last year. I am starting to feel like I will never have my door open or see these blossoms!!!! April will hopefully bring showers and blooms!!

love, k

in love with ikat

I love all the colors and patterns of Ikat, in small doses; pillows, chairs and rugs. It's pretty trendy right now, you will see it everywhere. If I could do my living room to a perfection, it would be these colors. Yellow, grey, peacock and white.

love, k

well done

Wow...that Sarah is one lucky chick!! How special that must have made her feel. Peter is a star!! He will be so excited that night....can't wait to hear all about it!!!

So glad you are happy in your job! You have had so many people not appreciate you in your jobs! FINALLY someone sees your talent and how great you are sissy!! Way to go! Very proud of you!! I love working from home, and I know you do. So, its perfect you get to be home a couple days a week. When Lily is a little older, I will be looking for something new too. I do miss being around people.

Sorry to hear Butler lost. Rats! Emma is probably bummed! My Gophers play today...we will see how they do. Basketball is tough. If you are well matched, only a few points can keep you from winning.

Hope week 3 of week is awesome!! Glad you are happy! It was perfect timing!

love, k

chocolate covered strawberries, flowers, desserts...

Email to the Ritz Carlton Key Biscayne today:

Just wanted to send along a big THANK YOU to John, the Consierge at your wonderful hotel. I talked with John on Wednesday evening to arrange for a note to be delivered to a guest. This note was from our son asking your guest to be his prom date. John was so excited to help make this happen. It was a delight to know that the "ask" was in good hands. Of course, the Ritz delivered in only the way the Ritz can and...

SHE SAID YES!

Again, thank you for your outstanding service! We will send a prom photo in April!

Sincerely,

Heidi Green (and Peter Green!)

Madison, Wisconsin

Peter asked Sarah to prom and...

photo that makes me smile every time!

5 or 6

Tuesday and Wednesday morning we get to wake up to 5 or 6 degrees.  There are no words.  xoxo, H.

red streak = go to ER!

Just a friendly reminder...if you see a red streak from any sort of scratch, bite, etc, GO TO THE ER.  We were reminded of this on Sunday night when we spent 2 hours with Peter hooked up to IV antibiotics after an infection got into his bloodstream from a bug bite!  H.

week 1 in review...

My first week "back in the real world" was a whirlwind.  What I KNOW is I never want to go to a job 5 days/week, all day long, but...

• my new boss, co-workers are AWESOME
• I have my own office with a window on Lake Monona
• people that don't work with political campaigns are N I C E
• the world will not end if I don't raise $50k by the end of the day!
• benefits are amazing
• we can get chair massages at the office
• we can do yoga there
• I am working from home today (2 days/week!)
• I have so much to learn
• I am so excited about this new phase
• Peter has adjusted no problem
• George and Charlie too
• I will be so happy to have this in my life when Peter goes off to college!
• it's really nice to have a different identity   xoxo, Heidi

i need a week in review

When you have time this weekend you need to blog about your 1st week back at a full time, out of the house, job!!!
love, k

Hot damn...

...but she is still I C K.  xoxo, H.

ok, I am not a fan of snooki

I have only one reason to post her on our blog. She recently lost 40 lbs, and was asked how she did it. She said "You just need to get your a** to the gym and eat healthy!" She said there was no crazy diet pills or diets. 

I couldn't agree more. You know I have tried everything; every diet, eating less, eating more, drinking more water, high carb, low carb, low fat....etc.... But it is this simple. Go to the gym, workout, use weights and eat healthy. That's it! No book needs to be read. No pill needs to be taken. Just do it and do it right!!!
love, k

think spring!

In the day before another big snowfall, I have chosen to think Spring!! You are right. The snow will melt and the flowers will bloom. One month from now we will be sans snow...I hope!!

So much to get ready and to look forward to. Getting the house ready for Evan's graduation party has been keeping me busy.  I am almost done with the kitchen painting. Moving onto the bathroom soon. The porch will come last. Probably not until the beginning of May. Fresh coat of paint before the party!! I think Evan is worried we will go all out.....ah yeah.....have you met the Knutson woman, Jan, Heidi and Krista....we wouldn't have it any other way!!!
love, k

Patience, defriendtion, celebration and anticipation...

Waiting stinks...it seems like we were JUST in that situation...time FLIES!  He will end up at the school he is supposed to be at...I do hope he considers some of those schools in IL...going away is so good for them!!  And, we're the perfect stop to break up the trip!

Defriending is good.  FB is weird, but seems to be part of life sometimes.  It was a great show of family unity when Peter and I defriended Emma's former best friend and former "something"...no more creeping on our pages to find out what Emma is up to...they are cut off! 

-1 degree outside and more snow on the way, BUT the birds are singing like crazy and buds are all over the trees.  Going to be warm and much warmer within the week!  The anticipation is awesome and I love spring, summer and fall...perfection in the midwest!  Jan/Feb/Mar stink, but they are almost OVER.  It just feels like a tough winter because last winter never showed up.

Can't wait to help with Evan's party and to enjoy it!!!  I can very clearly remember/see us giving him a bath in a tiny little container...he was sooooo little!!!  He was the happiest baby EVER...never cried and laughed so much!  Now he is a man and ready to start his "life."  We will have a blast at the party and we can't wait!  It's just the beginning of his life as an adult. He is going to do very well.

When the storm hits tomorrow, just remember that all of this snow is going to produce a beautiful spring...green and fresh!  xoxo, H.

decisions and waiting

We, or I should say Evan, is now in the waiting game. He got into 4 out of the 5 that he applied to. A few he started to, but knew he didn't want to go there, so we didn't pay the fee. He got his 4 letters saying he was in. The one place, the U of M, his first choice, he had not heard from. Some of his friends had gotten their letters months ago saying they were in at the U. I knew we had a problem Houston. 

Then the letter came. Wait listed. They said they will let him know by April 15th. So basically we wait and wait and wait. I understand why, but its still frustrating. I would have rather had him get a rejected letter, then it would have been a done deal. He could have moved on, and most importantly I could have starting collecting his school colors for decorating at his graduation party!! HA!! We mothers have our priorities!

So we wait. I guess to him its worth it. He wants to know for sure. My son wants to go to the U of M. Ok. I guess it can't be all bad....I went there :)
love, k

defriending

Yesterday I was scrolling though facebook and I kept seeing things from people I befriended without really thinking about it. I think I wanted to get over 200 friends at the time. Now I think of that, and how silly is that! WHO CARES!!!! 

So anyways, I was reading and seeing things from people that really kind of annoyed me. So I went on a rampage. Went into all my fb friends and started to filter. If I wasn't friends with you since High School, I don't think its necessary to be your friend now. If you post things I don't agree with, you were gone. If you disappoint me, gone. I think all in all fb is addicting and can really be a mood swinger. I don't need that in my life. I am going to try to limit my use. Getting rid of some of my "friends" was the first step!!
love, k

my take on working

So glad you got the job sissy!! I think it is a perfect fit! Good luck tomorrow. Everyone, and everything will be ok at home. It's time to think about improving yourself and getting back out there!!! You go girl!

I have a job that is one you don't think about after you leave it for the day. I like that kind of job. So my job is to make money, pretty much that's it. I don't think I benefit from it, maybe just my mind. I try not to let other's people's bad day or misfortunes affect me. It's hard sometimes, but overall I leave it when I turn off my computer.

I hope this job for you is rewarding and you feel challenged. You are so talented, they are lucky to have you!!
love, k

A new adventure....

On Monday I am heading back to the working world...the real working world...not the world of campaigns, consulting, feast and famine and big egos.  Actually, I think I will run into all of those things, but hopefully they will not be so magnified. 

I've worked as a consultant for 18 years...fundraising for many political candidates and many non profits.  After this last campaign, I swore off political fundraising reciting to myself every day, "I am retired from political fundraising."  The game has changed and I'm not playing it anymore.  When I started, integrity was still very important.  There is NO integrity in the game anymore...not on either side.  As I have said for years and years, nothing will change until term limits are in place for every elected official.

I was very interested in a position with the Veterans Museum, but politics was very much present in that endeavor (lots of bad signs).

Out of the blue an opportunity with the State Medical Society appeared.  I interviewed on a Monday and was considering an offer by Friday.  I will be running their PAC...so, still using my political skills, but instead of me asking the Medical Society for money for my candidate, the fundraisers and candidates will be asking me for money!!  I will also be working with the members to encourage them to become politically astute.  It's 37 hours/week, but they have agreed to letting me work two days/week from home.  My salary and benefits are wonderful...yoga at the office, 3 weeks vacation right away, flexible on everything....they truly want me to be happy while I work...what a concept!!

What it means is great change in our family.  Our financial future is assured.  Chris' stress level has almost disappeared.  As I said earlier, it was always feast or famine....with me making very good money during a campaign and then nothing until the next one came along.  Now, we can actually plan and budget well.  He has done a great job with keeping us in line financially, but it hasn't been easy.

Three days/week I will be gone all day.  This affects Peter, George and Charlie.  They will all survive.  Two days/week, they won't notice anything.  Working from home a few days a week was VERY important to me.  I've always worked very well from home...almost too well because I actually think campaigns got waaaaaaaaaaaaaay more work out of me than if I was in an office at the HQ.  I like to work out of my porch on nice days.  I like to take George on walks.  I like to get the laundry done and dinner started when I work from home.  I also like to just "be here" for Peter and Emma...it's been the reason why I did what I did all these years.  I wanted to be HERE for them.  I was and I still am.  That is really all that matters to me.

My favorite quote sums it all up "The ulitmate result of all ambition is to be happy at home."

I am nervous but really excited.  xoxo, H