Wild Rice Salad

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Goals and Michigan

August was a weird month.  Kyle was gone for the first three weeks, leaving me to fend for myself (mostly).  Then the last week we were both in MI on vacation.  Now that we're back at home, I'm trying to figure out my new routine and we're both trying desperately to catch up.

I'll touch on goals for a second then get to the good part - all the photos.

• Digitize two comic panels.  I started one and it was much more work than I anticipated.  Back to the drawing board on that project...
• Pick up Kyle's shift at the taphouse.  Tell me your problems, I'm a bartender.
• Do some fun shopping.  Wedding gifts, check. Baby gifts, check.
• Take a vacation.  A whirlwind trip to Michigan, photographs below.
• Elderberries.  I still want this to happen, but it's just not going to work out this year.

And then it's September.  My goals are going to be really lax because we're both really busy with work/school.

• Find some good, easy crockpot recipes to make mealtime easier.
• Put that stupid window back in the bus.
• We're both signed up to volunteer at a surf event at Folly Beach later this month. Woot!
• Clean up the garden.  Most things are dead and need to be removed.
• Figure out what we're doing Labor Day Weekend...uh yeah, that starts today.  No plans yet!?

I apparently got volunteered at a beer festival in August.  I had sent an email inquiring about volunteers a couple months before the event, and never got a response until three days before the festival when they told me what time to show up for my shift...

I prepped some freezer pizza pockets so that I'd have some easy lunches when we got back from vacation.  They're the best!

I got all the wine labeled for my little brother's wedding reception.  Such cute labels!

Finally it was time for me to drive north.  14 hours later I was drinking Moscow Mules with my mother-in-law!

From there, the whirlwind of visits kicked off.  Including my favorite puppy!  Look how dignified he's trying to be, despite his crazy hair.

A 30th birthday party meant we got to see a ton more people than we planned on!

We made time for a quick hike - we'd hiked this trail in snowshoes but never had a chance to check it out in the summer.

We quickly racked up hours on the road, zig-zagging across the state in an effort to see as many people as possible, including this two-week-old.

Then across the state again to catch up with some friends and try a new brewery.

A stop in Grand Rapids for a bachelorette party...

...and then downstate for the actual wedding.

And to top things off, we overnighted in Kentucky with family!  I forgot to take any pictures there, so instead enjoy these succulents.

It was a wonderful vacation, and I got to see nearly all my favorite people.   

Contented sigh.  Now, back to work...