I have one thing on my mind tonight.

I have one thing on my mind tonight.....

No, not that....this

We all do it, we all need it.

Some of us are better at it.

Some of us are not so good with it...

This is what I am doing in 5 minutes.

The festival was a great success, the last of the logistics and clean up was done today. I am cashed...putting my head to the pillow.

Night. -JR

Happy Birthday Sister!

Today my big sister Holly officially turned 40...

Just realized, Holly has the bowl in the photo above in her kitchen now!

Fun to see the writing in this album...my Mom wrote it.

Today is hard for Holly, its her first birthday without our Mom. 

We have always been together.

We had a great time at the lake last week with all her friends. (we share lots of the same friends, so it was way easy!)

We have always looked a lot alike,

even more as the years go by.

This was one of our Mom's favorite photos.

Didn't realize we have not changed much. :)

H on the Left, Me on the right

Me on the left, H on the right

I set her up with her fantastic husband, Chris about 16 years ago. They have 5 boys. (If you have been reading my blog for awhile you would already know this, sorry for the repeat.)

If you want to read it again click *here*

Holly has a great group of friends that love to

 be there for her.

She is going to be super annoyed with me for writing about her, but I'm doing it anyway...it's her birthday!!

Happy Birthday sister. Life would

not be the same without you in it. 

Love you!

Let me introduce you to BizMe

Many of you have told me you'll be stopping into Next Door tomorrow.  It's our Tie One On event. (see my blog post a few days ago).  A fun addition to our night is Amanda from bizMe

You have seen her on TV, she is the professional woman's guide to business. She will be helping you plan your wardrobe work and play!

Check out what BizMe does.

bizMe.biz, an online magazine, is the bizgal’s career coach—guiding and mentoring the young professional as she gains her career savvy, budgets her paycheck, and acquires her lifestyle. It’s like having the honest, real-world advice from a trusted professor and the encouraging support of a best friend all packaged together in articles that reflect a “just like you and me” conversation. We’ve got the experts who share their career knowledge and wisdom—giving the bizgal that competitive confidence so she’ll always know what will get her in the starting lineup and what will keep her on the bench. bizMe is real life—it’s the nine-to-five, the happy hour, the workout time, and the end-of-the-week freedom. Covering hot career, financial and lifestyle topics, bizMe is the best coach when in training for MVB—most valuable bizgal!

Updated monthly, bizMe offers professional and lifestyle advice in a straight-talk format along with profiles of young professional bizgals who are learning the ropes, controlling their own purse strings and are eager to make their mark. bizMe is your perfect teammate—keeping you in the know to be your best and do your best.

Click here to see a fun post...Office Fashion No's!

 I know you'll like BizMe.com for their monthly blog magazine, it has some good sound advice, Check it out today. 

Don't forget, stop by Next Door this Thursday, June 23rd     2-7pm to meet BizMe Founder, Amanda Guralski.  The Tie One On event is going on all day 10am - 7pm.  Get your 50% off coupon when you help support our knitting project!   ~JR

All for a good cause.

Monday night I went to Madison, again.
It was for a very great cause this time.

Party on The Lake  is an annual event that raises money for Breast Cancer Recovery Infinite Boundaries Retreats.

Infinite Boundaries Retreats provide breast cancer survivors with an opportunity to look at the issues surrounding their breast cancer, gather information, and experience and enjoy the company of new-found "sisters." Moving beyond an intellectual understanding of the disease -- exploring feelings, fears and life wishes -- is an essential part of the healing process. By telling their stories and exploring their losses and fears, survivors can begin their emotional healing. At retreat, women learn and practice healing strategies to live life more fully.



There are retreats for woman that live with and that have survived Breast Cancer. The Metastatic Retreat is designed for women that are in advanced stages of the disease.

 “Women with metastatic breast cancer are a smaller subgroup within a larger group of b.c. survivors, and yet our issues are so different. Thankfully, Breast Cancer Recovery retreats give us a rare opportunity to connect with others who truly understand what we’re going through.” – Metastatic Retreat Attendee March 2009



My friends Danni and Gina lost their mom, Patti to Breast cancer 4 years ago.  Their Uncle Jim and cousin Jen give much of their time to this cause.  They asked us to come out and help and have fun at the same time......... We did!


Bishops Bay Country Club hosted a fantastic night.

 There were many great auctions items to bid on.

 People Bid High

And they Bid Often

Just a few of the Bid High and Bid Often girls.
me, Paula, Jen, and Danni.

These really cool and talented musicians came to entertain.

They asked everyone to follow them out while the music played. They did a few songs, one being Amazing Grace, with some moments of silence for those lost to this terrible disease. Overlooking the lake was the perfect place

for this all to take place.

Cheryl Ludy Stalowski (in the pink dress) was our host for this fun event.

Nice work Cheryl, it was a huge success!

Paula's husband, Jay was the talented photographer for the evening. He knew about Chambers Street and thought this blogger could use some hip pics!
We loved these flamingos...for $20 they could come home to live on your lawn!

Driving home from Madison on a Monday night at 11pm was well worth it, considering Danni was doing the driving...I slept.  Turns out we both slept in our Bid High Bid Often T's, so much for Uncle Jim's Red Bull and Vodka's!

Off to my sister's 40th Birthday party...another Party on The Lake, today....ladies only. I'll tell you all about it next time -JR

Tie One On...June 23rd!

Tie One On...June 23rd at Next Door.

Remember this cool pic? It's from our website here at
Next Door. We are having a fun night that also benefits area shelters here in South Eastern Wisconsin.


Here is a note from the owner of our boutique, Renotta.

Join us for a fun filled day of fashion. Amanda from bizme.biz will be with us sharing all her expertise on accessorizing your wardrobe for work and play. Everyone shopping that day will receive a beautiful scarf with a minimum purchase of $25 (while supplies last). In addition we'll be kicking off Project Knitway Scarves for Shelters. This year my goal is to knit and donate 500 scarves to area shelters by the end of the year. You can help me by purchasing two skeins of yarn from our store.
(*note: click here if you do NOT know what a skein of yarn is)
In return for your donation you will receive a 50% off coupon to use on any item in our store. If the response is anything like last year, I'll have to stick to my knitting.

See you soon....Renotta

Stop into the store on Thursday, June 23rd. More details next week.  I unfortunately will not be able to be there...I run our church festival that weekend....I turn into a "Carny."  That means I oversee the set up of tents, cotton candy and sno-cone machines, I sign for a corn roaster and port-o-johns, I make sure the games and prizes are all good, I wear a walky talky, I make sure the beer tent is running smoothly, I keep an eye on the inflatable obstacle course and jumbo slides, and I eat a hell of a lot of nachos and brats!  Oh, and I love every minute of it!!  ~JR

Happy Birthday Rachel Lydia!

My first baby turned 12 today.  Rachel was born with a fluffy head of jet black hair. She was sweet and we spoiled the heck out of her. She quickly grew into a feisty toddler and let everyone know she was in the room.  She is the same little lady and we love her hugely!

Rachel has had many fun birthdays.

Age 3

Age 5, doughnut cake!

Today we started with the traditional Cake Pakes!

She opened up her presents....

We went to lunch at the famous Sobelman's for burgers and root beer today.

Tonight Rachel and I went for pedicures and dinner. She has her sparkly new sandals on and a fun blue pedi!

Rachel you always have such a glow about you. Sassy as you are, you really do shine!


Happy 12th Birthday sweet Rachel....we love you.  xoxo