Read On, Wisconsin!

(left to right: Tessa Michaelson - Cooperative Children's Book Center; Me!; First Lady, Mrs. Jessica Doyle; Amy Alt - MATC Preschool; Karen Radtke - Milwaukee Public Library)

I've served on the First Lady's Literacy Advisory Committee for the past two years. It's a wonderful committee that chooses books for the statewide children's and teens' book club, Read On Wisconsin. The committee meets once a year and we divide ourselves into small sub-committees and choose books for kids of different ages. I usually serve on the committee that chooses books for the youngest kids and this year I worked with a great group of women to determine the books that Mrs. Doyle will introduce to preschool teachers and parents of very young children. This is always a beautiful, inspiring day spent at the Governor's residence

and I'm thrilled to live in a state in which the First Lady is a strong proponent of reading and children's literature. I'm proud of the books that we chose for the 2008-2009 school year and I hope that we're able to introduce meaningful books to some young children and their families. Read with a child! And, as we say in the great state of Wisconsin, Forward!

Sunday morning workout

Capture your youthful looks with these 6 easy steps:
1. Rise at dawn and wake up all the adults in the house. This is accomplished with much crying that is expertly balanced with extreme cuteness.
2. Choose some morning workout music. A Little Less Conversation, A Little More Action by Elivs Presley will do.
3. Grab Aunt Shawn's weights and strike a pose.
4. Hold a pout for 5 seconds. Then take weights from little sister and shake your groove thang.
5. Eat 4 tiny bites of oatmeal with mashed blueberries.
6. Power nap at 11 am.

Just the Two of Us: At the Terrace

Kevin and I spent a long, languid evening at the Union Terrace last weekend. We drank a few glasses of Spotted Cow, listened to some great music and soaked in the splendor of early summer on Lake Mendota's shores. And, just when when we thought the night couldn't get any better, the band played some great old Bill Withers songs. Our Best of Bill Withers cd helped us get through the difficult, painful time when we briefly lived in Memphis and if I ever meet Mr. Withers I'll tell him that Use Me Up and Just the Two of Us probably saved my life in the early months of 1996.